Vietnam’s Pacific Airlines Merge With Australia’s Jetstar
Text of report in English by Vietnamese newspaper Thanh Nien on 16 April
[Reported by Tran Hung]
Local budget carrier Pacific Airlines and Australia’s low-cost airline Jetstar have staked their future in Vietnam on a newly- merged company, Jetstar Pacific Airlines, announced the two firms Monday.
After acquiring an 18 per cent stake in Pacific Airlines last July, Jetstar’s mother company, Qantas, would increase its share in the local carrier to 30 per cent in 2010, Qantas’ CEO Geoff Dixon told the meeting.
Dixon said the State Capital Investment Corporation and Pacific Airlines’ shareholders, including Qantas, had worked out a deal under which Qantas and Jetstar executives would be placed in key posts at Jetstar Pacific.
These include chief operating officer, chief financial officer and chief pilot.
Former Pacific Airlines’ President, Luong Hoai Nam, who is now Jetstar Pacific’s chief executive officer, said the merger would lead to large and comprehensive changes at Pacific.
Instead of the existing fleet of four Boeing 737-400s, Jetstar Pacific will fly thirty Airbus A320s by 2014.
The first new plane would be delivered this August, according to Nam.
He said Jetstar Pacific would increase its flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Lat and Buon Ma Thuot, as well as open three routes from Hanoi to Da Nang, Hue and Nha Trang this summer.
The re-christened carrier also plans to open direct trans- national routes from Vietnam to Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore and Malaysia by the end of the year.
Previously, Pacific Airlines offered flights to seven destinations in Vietnam.
Jetstar Airways has been providing direct flights from Sydney and Singapore to HCMC.
With the launch of Jetstar Pacific, the carrier will offer flights to 40 destinations across Asia, the Asia-Pacific region and Australia.
Nam said low-cost services would continue to be Jetstar Pacific’s priority.
Originally published by Thanh Nien, Ho Chi Minh City, in English 16 Apr 08.
(c) 2008 BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.