Pacific Airlines returns unoccupied slots

In the latest report sent to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, Pacific Airlines said that the latest plan for slots (take-off and landing times) will be refunded by the airline in coordination with Vietnam Airlines during the temporary suspension of operations.

Responding to VTC News reporters, a representative of Pacific Airlines informed that returning slots after 2 months will result in the revocation of the Aircraft Operator Certificate (AOC), or the flights will not be operated in the near future.

Previously, Pacific Airlines temporarily suspended flights from March 18, after returning all aircraft leased from partners.

A leader of the Civil Aviation Authority said that the airline will look for a new partner to lease the aircraft. Once it is leased, the airline will continue to operate the registered routes.

Pacific Airlines returns unused slots. (Illustration photo).

" Currently, the airline still has a number of aircraft that are not in operation and will continue to return them after technical inspection according to the lease contract ," he said.

Informing VTC News, a representative of Pacific Airlines said that the unit has negotiated with aircraft owners to handle large debts. This is a strategic part in the restructuring process of Pacific Airlines.

“ Currently, Pacific Airlines has reached an agreement with the ship owners to clear the debt of about 220 million USD. However, Pacific Airlines must fulfill its commitment to return the entire A320 fleet to the ship owners. Therefore, from March 18, 2024, Pacific Airlines has temporarily suspended flights to focus on ensuring the conditions for returning the ships as committed ,” said a representative of Pacific Airlines.

All negotiations with the ship owner were carried out according to pre-planned plans, so Pacific Airlines proactively coordinated with Vietnam Airlines to transfer all passengers who had purchased tickets on Pacific Airlines flights to Vietnam Airlines flights.

The passenger transfer was completed in the first week of March 2024. Currently, all passengers have been transferred to the corresponding flights operated by Vietnam Airlines, and passengers have been fully informed about flight changes through the sales systems of Vietnam Airlines and Pacific Airlines.

" Passenger rights and requests will be guaranteed by Vietnam Airlines through Vietnam Airlines' customer care system ," said a representative of Pacific Airlines.

Pacific Airlines is the first low-cost airline in Vietnam, which was invested by Australia's Qantas Group. In October 2020, Qantas Group completed procedures to withdraw from Pacific Airlines and transferred 30% of its shares to Vietnam Airlines as a gift. By the first quarter of 2022, the deal was completed and Vietnam Airlines has held nearly 99% of Pacific Airlines' shares since then.

According to Vietnam Airlines' annual report, in 2022, Pacific Airlines recorded total revenue in 2022 of nearly VND 3,487 billion, pre-tax loss of VND 2,096 billion, a loss of VND 212 billion compared to 2021.

With 3 consecutive years of losses of over 2,000 billion VND/year since the COVID-19 period, it is estimated that Pacific Airlines' accumulated loss by the end of 2022 has reached over 10,700 billion VND and negative equity of 6,700 billion VND.

Ngoc Vy

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