Vietnam’s Kite Air scheduled for commercial operation in early 2020: HanoiTimes

By 2025, Kite Air would expand its fleet to 30 aircraft, including 15 ATR72 and 15 Airbus A320/A321 or equivalent, said Nguyen Minh Quan, CEO of Thien Minh Aviation company, owner of the airline, during a meeting with leaders of the Ministry of Transport on Wednesday. 

Total investment capital for the airline is nearly $237 million, in which 194million is fixed capital.

Airline targets its main market in four airports, namely Dien Bien, Ca Mau, Kien Giang, and Con Dao. 

The addition of new airlines in Vietnam’s aviation market would help diversify passengers’ options for travelling and make the market more competitive, said Vo Huy Cuong, deputy director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam.

Cuong requested Thien Minh Aviation company to clarify financial aspects of the project. 

Sharing the same opinion with Cuong, Vice Minister of Transport Le Anh Tuan said the ministry supports the establishment of Kite Air as room remains large for airlines utilizing small airports, meeting Vietnam’s huge transport demands.

Photo: tmgroup.vn

Kite Air project is now subject for Prime Minister’s approval. 

In August, the authourity gave its approval to the establishment of Vinpearl Air from Vingroup’s airline project, which is also going through similar procedures to Kite Air that seeks prime minister’s permission. 

With a total investment of $202 million, the airline plans to add six planes on average per year to expand its fleet to a total of 36 by 2025. 

As per Vietnamese legislation, an airline needs to have registered capital of at least $56 million to operate up to 30 airplanes on domestic and international routes.

Vietnam currently has five operational airlines, including Vietnam Airlines, budget operator Jetstar Pacific Airlines, budget carrier Vietjet Aviation, Vietnam Air Services and Bamboo Airways, which flew for first time in January this year. 

Statistics shows that domestic carriers handled more than 50 million passengers in 2018, a rise of 14% over the previous year, together with nearly 400,000 tons of cargo, up by 26%.

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Source: HanoiTmes