A well-known, low-cost Vietnamese Airline ‘Vietjet Air’, also infamously called the ‘bikini airline’, has announced that it will operate direct flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Delhi from July, later this year.
As reported by Asian Age, the airlines will operate direct flights between the two cities about four times a week, a plan that was announced at the Vietnam–India Business Forum that celebrated the 45th anniversary of India-Vietnam diplomatic relationship.
The report claims that the airlines, founded by female billionaire entrepreneur Nguyen Thi Phung Thao, came under great heat in 2012, due to its use of bikini-clad flight attendants, pilots and risque in their marketing campaigns.
Although the airlines had begun its operations only in 2011, it gained a lot of popularity and became the country’s second largest airline, due to its bikini-clad flight attendants, in no time.
According to Financial Express, the airlines had also received great backlash for its on-board “fashion shows” which featured models in swimsuits, walking down the aisle.
In response to the negative publicity her airlines was gathering, Thao , who’s net worth stands at a rough $3.4 billion according to Financial Express, defended the marketing controversies of the company by saying that the company’s aim was “empowering images in Vietnam’s conservative culture”.
The report also mentions that despite all the negative publicity, the company’s growth has been significant since its launch in 2011. In the latest quarter, it reported a pre-tax profit of 4.76 trillion dong($209.10 million) last year, which was up by a whopping 75.9 percent.
Adding to this, Financial Express quoting Reuters mentions that the company also has a fleet of 55 A320 and A321 aircraft, and runs 385 flights on 82 domestic and international routes.
(With inputs from Asian Age and Financial Express)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)