Well I was pretty close. Only the year was wrong.
Monday 14 April 2008
The Australian
Jetstar flies into $50 million partnership with Vietnam
Author: Steve Creedy Aviation writer
Publication: The Australian (29,Mon 14 Apr 2008)
Edition: 2 - All-round First
Section: Finance
Keywords: Jetstar (15)
QANTAS is to boost its presence in Southeast Asia by establishing a fleet of 30 Jetstar-branded aircraft in Vietnam.
Qantas executives and Vietnamese officials will today unveil an agreement to change the name of Pacific Airlines, Vietnam's second-largest carrier, to Jetstar Pacific.
The joint venture increases Qantas's total investment in the carrier to $50 million, and will also lead to a fleet of 30 leased Airbus A320 aircraft being based in the country by 2014. The move will also increase the Qantas offshoot's Asian profile and means Jetstar-branded planes will fly to 40 destinations in Asia, the Asia-Pacific region, Australia and New Zealand.
The joint venture will initially grow services in Vietnam before expanding internationally from late this year to destinations likely to include Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Cambodia.
A Vietnamese website being developed for jetstar.com to expand the brand's penetration among more than 85 million Vietnamese is expected to result in more services between Australia and Vietnam.
Jetstar chief executive Alan Joyce said the move would give Jetstar huge distribution in the Vietnam market.
``We were always very strong in Australia but having Pacific Airlines here with the Jetstar name will give us the second most recognised airline brand and that means we can sell more effectively our Australia-direct operations,'' he said in Ho Chi Minh City yesterday.
The Vietnam move is part of a wider strategy to build up the Qantas Group's presence in Asia through a series of partnerships using the Jetstar brand. It already has a stake in Singapore-based Jetstar Asia and hopes ultimately to make similar investments in other countries, linking an intra-Asia network to Jetstar's long-haul and short-haul international operations from Australia.
It is also planning to establish a Southeast Asian hub that will allow it to fly on to southern Europe. The Australian carrier
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From Page 29
has had a team of executives working with Pacific, which is majority-owned by Vietnam's State Capital Investment Corporation, since it bought an 18 per cent stake in the carrier last July for $30 million.
It aims to increase its stake to 30 per cent -- at a $20 million price tag -- the highest investment currently allowed in Vietnam, by 2010. Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon said the Vietnamese carrier would help Jetstar become one of the biggest and fastest growing brands in the region. ``Jetstar Pacific will be able to access the expertise and resources in the Qantas Group,'' he said.
Vietnam's domestic market had huge possibilities, with the route between Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi potentially bigger than Melbourne-Sydney, he said.
``There is a growing number of people who want to use air transportation and I think that's a market we certainly will be tapping into,'' he said.
``There's also a huge international tourism market. It's one of the biggest international growth areas, and that's people coming into the country but also travelling around the country.''
The rebranding will lead to the Vietnamese carrier gradually adopting a similar product range to Jetstar in Australia.
Mr Joyce said the aircraft would have similar manuals and operational procedures so the airline could interchange pilots with its Australian counterpart.
The writer travelled to Vietnam courtesy of Jetstar.