The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam ( Ministry of Transport ) informed that as of July 2024, the total number of aircraft of Vietnamese airlines granted AOC (aircraft operator certificate) is 195, a decrease of 36.

Of which, the average number of aircraft in operation was 167, a decrease of 51 compared to the same period last year.

In 2023, the ratio of Vietnamese airlines operating aircraft to the total number of aircraft granted AOCs reached 94.4%. However, this figure dropped to 85.6% this year due to the impact of the manufacturer's engine recall.

Therefore, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, airlines have actively sought and negotiated to lease aircraft to supplement and replace aircraft that are no longer in operation, contributing to increasing supply in the market.

W-airport (93).jpg
Airlines are struggling to increase capacity on domestic routes. Photo: Nam Khanh

In addition, airlines also implemented many solutions to maintain and increase supply capacity such as adjusting aircraft operating hours, reducing aircraft turnaround time to transfer flights, optimizing aircraft operating hours during the day, and increasing flights in the afternoon and evening.

Accordingly, the average operating time of domestic airlines' fleets increased sharply, some by over 20% compared to the same period last year.

Specifically, as of July 2024, Vietnam Airlines has 96 aircraft, a decrease of 6 compared to 2023; of which, 82 are in operation. In the two months of June and July 2024, the airline will operate an average of 401 and 433 flights per day, respectively, an increase of 19-21 flights per day compared to the same period in 2023.

The average fleet operating time is 13 hours/ship/day, an increase of 22% compared to 2023 (only 10.6 hours/ship/day).

Vietjet Air currently operates 73/85 aircraft. The total number of flights operated on average in June and July 2024 is about 416 flights/day, equal to the same period in 2023. The average operating time of the fleet is 14.5 hours/day, an increase of 11.5% compared to 2023, which was 13 hours/aircraft/day.

Vietravel Airlines is operating 3 aircraft, with an average total number of flights in June and July 2024 of about 22-24 flights/day, an increase of 2-4 flights/day. The average operating time of the airline's fleet is 11.5 hours/day, an increase of 21% compared to 2023 (9.5 hours/aircraft/day).

For Bamboo Airways, due to the restructuring of its fleet, the number of flights has decreased sharply compared to the same period in 2023. As of July 2023, Bamboo Airways operates 8/9 aircraft, reaching an operating rate of 87.5%. The average operating time of the airline's fleet is 12.5 hours/day, an increase of 20.1% compared to 2023 (10.4 hours/day in 2023).

As for Pacific Airlines, the airline will resume operations from the end of June 2024 with 1 A321 aircraft, so the statistical criteria like other airlines will not apply.

Meanwhile, leasing aircraft is also facing many difficulties due to high prices. At the conference to review the work of the first quarter and deploy key tasks for the second quarter of 2024 of the Ministry of Transport, the leader of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam admitted that the most difficult thing is leasing aircraft, which is both scarce and has increased in price. Before Tet, the price to lease an A321 aircraft was 2,300 USD/hour, but now, this number has reached 4,000 USD/hour.

In an effort to supplement their fleets, domestic airlines have recently received many new purchased/leased aircraft.

Last week, Vietnam Airlines received the first of three Airbus A320s of this type, contributing nearly 40,000 seats during the summer peak season and 299,000 seats in the second half of 2024.

To address the shortage of aircraft, from now until the end of the year, Vietjet Air also plans to receive 10 aircraft, expected to include 8 A321s and 2 E190s.

At the end of June, Bamboo Airways received its third wet-lease Airbus A320 since the beginning of 2024 in an effort to increase capacity. At its recent shareholders' meeting, Bamboo Airways said it could operate 12 Airbus narrow-body aircraft by the end of 2024 and 18 by the end of 2025 if market conditions allow.

Data from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam shows that in the first 6 months of this year, the total passenger market reached more than 37 million passengers (an increase of more than 3% over the same period in 2023 and equal to 97% over the same period in 2019).

Of which, Vietnamese airlines transported more than 17 million domestic passengers, equal to 82% compared to the same period in 2023, due to a shortage of aircraft fleet, airlines had to adjust to reduce supply. However, the number of international passengers increased sharply, reaching more than 20 million passengers, up 38% compared to the same period last year.

Sky-high airfares, lack of aircraft, domestic air passengers decreased by nearly 20%. While the number of international air passengers reached more than 21 million, an increase of more than 44%, domestic passengers only reached 17 million, a decrease of more than 19% compared to the same period last year. The reason stems from expensive airfares.