The Ministry of Transport has told budget air carrier Jetstar Pacific to ditch the logo it shares with Australia’s Jetstar Airways or face the prospect of not being awarded a new license.
Jetstar Pacific has adopted the logo of the Jet and the orange star of Australia’s Jetstar Airways, although the Australian carrier is a minority owner in the airline. Foreign airlines aren’t permitted to run flights on Vietnam’s domestic routes.
The request was made by Minister of Transport, Ho Nghia Dung, at a meeting in Hanoi on Monday with representatives of the State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC), which holds a controlling stake of 69.93 percent in the local low-cost airline.
The other shareholders are Saigontourist Holding Co., Jetstar Pacific chief executive officer Luong Hoai Nam and strategic partner Qantas Group of Australia, owner of Australia’s Jetstar Airways.
Vo Huy Cuong, head of the Air Transport Department of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) told The Saigon Times Daily the ministry’s decision came after the airline’s use of the Jetstar Airways logo was misleading consumers to think that the Australian airline operates the domestic flights here.
“Everyone is aware that the traffic rights for our domestic routes are not granted for foreign airlines,” he said.
Cuong said the current logo would be allowed for services between Australia and Vietnam in line with the legal brand and franchise agreement between Jetstar Airways and Jetstar Pacific.
The official said the logo was one of the criteria for Jetstar Pacific to meet if the carrier wanted to receive a permanent license from the ministry.
Minister Dung said Jetstar Pacific, the second largest airline in Vietnam, must create a new logo before its license expired on October 15 next year.
The country’s first low-cost airline was transformed from Pacific Airlines to Jetstar Pacific in May last year when Australia’s Qantas Airways Ltd. bought an 18 percent stake.
The carrier currently operates some 42 flights a day to domestic destinations, including Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, the central cities of Danang and Nha Trang and northern Hai Phong City.
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