What a time to unveil a new airline

The world remains in a crisis caused by Covid-19 as several aviation operators have gone out of business but one travel company thinks this is the ideal time to launch a new airline.

Vietnam Travel Aviation Company Limited, to be known as Vietravel Airlines, was officially launched on December 26, industry newsletter Travel Mole reported.It will become Vietnam's sixth airline and will start selling tickets from January 1, director general Vu Duc Bien said.

The airline has taken delivery of its first Airbus aircraft and will acquire two more in the coming weeks.

It hopes to have up to 10 planes within five years with a route network that will focus on Hue and tourist destinations in the central coast region from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City.

It has plans to expand to other domestic destinations, and eventually to cities across the ASEAN region, Bien said.

The airline is based at Phu Bai Hue International Airport (above) and is targeting one million passengers in its first year of operation.

It is backed by Vietravel, one of the country's largest tour operators.

Full marks to them for optimism, if not for timing.