Specifically, according to sharing at the meeting, in the first half of 2021, parent company Vietnam Airlines is estimated to lose about 9,823 billion VND, the consolidated loss is expected to be about 10,788 billion VND, financial indicators move in a very negative and risky.
Because manufacturing capacity remains low and the market shows no signs of improvement, Vietnam Airlines’ revenue and profit targets for this year are lower than those set for last year. Consolidated revenue is estimated to fall 11.6 percent to about VND 37,400 billion. The national airline anticipates a combined loss of 14,526 billion dongs, an almost 30 percent raise over 2020.
Towards the establishment of Vietnam Airlines Cargo
Vietnam Airlines turned seven passenger aircraft into cargo planes in the last period, including five wide-body A350s and two narrow-body A321. Freight revenue (usually only 10% of total revenue) topped passenger revenue in June. According to Chairman Dang Ngoc Hoa, this is the basis for Vietnam Airlines to investigate and establish a cargo airline following the outbreak.
According to Vietnam Airlines General Director Le Hong Ha, Vietnam Airlines has also considered establishing a cargo carrier Vietnam Airlines Cargo for a long time. “However, the reality of the last 5 years shows that cargo airlines need to ensure the scale to exploit all sources of goods such as Korean Air, China Airlines must have a network of routes and a large enough cargo fleet. At that time, we assessed that setting up a cargo airline was not effective,” he shared.
But with the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, the cargo segment has brought important efficiency since the disease outbreak, especially in recent months when not transporting passengers.
In the first half of 2021, Vietnam Airlines faced many difficulties in business. Two outbreaks of the epidemic occurred right at the peak of Tet and before the holiday April 30 – May 1, extending to the peak of summer. The high oil price in 2021 makes the company’s costs increase by 700 billion VND compared to 2020.
Every year at this time, Vietnam Airlines operates 500-550 flights per day, but this year only operates approximately 40 flights, primarily to transport products to outlying districts, maintaining the country’s economy at a bare minimum.
This plan is built on the assumption that Vietnam Airlines completes the sale of 11 A321 aircraft, the Government allows to open the door to welcome guests to Phu Quoc, applying for the vaccine passport. At the same time, completing the disbursement of the support package of VND 12,000 billion and taking other support measures of the Government.
Plan to replace old ATR-72 aircraft
This year, Vietnam Airlines will continue to seek collaboration and help from partners to negotiate reductions, extend, postpone payments, and save money to reduce business losses.
It is expected that the total cost of cutting and saving by self-made solutions in 2021 will reach over VND 6,800 billion. In addition, older ATR-72s up to 12 years old will be sold and replaced with regional jets to increase competition in niche markets or airports that cannot be operated by the Airbus fleet A320, A321 upward.
For the international flight plan, Vietnam Airlines continues to carry out repatriation flights under the direction of the Government. Besides, it also actively develops and reports to the Government to allow early resumption of regular flights based on a combination of cargo flights, pilot implementation of vaccine passports, ect.
Vietnam Airlines has developed a plan to entirely reconstruct the route network for the post-pandemic period in the home market. Simultaneously, the airline is looking for chances to create new local routes, intending to reach a 51 percent market share in domestic passenger travel by 2021.
Van Anh
