Pacific Airlines has to return all its aircraft.

Pacific Airlines had to return the entire aircraft due to a failure to reach an agreement with the lessor, along with internal financial difficulties.

Sources told VnExpress that Pacific Airlines, a subsidiary of Vietnam Airlines , has no aircraft left after returning them to their lessors. During this time, some of the airline's routes have had to be rescheduled or temporarily suspended.

Since the second half of last year, the airline has been asked by its partners to return aircraft due to its failure to fulfill its lease payment agreements.

Late on March 18, a representative from Pacific Airlines confirmed that the airline "is restructuring its fleet and route network to increase operational efficiency."

According to this restructuring plan, the low-cost airline will lease aircraft from Vietnam Airlines to optimize resources. It is likely that the airline will receive three aircraft from Vietnam Airlines. This is also a minimum requirement for an airline to maintain its business license in the industry.

In addition, Pacific Airlines will receive support and coordination from the national airline regarding the shared use of certain infrastructure and resources serving passengers (such as check-in counters and ground service facilities).

Pacific Airlines' decision to return all its aircraft could further complicate the domestic aviation market in the coming period, especially during the peak summer season when seat capacity is insufficient to meet passenger demand.

Domestic airlines are also facing a severe aircraft shortage. Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet have had to ground more than 30 A321 aircraft – their mainstays in the domestic market – for maintenance and engine repairs. Bamboo Airways has reduced its fleet by more than 20 aircraft compared to last year following corporate restructuring. Last year, Vietnamese airlines had over 230 aircraft, but now only about 170 remain.

During the recent peak Tet holiday period, the shortage of aircraft, which reduced supply capacity, was one of the reasons why airline tickets were scarce and expensive.

According to the head of a domestic airline, it is currently not easy to lease additional aircraft amidst high global demand driving up prices. Furthermore, while aircraft owners previously could extend or postpone lease payments for financially struggling airlines due to the pandemic, they will now reclaim the aircraft immediately if airlines are late in making payments.

A representative from Pacific Airlines stated that the airline will soon restore its flight schedule. Customers who have already purchased tickets will be notified of the new flight schedule or can switch to flights operated by Vietnam Airlines.

Pacific Airlines, established in 1991, was the first joint-stock airline in Vietnam. This low-cost airline has faced difficulties in recent years. During 2018-2019, the airline made a profit of several tens of billions of dong, but subsequently returned to losses due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2022, the airline incurred a loss of nearly 2,100 billion dong, a decrease of over 210 billion dong compared to the previous year.

After acquiring all shares from Qantas in 2022, Vietnam Airlines owns over 98.8% of Pacific Airlines. Since then, the national airline has been seeking new investors for this low-cost carrier and has attracted interest from several parties. However, divestment from Pacific Airlines has not been possible due to certain regulations and unfavorable aviation market conditions in recent years.

Anh Tú

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