Small Bites Hall of Shame: Vietjet Strands Wheelchair Passenger; Passenger Slaps Staff, Vietnam Crew Smuggle Gold

Vietjet Air (VJ) staffers at Danang International Airport (DAD) in central Vietnam decided to strand a wheelchair-bound passenger, citing safety concerns. The passenger originally flew in from Hanoi (HAN) with no issues, but when she checked in for the return flight, rather than deal with assisting her from the tarmac up the airstairs to the plane, the staffers thought it was more prudent to cancel her ticket and issued a refund.  The passenger had to wait another 6 hours for an available seat on a Vietnam Airlines (VNA) flight. The staffers were subsequently fined VND 5 million by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), or approximately USD 250, with further discipline possible from the company.

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On the flipside of VJ news, a female passenger was fined VND 7.5 million (approx. USD 345) by the CAAV for slapping a male VJ staffer after she was asked, and agreed to, to have her carryon luggage weighed. VJ has a 7kg limit on carryons, and the passenger was indeed over the limit.

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VNA isn't immune to bad news: Both a pilot and a flight attendant were arrested in Busan, South Korea for smuggling gold in their shoes without declaration.  What's more amazing is that they apparently didn't know the other was doing the same thing, even though they were each being paid USD 250 to smuggle the gold in their shoes.  The gold, at present prices, was valued at over USD 227,000.

40-Minute VietJet Air Flight Delayed for Over 10 Hours

VietJet Air Passengers getting off
their plane that went out of service for
10 hours. Image source: Thanh Nien
News.

VietJet Air's (VJ's) nasty reputation for being chronically late has reared its ugly head again.

Passengers at Phu Quoc Airport (PQC) for hoping for an uneventful short flight to Saigon (SGN) were subject to rolling delays amounting to 10 hours that apparently included the aircraft itself repeatedly going around in circles from paddock (there currently are no jet bridges attached to the terminals, so boarding is by bus and airstairs) to taxiways back to its parking spot.

From personal experience, the flight time from PQC to SGN should take about 40 minutes, or about an hour from gate to gate.

A mechanical issue was reported to be the problem, and I don't fault anyone for playing it safe, but this severity of this delay was compounded by several variables:

• The mechanical fault itself;
• PQC is essentially a remote outstation on an island, with no aircraft maintenance services present. Even if VJ wanted to borrow VNA's tools and equipment, they couldn't (not that VNA would want to lend them the tools);
• VJ only has 3 flights a day from SGN, where the part was coming from;
• VNA only has 4-5 flights a day, many on small prop planes, so it would have been tough to get passengers reaccommodated (again, only if VNA was a willing participant);
• There are limited services at PQC, and I'm not sure if VJ handed out vouchers that could be used at the couple of eateries there (with my most major delay with VNA, they passed out meals out of a galley cart).
• VJ fully utilizes its small fleet, so no other aircraft would be available as a replacement, especially at an outstation.

Mechanical issues are inevitable, but it's how airlines handle the irregular operations (IRROPS) that make or break the passengers' experience.

One more interesting tidbit: It looks like there was a decree requiring airlines to refund passengers their airfare if their flight was delayed by more than 5 hours. We'll see how VJ handles this (I wouldn't be surprised if this "refund" came in the form of a voucher for future use on the airline).

Sounds like VJ gets a D- on this occurrence (and not a full-blown F, since apparently they did try to feed the passengers).

Lesbian Couple Weds on VietJet Flight

Image source: VietJet Air

This past Valentine's Day, a same-sex couple wed in an inflight ceremony performed aboard a regularly-scheduled VietJet Air (VJ) flight from Tan Son Nhat Airport (SGN) to Bangkok (BKK).

The couple, Tang Ai Linh and Pham Thi Thanh Phuong, approached VJ to conduct the ceremony onboard one of their flights. The airline agreed and arranged to cover not only the cost of the ceremony itself, but also the newlyweds' honeymoon trip to Thailand.

VJ flight attendants stood in as the couple's bridesmaids, and the airline decked out the cabin with flowers and even a cake.

While it may be serving as a publicity stunt by VJ, indicated by the fact that the airline paid for the content to be posted on Thanh Nien News, it's no less significant, given the cultural stance of the generally-conservative Vietnamese population, the majority of which are opposed to same-sex marriage and still consider the subject taboo.

Until recently, same-sex couples were subject to fines if they held a wedding ceremony in Vietnam. However in November of 2013, the Vietnamese government issued a decree removing the fine, and the National Assembly subsequently amended the country's constitution to remove the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman.

These were significant steps for a country in which the first gay pride parade took place only in 2012, but the rights of same-sex couples still remain short of those in more "traditional" marriages.

The amended Law on Marriage and Family took effect on January 1 of this year, and while the ban on same-sex marriage has been lifted, the law also does not actively recognize those unions, and thus Vietnam does not afford the same legal protections as a heterosexual couple.

Still, LGBT activists in Vietnam laud the progress as stepping stones to an expansion of rights. Others cite the potential growth in LGBT tourism in light of Vietnam's increasing tolerance and acceptance.

Other nearby countries are not so welcoming. While Thailand is seen as the most gay-friendly country in the region, Singapore recently upheld its anti-gay law, while parts of Indonesia punishes homosexuality with 100 days in jail or 100 lashes. The penalty for homosexuality in Brunei is death by stoning.

Even Vietnam has been inconsistent in the LGBT arena. In 2009, the government for the first time officially recognized the first transgendered citizen, only to later revoke that recognition in 2013.

