Mr Saphyr said that the company can offer airfares equivalent to or even less than the rates currently offered by Vietnam Airlines.

Cessna has been eyeing Vietnam since the draft decree was issued allowing foreign institutions to join forces with domestic entities to form joint ventures in the aviation industry.

The Vietnam Air Service Company (VASCO) once chartered Cessna’s aircrafts.

Cessna and VASCO will form a joint venture in air taxi services, in which Cessna will make capital contribution in aircrafts and will be responsible for training pilots and maintenance. Mr Saphyr said that Cessna has thoroughly surveyed the market and realises that demand for air taxi services is very big in Vietnam.   

There are 100 cases every year of patients chartering aircrafts to travel abroad for medical care at an average cost of $15,000 per trip.

Cessna plans to put luxury aircrafts into operation that have bars, swivel chairs, beds and telecommunication facilities in the passenger lounges. The aircrafts can fly 3,000 km without having to refuel.

Regarding airfare, Mr Saphyr said that on luxury aircrafts it would cost $310 per passenger to fly from Hanoi to HCM City, and it would cost $4,000 to charter one aircraft. With popular aircrafts, the airfares will be much lower. For example, passengers will only have to pay $30 per trip from Hanoi to Dien Bien.

Aircrafts that will be put into operation by Cessna can meet technical requirements to take off from West Lake in Hanoi and land in Sa Pa, Ha Giang and other places that have not seen any air routes opened by other Vietnamese air carriers. The aircrafts can also land on the seashore as they need only a 300m runway to take off or land.

If everything goes smoothly, the first flights provided by Cessna will be available in six months, according to Mr Saphyr. The biggest difficulties now for Cessna are seeking permission to provide air taxi services, training pilots and getting certificates for aircraft quality. In the immediate time, Cessna will put one luxury aircraft (Jet) and two popular aircrafts (Caravan) into operation, each of which can carry 12-16 passengers per flight.

(Source: Tuoi tre)