Basic HTML Version
48
X
Some say the two other airlines
stopped flying because the local avi-
ation market had an oversupply of
flights which led to a price war. Is
this true?
In a market economy, the halt of
Air Mekong flights should be consid-
ered a normal issue. We hope that Air
Mekong will soon fly again after re-
structuring its fleet. At the moment, we
offer more than 300 flights a week with
a new and modern fleet. VietJetAir’s
load factor is now nearly 90 per cent
and this shows that the market is not
facing an oversupply. In 2013, we will
develop our fleet flexibly depending
on passenger demand with the aim to
bring more diversified options to pas-
sengers in terms of departure times,
network and airfares. We are creating
more opportunities for people to fly at
the most economical cost.
X
Now you do not have to compete
with Air Mekong, will fares rise?
Our promotion programmes and
economical airfare policy bring more
benefits to customers and create more
opportunities for Vietnamese and for-
eigners to fly. In fact, a recent survey
shows that the number of people pur-
chasing low-price airfares has increased
significantly thanks to VietJetAir’s promo-
tion programmes. VietJetAir always fol-
lows airfare management and promotion
standards set by the aviation authorities.
X
Among your domestic air routes,
which ones has VietJetAir flown most
effectively in terms of load factor and
revenue? And which ones have po-
tential to grow fastest this year?
All our flights have a good perfor-
mance on load factor and revenue. In
terms of revenue per route, the Hanoi-
Ho Chi Minh City route brings us the
biggest revenue as it has nine return
flights per day. Other flights connect-
ing Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with
other economic hubs and tourism des-
tinations in the country all have good
growth potential, and these routes’ per-
formance will be supported by larger
domestic and international network of
VietJetAir in 2013.
X
Why did VietJetAir quickly launch
international flights to Bangkok after
just one year of operation?
Thailand is now one of top tourism
destinations for international travellers.
It has also become an extremely popu-
lar destination for Vietnamese people
in recent years. The number of tourists
to Thailand keeps increasing and I be-
lieve that Ho Chi Minh City/Vietnam is
now an interesting destination for Thai
people due to cultural similarity and
geographic factor. Our surveys show
that the number of flights and rev-
enue from this route have increased
constantly in recent years. VietJetAir,
therefore, is here today to help make
tourists and businessmen’s travel be-
tween Vietnam and Thailand the most
comfortable and affordable than ever.
Since the launching of our first flight on
the first day of the Lunar New Year, we
have seen a good load factor of over
85 per cent and this figure is expected
to increase.
X
This year, will VietJetAir focus on
expanding its domestic network or its
international routes?
At present, we are operating a net-
work of 10 routes with more than 300
THE INSIDER
timeout