Mekong flights grounded
February 28, 2013 by TTRweekly Staff
Filed under Aviation, News, Vietnam
HO CHI MINH CITY, 28 February 2013: The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has confirmed, Wednesday, Air Mekong will halt operations, in March possibly until the end of the year to restructure its entire fleet.
After two years of operations, the carrier now says its Bombardier aircraft were unsuitable to serve its network economically. It will return the aircraft to the supplier and invest in other aircraft types.
It is a major setback for the new carrier to have to stop all services and it will be inconvenient for domestic travellers who had come to rely on the services. It will need to keep offices open and staff on the payroll without being able to earn revenue from its airline operations It concentrates on offering domestic services in Vietnam.
Air Mekong was the third private carrier in Vietnam after Indochina Airlines and VietJetAir. The carrier officially began operations at the end of 2010 flying from Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Danang City to Phu Quoc and Da Lat.
The airline is expected to resume operations by year end and says it may replace fleet with Airbus A320 or Boeing 737s.
