Tourism operator Vietravel has got the green light to launch its new airline and could take to the skies before the year-end.
Vietravel Airlines received final approval and has penned 18 December as its launch date, despite the ongoing pandemic.
CEO Nguyen Quoc Ky said the current crisis has forced a change of plans and it will focus on the domestic market.
"We will fly domestically first, targeting the 100 million population market. In fact, it is not a small market. Our July domestic travel revenue is already much higher than before the pandemic," he said.
It expects to receive the first of three aircraft in December 2020.
It plans to add another five over the next few years.
He expects most of business to come from people on Vietravel package tours, something it has been doing for years by chartering aircraft.
Within a year it hopes to carry about one million passengers.
It doesn’t expect to expand internationally for some time.
"I think the market situation will remain very difficult until the beginning of 2022. The international aviation market will likely only return by autumn next year," Ky said.
Written by Ray Montgomery, Asia Editor
