Tour operator parent pumps $26mn into Vietravel Airlines

The parent company of Vietravel Airlines (VU, Hue Phu Bai Int’l), Vietnam Travel & Marketing Transports JSC, has approved ploughing another VND593.5 billion dong (USD26.2 million) into the carrier, lifting its total investment in the start-up to nearly VND1.3 trillion (USD57.3 million), it revealed in a stock exchange filing.

The “additional capital contribution” to Vietnam Aviation Travel Co Ltd, the airline’s company name, will be completed by the end of 2021. It comes in the context of a gradual recovery for the aviation industry, the board of directors outlined in the November 22 disclosure.

Vietravel Airlines secured its air transportation business licence in late October 2020 with a charter capital of VND700 billion (USD30.8 million). It currently operates a fleet of three A321-200s, the ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows, and the president of the its tour operator parent, Nguyễn Quốc Kỳ, has reiterated plans to increase the fleet to eight aircraft by 2025.

While according to the ch-aviation capacities module, Vietravel Airlines should operate five domestic routes, from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, Da Nang, Phu Quoc, and Dalat, and from Hanoi to Da Nang, its fleet of three A321-200s have been parked since late June.

Viet Nam closed its borders in March 2020, shortly after confirming its first Covid-19 case. However, on November 20, more than 200 tourists arrived on the country’s largest island, Phu Quoc – Viet Nam’s first tourists in nearly two years. The fully vaccinated South Korean visitors landed on a VietJetAir flight from Seoul Incheon and are staying in resorts without having to quarantine.

Vietravel outlined plans earlier this month to restructure the company by creating a holding company that separates the tourism specialist from Vietravel Airlines, previously its direct subsidiary. Vietravel Holdings, chaired by Vietravel President Nguyễn Quốc Kỳ, will own controlling stakes in both Vietravel and Vietravel Airlines.