VietNamNet Bridge - Low-cost airline VietJet Air carried three million passengers from January to July, a 182% increase in capacity year-on-year, the carrier announced at its preliminary business review last week.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The (middle) at VietJet's business review meeting last week.

During this period, the airline generated VND3.818 trillion in revenue and paid VND349 billion in taxes, bringing its total of taxed revenue to VND1.51 trillion.

VietJet, which recently expanded its fleet and now features 15 Airbus A320 aircraft, has served a total of 7.4 million passengers since December 2011, on more than 18,500 safe flights. VietJet also scored an impressive 99.39% in a technical reliability evaluation of the last 12 months (statistics as of31 July, 2014).

The airline has also implemented enhanced training programs. During the same period, 1,708 students graduated from 132 training courses. VietJet’s training center also earned a Certificate of Merit from the Ministry of Transport.

The Ministry of Transport presents the Certificate of Merit to VietJet Training Center.

VietJet has introduced several far-reaching community initiatives. The airline provided health insurance to the needy and collaborated with Pepsi to offer free air tickets to Vietnamese students so they can fly home and enjoy the 2014 Lunar New Year at home. It also assisted students coming to HCM City for the 2014 university entrance exams in a special program that provided maps, directions to accommodation and vouchers for free food as well as sponsoring local and international events.

Speaking at the preliminary business review, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The congratulated VietJet for its achievements not just in the January-July period but since its first flight took off in late 2011, helping Vietnam “open up its skies.”

Congratulations on achivement for the first seven months.

Mr. The said that in response to the call by the Politburo and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to promote “budget airlines”, Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang had requested to take advantage of low-cost carriers to save costs on business trips of governmental officials.

Constantly trying to raise the bar for customer service, VietJet has been proud to receive an “Excellent Emulation Flag of the Government” by the Ministry of Transportation and a number of other awards such as one of Top Ten Travel Transportation Companies and Top Vietnam Service Products.

VietJet also was declared a “Sustainable Development Enterprise” by UNESCO Vietnam and set a new world record for “most smiles on a flight to Singapore” when launching a new route connecting Ho Chi Minh City and the island state in March.

Mr. Luu Duc Khanh - Managing Director of VietJet Air.

Having completed its goals for the first seven months of 2014, VietJet will continue to further enhance its services. The airline is determined to ensure its OTP (On Time Performance) is on a par with the best airlines in the region and to increase its OTP ratings by up to 5-10% before the end of the year. To facilitate this, VietJet has called for further support from airports, flight operation suppliers, ground-handling companies and catering services.

VietJet has also aligned with the industry program “4 PLEASEs – 4 ALWAYSs” and has continued its internal competition called “4 your smile” under which VietJetters always smile at work, which inspires customers to enjoy flying with VietJet.

The airline has constantly implemented innovative services such as self-check-in kiosks so passengers can also enjoy a fast, convenient and comfortable trip. VietJet staff are also willing to assist elderly passengers, parents travelling with infants or disabled persons to check in quickly at all airports.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The speaks at the meeting.

VietJet currently operates 27 local and international routes. Besides flying to every major city and tourism destination in Vietnam, the airline now flies from Hanoi and Da Nang to Seoul in South Korea, from Ho Chi Minh City to Bangkok in Thailand and from Ho Chi Minh City to Singapore.

Last year the carrier transported more than 4.3 million passengers, accounting for about 26% of domestic market share.

PV