It looks as though Vietnam's Bamboo Airways could lose its new kid on the block status. The Vietnamese Vingroup is reportedly seeking to start the sixth airline in the Vietnam aviation industry. The new airline undertaking would be known as Vinpearl Air.

Over the past year, we've been tracking Bamboo Air's impressive journey to become a fully fledged Vietnamese carrier. However, we've also seen that Vietnam's aviation is experiencing huge growth coupled with the country's rising tourism. It comes as no surprise then that another airline wishes to join the competition.

One of the fastest growing aviation industries

Coupled with its strong growth in tourism, the Vietnamese aviation industry has grown 17.4% in the past decade. This has catapulted it to the position of one of the world's fastest-growing aviation industries. For comparison, the average growth figure for the whole of Asia over the past decade was 7.9% according to the International Air Transport Association. The country also recently received a category 1 safety rating from the FAA. It is likely that Vinpearl Air hopes to capitalize on this.

It isn't just the aviation industry that is growing, however. In the same decade, Vietnam’s GDP increased by 225%. Tourism plays a big role in this. In 2017 airlines in Vietnam carried 94 million passengers, and of these, 13 million were foreign. This, in turn, means almost 14% of passengers were international visitors.

Bamboo Airways Vinpearl Air Vietnam Aviation
.Vietnam's aviation industry is experiencing huge growth. Photo: Tokimvuong via Wikimedia

Vinpearl Air

Vinpearl Air is the latest airline to be proposed for the nation of Vietnam. It would join Vietnam Airlines, Jetstar Pacific, VietJet Air, Bamboo Airways and Vasco. Vinpearl Air hopes to become an international airline and has already undertaken steps to ensure its foundation. Recently founded Bamboo Airways is eyeing launching flights to the United States with an Airbus A380.

Vinpearl Air has already received a business license from the Vietnamese Authorities, which was an issue that had delayed the launch of Bamboo Airways. Additionally, the airline currently has three founding shareholders according to Vietnam News. VinAsia Tourism Development owns 45%, Hoang Quoc Thuy owns 30%, while Pham Khac Phuong owns the remaining 25%.

The airline has been registered as having a starting capital of VNĐ1.3 trillion. This amount of capital is a requirement in order to be permitted to have more than 30 aircraft and to operate international routes from Vietnam.  According to Air Transport World, Bamboo Airways had an initial startup of VND700 million. However, this was increased to VND2 trillion in April 2019.

Bamboo Airways Vinpearl Air Vietnam Aviation
There's no word yet on when the airline aims to launch flights. Photo via Pixabay

Training employees

Vinpearl has additionally signed an agreement to be able to train its employees locally. In fact, the agreement made with CAE will lead to the set up of two schools in Vietnam. It is thought VinAviation School will be responsible for training pilots. Meanwhile, Vinpearl Air Training Centre likely cater to other aviation focused careers.

It was not immediately apparent to Simple Flying when the airline plans to commence flights.

What do you think of Vinpearl Air? Does Vietnam need another carrier? Let us know in the comments!