Ho Chi Minh City. 26 February 2021. Vietjet is set to introduce several new cargo services this year as Vietnam’s largest low-cost airline is solidifying its global position in cargo transportation.
Vietjet Cargo Standing Vice President Tran Quang Hoa said that the carrier would diversify its range of cargo services to closely follow the development of the logistics market, meeting the mounting demand of goods delivery.
“These services will be developed based on our existing products in 2020 which have optimized our fleet and operation and raked in quite a considerable amount of revenue for Vietjet in the past year,” he said.
In late November, 2020, the carrier has received a license from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam on transporting special goods on cargo flights. It is highly expected to draw in big cash for Vietjet in 2021, especially after the airline has taken several orders of electronic components delivery from large tech groups, Hoa said.
Vietjet has heavily invested in an emerging local tech-based delivery platform Swift247 to take advantage of its technical infrastructure, according to Hoa. The carrier is targeting the potential express delivery market as it is looking to find new sources of cash and increase profit.
Vietjet last year also inked an agreement with a top global shipping and logistics partner to set up a transcontinental transportation network to achieve growth in both cargo volume and revenue.
He also revealed that carrier would install automatic stacking line to save costs and human labour while ensuring the aircraft turnaround time.
“I believe that freight transportation will continue to be our focus sector which brings in breakthroughs and extra revenue for Vietjet in 2021,” he said.
Earlier in 2020, Vietjet has quickly shifted to cargo business in response to the pandemic which has unprecedentedly interrupted global travelling. A report by the International Air Transport Association shows that the number of flying passengers of airlines was down by more than 66% last year.
After being approved for cargo operation in passenger cabin (CIPC), Vietjet has carried out several all-cargo flights capable of carrying up to 23 tons per flight, four times higher than the usual belly freight. It also led efforts in rescue missions in the Central region by transporting hundreds of thousands of relief supplies like food, medicine and essential goods for free. Vietjet also supported to take doctors, medical equipment and masks to COVID-19 disease infected zones in Vietnam and abroad.
In 2020, Vietjet has transported more than 60,000 tons of goods between countries, reporting a 75% increase year on year in cargo revenue. With newly established interline co-operations, Vietjet has sent goods to the Americas and Europe which were initially on hold for future plans.
Vietjet has ended 2020 being one of a few airlines in the world reporting a positive consolidated financial statement. It was hailed by Payload Asia as the Best Belly Carrier of the Year and the Best Low-Cost Carrier of the Year.
