Hanoi takes another potshot at Qantas
HANOI – The fractured relationship between Jetstar Pacific, part owned by Qantas, and the communist government of Vietnam shows no sign of healing.
In the last broadside from Hanoi, managers at the Vietnamese budget airline have been accused of violating maintenance regulations.
Jetstar Pacific’s largest shareholder is the Vietnamese government.
The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) ruled three officials made mistakes in monitoring maintenance work and had not fulfilled the company’s commitment to safety, Vietnam News Agency said.
It identified the managers as former general director Luong Hoai Nam and two foreigners who headed the airline’s maintenance and technical quality sections. It did not say where the foreigners were from.
“Key JPA executives have to take responsibility for these systematic mistakes,” the report quoted the CAAV as saying.
Hanoi police arrested Luong Hoai Nam last week for alleged neglect of responsibility in the performance of his duty causing “serious consequences”, local media reports said.
Qantas said on Friday that two of its senior executives have been ordered not to leave Vietnam as they help authorities explain how Jetstar Pacific lost $US31 million in fuel hedging.
Writing his Plane Talking blog, aviation analyst Ben Sandilands asked, “How much clearer does the message from Hanoi to Qantas need to be?
In October last year it told Jetstar Pacific it could no longer use the Jetstar brand on the 27% owned franchise after this October, on the expiry of the commercial agreement between Qantas and the investment arm of the Vietnamese government, which owns a 70% stake.
In December it refused to allow two Australian executives in the carrier to leave the country pending investigations into a fuel hedging loss of around $33 million.
“This week it is officially complaining about safety issues perpetrated, allegedly, by the carrier’s Australian management, which in vague terms, it described as putting ‘flights at risk’.
“Hmm. There seems to be a pattern emerging here. You can’t be Jetstar anymore, you are responsible for losing tens of millions of dollars, and you’re unsafe.
“The murmurings from Qantas in response to this so far would leave shareholders wondering how attuned to the fate of their $US 50 million investment in Vietnam the company really is, since it keeps expressing confidence these problems, where or if they exist, can be overcome.
“There has to be another side to the story, the Qantas side, which is capable of being expressed in more than vague nothings.
“It is obvious that the safety allegations, which were first circulated with less drama last year, have now been wheeled out as a third dose of pressure by the communist regime in Vietnam on an airline that appears to be deaf,†Sandilands wrote.
Ian Jarrett
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Digital Travel Reporter of the Mirror totally seduced by HotelPlanner AI Travel Agent
Strike action set to cause travel chaos at Brussels airports