Vietjet is set to introduce several new cargo services this year as Vietnam’s largest budget airline solidifies its global position in cargo transportation.
The cargo division’s standing VP Tran Quang Hoa said the carrier would closely follow the development of the logistics market to meet the demand.
“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 last year, the carrier 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.
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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.
Last year it 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.
“I believe that freight transportation will continue to be our focus sector which brings in breakthroughs and extra revenue for Vietjet in 2021,” Hoa said, adding that the carrier will install automatic stacking line to ensure aircraft turnaround time, whilst generating savings on labour and costs.
Earlier in 2020, Vietjet has quickly shifted to cargo business in response to the pandemic which has unprecedentedly interrupted global travelling.
After being approved for cargo operation in passenger cabin (CIPC), Vietjet has carried out several all-cargo flights capable of carrying up to 23 tonnes 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 tonnes of goods between countries, up 75 percent year on year in cargo revenue. With newly established interline cooperations, the airline has sent goods to the Americas and Europe which were initially on hold for future plans. It ended the year as one of the few airlines in the world reporting a positive consolidated financial statement. It was named Belly Carrier of the Year and the Low-Cost Carrier of the Year in the 7th edition of the Payload Asia Awards held in January.
