Indochina Airlines

Indochina Airlines (Vietnamese: Hãng Hàng không Đông Dương) was a Vietnamese airline based in Ho Chi Minh City. It was the first operational private airline based in Vietnam, originally licensed in May 2008 as Air Speed Up (Vietnamese: Hãng hàng không Tăng Tốc).[1] The founder and chairman of the board was Vietnamese musician Hà Hùng Dũng. Indochina Airlines began selling tickets on 12 November 2008 and launched its first commercial flight from Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City to Nội Bài International Airport in Hanoi and Đà Nẵng International Airport in Đà Nẵng on 25 November 2008.[2] After a series of difficulties, including unresolved debts and a drop in customers, Indochina Airlines ceased flying on November 25, 2009; its schedule was revoked two days later.

Indochina Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
VP AXC AIRSPUP
Founded2008
Commenced operations25 November 2008
Ceased operations25 November 2009
HubsTân Sơn Nhất International Airport
Fleet size1
Destinations3
HeadquartersHo Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Key peopleHà Hùng Dũng (Chairman)
Websitewww.indochinaairlines.vn

Establishment

The company was first incorporated and licensed as "Air Speed Up" in May 2008. The Vietnamese name, Tăng Tốc, as spelled, means "speed up"; however, if written without accents (i.e., Tang Toc), the name would translate to "death and grief". For this reason, the company applied for a name change soon after it was licensed. Initially, company chairman Hà Hùng Dũng planned to purchase the Viet Airways brand owned by Jetstar Pacific Airlines,[3] but Jetstar Pacific declined the sale, citing the desire to develop the Viet Airways brand in the future.

Destinations

Indochina Airlines ended service to all destinations in November 2009.[4] While active, it served the following destinations:

Fleet

The Indochina Airlines fleet at its peak consisted of two wet-leased Boeing 737-800s.[6] Due to financial problems, the airline's last remaining aircraft was returned to its lessor Travel Service Airlines on November 25, 2009. Indochina Airlines was officially declared bankrupt on December 15, 2009.

References
  1. Indochina marred by problems from the start. LifeinVN.
  2. "Indochina expected to take off in November". vnbusinessnews. 2008-10-22. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
  3. Air Speed Up wants to change name Archived February 17, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. VietnamNet Bridge.
  4. http://dantri.com.vn/c20/s20-363881/hang-hang-khong-ha-dung-tam-ngung-bay.htm
  5. vnexpress
  6. "Indochina Airlines Fleet". Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.