Pacific Airlines restructures its fleet

On March 18, Pacific Airlines announced that today is the day the airline's last plane leaves Vietnam.

The airline representative said the reason is that the airline is restructuring its fleet and route network to ensure increased operational efficiency.

According to the fleet restructuring roadmap, Pacific Airlines will lease aircraft from Vietnam Airlines to improve the airline's operational efficiency, as well as optimize resources within VNA Group (Vietnam Airlines, Pacific Airlines, Vasco). The two sides have discussed and are finalizing the final procedures to complete the agreement, and soon put the aircraft into operation to serve passengers.

Pacific Airlines will also receive support and coordination from Vietnam Airlines in sharing some infrastructure and passenger service resources such as check-in counters and ground service facilities.

The airline also said that corporate restructuring is one of the effective self-solutions applied by many airlines around the world and in Vietnam in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic leaving severe and prolonged consequences for the aviation industry. This activity is considered necessary for Pacific Airlines to recover effectively, adapt quickly to the new environment and develop stably in the future.

It is known that due to the very serious financial situation, cash flow shortage, large overdue debt threatening to default, Vietnam Airlines and its shareholders have decided to pay off the entire fleet of Pacific Airlines to clear the debt.

For now, Pacific Airlines passengers will fly with Vietnam Airlines. The current plan is for Pacific Airlines to charter 3 dry ships from Vietnam Airlines to operate the flight. This is within Vietnam Airlines' plans and the passengers' rights are still guaranteed as usual.

Pacific Airlines, established in 1991, is the first joint-stock airline in Vietnam to receive investment from Australia's Qantas Group. The low-cost airline suffered losses due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Vietnam Airlines' annual report, in 2022, Pacific Airlines recorded a total annual revenue of nearly VND 3,487 billion, a pre-tax loss of VND 2,096 billion, a decrease of VND 212 billion compared to 2021. With 3 consecutive years of losses of over VND 2,000 billion/year since COVID-19, it is estimated that Pacific Airlines' accumulated loss by the end of 2022 has increased to more than VND 10,700 billion and negative equity of VND 6,700 billion.

After receiving all shares from Qantas shareholders in 2022, Vietnam Airlines owns over 98.8% of Pacific Airlines. Since then, the national airline has been looking for new investors for this low-cost airline. However, divestment from Pacific Airlines has not been possible due to some regulations and the unfavorable aviation market in the past few years.

Source link