What seems to be the problem with Jetstar Pacific?
Glad you asked.
None of these words are by myself, its all been reported in the media so here goes.
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/en/trav...-director.html
In order to keep periodic engine maintenance and implement the plan to charter and purchase more aircraft, Jetstar Pacific (JPA) needs some 55-60 million dollars. JPA commits to pay all the debts to Vinapco prior to July 31, said Le Song Lai, General Director of JPA, who is also the Deputy General Director of the powerful State Investment Capital Corporation (SCIC) which specializes in making investment in enterprises with state’s capital.
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/en/busi...rief-11-7.html
The Vietnam Air Petrol Company (Vinapco) has accepted Jetstar Pacific’s gradual payments for overdue fuel bills as the low-cost carrier has tried to pay some of the VND173 billion (around US$8.4 million) it owed the locally-dominant jet fuel supplier.
Vinapco general director Tran Huu Phuc told the Daily on the phone on Thursday the country’s second largest airline had transferred more than VND40 billion (some US$1.94 million) to the company and promised to clear the arrears this month.
As Jetstar Pacific has not paid off the debt, Vinapco forces the airline to prepay more than VND3 billion (over US$145,000) for the jet fuel it needs every day for its aircraft to perform around 40 daily flights on domestic routes.
then theres the issue of illegal LAME sackings
Parliament of Australia: Senate: Committees: Rural Affairs and Transport Committee: Pilot training and airline safety including consideration of the Transport Safety Investigation Amendment (Incident Reports) Bill 2010: Submissions Received
submission 49 - page 7-8 and attachments 4, 5 and 6 for the background on airworthiness issues at J*V and illegal LAME sackings.
oh and going way back
The two Qantas executives found themselves at the centre of the diplomatic storm in Vietnam after Jetstar Pacific lost $US31 million on fuel-hedging contracts in 2008. The names of Marsilli and Freeman - as the chief operating officer and chief financial officer - were on the contracts.
Airlines regularly enter hedging contracts to stabilise the volatile cost of jet fuel. But Vietnam is a country that is only slowly opening the door to capitalism and where the loss of money at a state-owned enterprise - even a relatively small amount - can be a capital offence.
Throughout most of their ordeal, Marsilli and Freeman had no idea when they would be free to go or whether they would be held personally responsible for the losses at Jetstar Pacific. Although interpreters were provided, they did not have access to lawyers at some interviews.
Qantas says the ''commercial package'' referred to by DFAT was a heads of agreement, which gave a ''commercial framework governing the expectations'' of the two shareholders and their continuing involvement in Jetstar Pacific. It will not reveal further details because they are ''commercial-in-confidence''.
One of the cables deemed ''commercial in confidence'' - dated June 4, 2010 - details an email conversation about a letter received from the SCIC. That same day Australia's ambassador to Vietnam, Allaster Cox, met Vietnam's Finance Minister, Vu Van Ninh. The SCIC answers to Vietnam's Finance Minister.
Less than three weeks later, Qantas and the SCIC, the majority shareholder in Jetstar Pacific, reached the agreement on the ''commercial package'' that would help lift the travel restrictions on the Australian pair.
Then, on June 29 last year, a ''confidential'' DFAT cable shows Marsilli and Freeman fronted a meeting before a two-star general, Tran Trung Dung, and a colonel, both from Vietnam's feared secret police.
''Having concluded their assistance with the investigation, the two Australians were advised by the Vietnamese authorities … that they were free to depart,'' states a DFAT document on June 30, 2010.
I hope you're still not wondering why Qantas has announced ZERO extra aircraft for this Vietnam operation.
Watch them languish with 2 A320s and 4 B734's.
Welcome to Asia, Qantas!