Former Jetstar Pacific deputy general directors leave Vietnam

Australia’s Qantas Group affirmed that it will continue its investment in the budget airline Jetstar Pacific. Two former deputy general directors of Jetstar Pacific, Daniela Marsilli and Tristan Freeman, were been allowed to exit Vietnam and left on July 1.

Through its communication representative in Vietnam, Qantas Group has confirmed that the two former deputy general directors of Jetstar Pacific have cooperated with Vietnamese government agencies and have been allowed to leave Vietnam.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the two were not allowed to exit Vietnam because of their involvement in the investigation of the $36 million loss that Jetstar Pacific incurred due to petrol hedging in 2008.

Prior to that, when answering questions from VietNamNet, Le Song Lai, General Director of Jetstar Pacific, noted that Kwan Yue, a Singaporean, had been appointed as Jetstar Pacific’s new Deputy General Director, replacing replaced Daniela Marsilli. Deputy General Director Tristan Freeman also stopped working for Jetstar Pacific.

Qantas Group has injected $50 million in Jetstar Pacific, or 27 percent of the airline’s capital. The Vietnam’s budget airline’s biggest shareholder is the State. The State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) is now managing the state’s capital in the air carrier.

Over the last year, Jetstar Pacific has coped with a lot of ups and downs. It once faced the accusation of using unsafe aircraft. Most recently, the Ministry of Transport told the air carrier to change its logo, because its currently used logo may lead to misunderstanding, and people may mistake Jetstar Pacific for Australia’s Jetstar Airways.

David Epstein, a high ranking executive of Australian Qantas Group, affirmed that there will be not any changes in its investment plan. He remarked that the Australian group intends to increase its capital contribution to 30 percent, the highest level of capital that a foreign partner can hold in a domestic airline.

The senior executive added that, if Qantas had had concern about the investment in the future, it would have left Vietnam already.

Under the contract signed with Jetstar Pacific, if Qantas wants to stop investment, it would sell its $50 million to the Vietnamese side, a decision that should be released in June 2010. Qantas chose to stay.

Tags: Jetstar Pacific, Vietnam aviation, Vietnam aviation industry, Vietnam aviation market