Local airlines banned from using foreign trademarks

The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam has banned local carriers from using brands and logos of foreign airlines for their services.

Foreign airlines are also not allowed to directly control business plans, revenues and profits at a local airline, Lai Xuan Thanh, deputy head of the administration, said Sunday.

The administration is trying to tighten control over foreign-invested airlines in Vietnam and prevent them from reporting fake losses in revenue, Thanh said.

The decision came after VietJet Air, the first private airline to be licensed in Vietnam, sold a 30 percent stake to Malaysia’s low cost carrier AirAsia and planned to name its new joint venture VietJet AirAsia.

Thanh was quoted by local news website VnExpress as saying AirAsia’s acquisition of the stake was legitimate but VietJet Air needs to think carefully about using the brand of its foreign partner.

He also asked low cost carrier Jetstar Pacific Airlines to report its plan to change trademarks or it would not be allowed to open new routes.

Local carrier Pacific Airlines was renamed Jetstar Pacific Airlines in May 2008 under a branding agreement with Jetstar Airways, which is a subsidiary of Australia-based Qantas Airlines.

The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam has several times warned Jetstar Pacific Airlines against using the “Jetstar” logo or “Jet” and a star image, saying these trademarks could cause people to confuse the Vietnamese airline with Australian carrier Jetstar Airways. But Jetstar Pacific Airlines has said that under the branding agreement, it has the right to use Jetstar’s brand name.

Thanh Nien

Tags: AirAsia, VietJet, Vietnam aviation, Vietnam aviation market