Jetstar Pacific hemorrhaging VND 1.3 billion a day

Jetstar Pacific hemorrhaging VND 1.3 billion a day

Jetstar Pacific CEO Luong Hoai Nam Jetstar Pacific, the domestic low-cost airline part-owned by Qantas, has been suffering losses of around VND40 billion (US$2.4 million) a month since early this year, according to a Thanh Nien source.

The loss of VND1.3 billion ($77,380) a day was the result of the airline’s “ineffective” and expensive promotional programs that include offering super-discount fares, said the source, who asked not to be named. But Jetstar Pacific General Director Luong Hoai Nam said the airline losses were not the result of a decrease in the number of passengers. In the first 10 months of the year, the number of passengers rose by nearly 70 percent year-on-year, with the seat occupancy rate reaching 82 percent, Nam said. The State Capital Investment Corp., the government’s investment arm, holds a 75.78 percent stake in Jetstar Pacific. Australian flag carrier Qantas is the next biggest shareholder with an 18 percent stake, Saigontourist Holding Company holds 6.18 percent and a Vietnamese investor holds 0.04 percent. Jetstar Pacific’s two domestic rivals are the 100 percent government-owned Vietnam Airlines and its subsidiary Vasco (Vietnam Air Services Company). Reported by Xuan Toan