August 30, 2019, by Vietnam Weekly
Everyone wants a piece of the aviation pie in Vietnam right now. Bamboo Airways, which launched earlier this year and is owned by real estate/resort giant FLC Group, recently received approval to triple its fleet from 10 planes to 30 by 2023. This came despite concerns over Bamboo's financial capacity, as the company reported US$14 million in losses since its first flight in April.VnExpress has a bit more info on their situation, including this oddity: "Bamboo Airways has over 300 pilots, of whom 80 percent are foreigners. As only 11-14 pilots are needed to operate 10 aircraft, it has 200 pilots in excess, ready to work when new aircraft are added."
Meanwhile, Vingroup has applied for an airline license for its recently-launched Vinpearl Air. It hopes to begin flying by next July with an initial fleet of six planes, increasing to 36 by 2025 (though the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has recommended that they aim for 30 by that year, according to Reuters). If approved, the airline would be based at Noi Bai in Hanoi.
Last but not least, Thien Minh Group, a national hospitality corporation, wants to create KiteAir. They hope to have 15 short-haul planes and 15 Airbus aircraft by 2024, while Vietravel Airlines, created by tourism firm Vietravel, is also awaiting approval of an aviation license.
Amid this airline glut, Vietnam's major airports are in increasingly bad shape. Both runways at Noi Bai are in dire need of repair, yet there is no timeline for when that may happen, while runway repairs and taxiway upgrades have been proposed for Tan Son Nhat in Saigon, yet the government doesn't have the money to pay for them.
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