VJ is no stranger to controversy, already having two "bikini" incidents in its short 3-year existence, both leading to public apologies and one incurring a fine from the government.

Small Bites: Thai VietJet to Start in March; New Plane for VietJet; Car Crashes Into Crowd at SGN

Thai VietJet Air (V9) will begin scheduled passenger service in March 29, after previously launching with charter services. The offshoot of VietJet Air (VJ) will operating new Airbus A320s (A320) with 180-seats in an all-economy configuration. The A320s will be supplied by parent VJ, as part of their 100-aircraft order with Airbus from 2013.

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Speaking of VJ, it just took delivery on Friday of its second A320 from its 2013 order, bringing its fleet total to 21 aircraft. The first 19 planes were acquired through leases.

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On Wednesday, a car waiting to pick up a passenger lost control and injured 11 people as it plowed forward. The driver, for reasons unclear, reported that he mistook the brake pedal for the accelerator. The passenger, singer/model Ho Ngoc Ha, was not injured and visited victims in the hospital. The investigation is ongoing.

VietJet Air wants to grow aggressively, gets money to do it, needs even more money

A VJ A320 in typical company livery. There are several planes
acting as flying billboards, with large advertiser logos.

VietJet Air (IATA code: VJ) is not the first privately-owned airline in Vietnam, but has been the most successful up until now, and has aspirations of continuing its success in a big way.

This is even more notable in that it's primary competitor is state-run Vietnam Airlines (VNA), with a deep war chest of funds to rely on. Most other private competitors have folded shortly after commencing service.

What sets VJ apart is its low cost carrier (LLC) concept, versus VNA's traditional full-service. VJ charges a very low base fare for the plane ticket itself (sometimes as low as US$0), then has fees for almost everything else; ticketing, preselecting seats, purchasing food and drinks on board, even just the mere act of paying in any form incurs a fee.

And people have loved it. VJ trumpeted an 88% load factor and carrying their 10 millionth passenger in its 3 years of existence. The carrier generated nearly US$379 million in revenue in 2014, and even started up its own subsidiary, Thai Vietjet Air.

Leaked photo alledgedly from a bikini
photoshoot onboard a VJ aircraft.
Image source: Tuoi Tre News

Its exuberance has also drawn the ire of the socially conservative Vietnamese government, their most famous incident being an unauthorized in-flight bikini show in 2012 that lead to a nearly US$1,000 in fines. More recently in late 2014, photos were leaked from a purported racy photoshoot that VJ has since disclaimed as unauthorized and not part of an official company promotion.

The company currently has 20 Airbus A320 aircraft operating 150 flights a day to every major city in Vietnam, and several smaller communities, but that's still not enough.

Last year, VJ committed to acquiring up to another 93 A320-family aircraft from Airbus for up to US$9 billion at list prices... even though airlines usually don't pay full price, that's a lot of planes for a young startup company. The order includes 14 current A320s, 43 more-efficient A320neos, and 7 of the larger A321s (the same aircraft VNA uses as its workhorse), with the remaining as options for additional aircraft.

To assist VJ's fleet expansion plans, TPBank of Hanoi has extended a US$400 million line of credit for their initial set of aircraft. This is on top of a US$21 million credit for the down payment of the Airbus order.

VJ is also mulling a bond sale to raise US$200-300 million. as well as an initial public offering (IPO) aimed to raise another US$500-800 million.

Plans for international long-haul expansion have been tempered to focus on strengthening it's domestic network and growing its regional footprint. VJ has decided to take the strategically safer growth plan and temporarily hold off on acquiring widebody aircraft for long-haul services. 

Delaying the start of long-haul service on widebody jets is probably a smart play, especially in light of Japan's Skymark Airlines (BC) declaring bankruptcy, due mainly, according to experts, to its order of the massive Airbus A380 to start Tokyo-New York service, even though BC was primarily a domestic airline using single-aisle aircraft.

2015 should prove an interesting year for VJ, as well as VNA if VJ continues on its trajectory of growth and revenue.

What has been your experience with VJ... would you recommend them? If you haven't flown VJ, would you give them a change, or would you rather stick to traditional-service VNA?

79 Pilot Trainees in Limbo in California After Their Flight School Closes

Flight school owner disappears in October and leaves pilot trainees with no reaccommodation, after FAA suspended accreditation to Ahart Aviation of Livermore, CA. 

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Image source: Yelp

Seven-nine pilot trainees from Vietnam are in a bind after their flight school shut down following the suspension of its FAA accreditation and the owner, Minh Duc Nguyen, disappeared.

Read more: 8 Simple Tips for Preventing Theft on Your Next Flight

Ahart Aviation in Livermore, CA, shuttered its doors in last October, much to the dismay of the students, who each paid at least US$80,000 in tuition to attend the school and earn certification as a commercial pilot.

Twenty-one of the students were sent by low-cost carrier Vietjet Air.

Vietnam's Minister of Transport has called on Vietnam Airlines (VNA) to assist the trainees. In response, VNA has offered to cover half the cost of tuition for the trainees to attend other flight schools, as well as help in job placement upon the trainees' return to Vietnam.

A review of Ahart's online ratings on Yelp shows that customer dissatisfaction immediately ensued following the Nguyen's acquisition of Ahart from the previous owner, Bill Komanetski, with allegations of catering only to foreign students and no notice to current patrons of the shutdown.

Anyone knowing the whereabouts of Minh Duc Nguyen is encouraged to contact the Alameda County (CA) District Attorney's Office at +1 (510) 272-6222,

Read more: Vietnam Airlines' Boeing 787: New Lie-Flat Seats in Business, 2 Different Economy Configurations