* New-age carrier aims to increase air transport revenue, expand its
international flight operations and increase ancillary revenue proportion
through 2019 *
* Led by Vietjet, the aviation and tourism industries
continue to be bright spots for growth and investment in Vietnam **
Vietjet operated 16 new aircraft with an
average age of its fleet only 2.82 years. In 2018, Vietjet also became the
first carrier
to operate the new generation aircraft A321neo, which saves up to 16% in fuel consumption, contributing to
Vietjet’s reduction of total operating costs.
Last year, Vietjet transported over 23 million passengers across all
flight networks and operated 118,923 flights with 261,000 safe operating hours.
The airline’s load factor was recorded at 88.06% and its technical reliability rate reached 99.64%, which along with other
safety indicators regarding flight operations and ground operations, meant it
was one of the leading airlines in Asia Pacific. Its on-time performance (OTP)
was 84.2%, which is over the global OTP average of 78.69%, according to IATA’s data.
The airline expanded its international flight network while improving service quality with the
aim of boosting foreign
currency revenue from ticketing. Vietjet also sought to increase ancillary
revenue from additional services and maximize fuel cost advantages at a time
when international
fuel costs were lower than domestic ones (due to tax, fee policies). In 2018,
Vietjet opened one new domestic route and 22 new international routes.
In 2018, air transport revenue for Vietjet reached VND33,779 billion, an
increase of 49.8% year-on-year, and 112.2% of its target. Air transport profit before tax
increased by 48.9% year-on-year. Ancillary revenue reached VND8,410 billion,
a year-on-year increase of 53.5%. The proportion of ancillary revenue for total revenue also
increased from 24.5% in 2017 to 25.4% in 2018 thanks to improving numbers of
international transported passengers and the completion of SkyBoss ticket class in addition to diversifying
of additional services, such as priority services, seat selection services,
sky-shop on board, and more.
When being listed on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HOSE) in 2017,
being one of the first Vietnamese companies to choose international IPO standard (Reg S), Vietjet set out a
three-year growth plan for 2017 to
2019 with the aim of achieving a revenue of VND147,782
billion and VND7,801 billion profit after tax for 2017 and 2018. Results
exceeded this forecast when after two years the new age carrier had VND95,879
billion revenue and VND10,400 billion profit after tax. Earnings amounted to VND9,850 per share (EPS) in
2018.
Vietjet has a good record of paying high dividends from year to year
with over 50%. With positive business results in 2018, shareholders decided to
pay out 55% dividend in both cash and shares.
In 2018, Vietjet successfully retained IOSA
International Air Safety Certification (only 8.6% of the world’s airlines have
this certificate) and completed an evaluation according to ISO 27001 standards.
At the same year Vietjet was awarded the highest ranking for safety with
7-stars by the international institution AirlineRatings.com.
By December 31, 2018, Vietjet employed a total of 3,850
staff from over 30 nations, all of whom will serve the
airline's international development strategy, an increase of 24.3% year on
year. In 2018, Vietjet also trained 68 cadets who have now become pilots.
At the beginning of November 2018, Vietjet launched the Aviation Academy
with a state-of-the-art flight simulator complex (Full Flight Simulator) in
partnership with Airbus. The academy is EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) approved and
certified to European standards and meets the world’s leading aviation
standards. Up until the end of last year, the flight simulator had
provided more than 910 training hours. The academy also conducted 924 courses for 21,611 trainees,
including 157 pilot training courses, 127 cabin crew training courses and 128
engineer training ones, and more.
Vietjet was granted many prestigious awards in 2018. Most notably, the new-age carrier was listed in the Top 50 airlines for healthy
financing and operation by
AirFinance
Journal. Ranked
22nd overall, the airline was named ahead of many of the
world's most prestigious airlines.
In 2019, planning to open 20 more international routes and transport nearly 28 million passengers, Vietjet expects to increase
its air transport revenue to VND42,250 billion and air transport profit at
VND3,800 billion. To achieve this, the airline will continue to focus on
international route expansion to promote foreign currency revenue from
ticketing, while taking advantages
of international fuel prices being lower than domestic ones, and increasing
ancillary revenue which has a higher profit margin in the high-income passenger
segment.
At the meeting, Mr. Donal Joseph Boylan (born in 1963) was elected as an
independent member of the Board of Directors for the 2017 – 2022 term. Mr.
Boylan has more than 30 years of experiences in aviation and air financial
industry, and has held executive and leadership roles at large institutions and listed
companies
both in Europe and Hong Kong.
The delegation also received details of Vietjet’s three-year development orientation report. In the next three years,
Vietjet aims to maintain its leading position in domestic transport,
effectively expand international routes, explore investment opportunities for infrastructure,
terminals, technical services, ground services and training to promote the
airline’s experience, advantages, efficiency.
Positive results over the years and through 2018 will serve as a platform for the airline to meet expectation plans for 2019, reaffirming the company’s sound strategy to maintain momentum of
growth and fulfil the airline’s vision of creating more flying opportunities to
people, supporting tourism development, bringing values, efficiency to investors, and continuing to be a safe, efficient regional and
international carrier.