Thai Vietjet regains certification to launch new international route

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Thai Vietjet, an offshoot of rapidly growing Vietnamese airline group Vietjet Aviation JSC, has had its operating license recertified by Thai authorities, allowing it to launch a new international route, the parent company said.

Thai Vietjet is the first plank of Vietjet's strategy of forming joint ventures in Asian countries to expand its brand and reach, as Malaysia's AirAsia Bhd and Indonesia's Lion Air already have done.

VietJet grabbed headlines with bikini-clad flight attendants when it launched in 2011, and its success on the Ho Chi Minh stock exchange reflects its rapid ascent since, including 45 jets operating in the domestic and international market.

The airline has 119 Airbus SE A320 family and 100 Boeing Co. 737 narrow bodies on order, making it a very important customer for both manufacturers.

CAPA Centre for Aviation last month said Vietjet needed markets beyond Vietnam in order to use all of those aircraft, but said it would face challenges doing so because rival low-cost carriers were already established in most markets.

"We believe that the certification will further reassure the confidence of travellers across the globe in our services and the Thai airline industry as well," Thai Vietjet CEO Nguyen Thi Thuy Binh said in a statement on Wednesday evening.