AirAsia wants to buy Vietravel shares, return to Vietnam aviation market?

(Dan Tri) - In 2019, AirAsia canceled its joint venture plan with Gumin Co and Hai Au Aviation JSC to establish a low-cost airline in Vietnam.

Mr. Tony Fernandes, CEO of Capital A Bhd (parent group of AirAsia), said the company is in the early stages of negotiating to buy shares in Vietnam Transport and Tourism Marketing Joint Stock Company ( Vietravel , stock code: VTR), the owner of Vietravel Airlines, according to BangkokPost.

The move is part of the Malaysian aviation group's strategy to expand its presence in Vietnam - one of the fastest growing aviation markets in Southeast Asia, a source from BangkokPost added.

AirAsia is considering buying a minority stake in Vietravel, as Vietnam currently limits foreign ownership in airlines to a maximum of 34%. However, the parties stressed that the discussions are still at an early stage and any terms could change.

AirAsia is negotiating to buy shares of Vietravel Airlines (Photo: BangkokPost).

AirAsia has not yet commented on this information.

At the Forbes Global CEO Summit in Jakarta on Wednesday, Tony Fernandes confirmed that talks were “going very well” with a single partner, but declined to disclose further details.

“We are just a few more terms away from signing the memorandum of understanding,” he said.

Vietnam is considered one of the fastest-growing aviation markets in Southeast Asia. Passenger traffic has recovered strongly after the pandemic, thanks to an expanding middle class, increased domestic travel demand and a steady flow of international visitors from China, South Korea and India.

Vietravel Airlines was launched in late 2020 with 100% capital owned by Vietravel. In 2025, the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders unanimously elected Mr. Do Vinh Quang as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the 2025-2030 term. Mr. Quang is the second son of Mr. Do Quang Hien (often called Mr. Hien) - Chairman of T&T Group .

It is known that Vietravel has sold most of its capital at Vietravel Airlines to T&T but the specific figure has not been disclosed.

The " air war" heats up as AirAsia returns

In 2019, AirAsia canceled a joint venture plan with Gumin Co and Hai Au Aviation JSC to set up a low-cost airline in Vietnam. However, the company still emphasized that Vietnam is a strategic market thanks to its favorable geographical location and great growth potential.

Vietnam’s aviation market is witnessing fierce competition. This week, new airline Sun PhuQuoc Airways announced plans to buy 100 Airbus and Boeing aircraft within 5 years to exploit the Vietnamese aviation market.

Currently, Vietnam Airlines and VietJet Air are still the two leading airlines. Bamboo Airways is known to have restarted its business expansion plan.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/kinh-doanh/airasia-muon-mua-co-phan-vietravel-tro-lai-thi-truong-hang-khong-viet-nam-20251020113102984.htm