Let's hope they still have some money to spend on future cable cars.
VnExpress reports that Sun Group — a tourism developer best known for Bà Nà Hills, home of the notorious Golden Bridge — has been granted a business license for an airline. Sun Air expects to begin operations in the third quarter of this year with an initial focus on the wealthy and a fleet of private jets, helicopters and sea planes.
Two US$65 million Gulfstream G650 business jets with room for up to 18 passengers will take off first, and by 2025, Sun Air aims to add five more Gulfstream private jets to its collection, along with one helicopter and two seaplanes.
Tuoi Tre adds that the airline's initial capital is US$4.37 million, and it will be based at Vân Đồn International Airport in Quảng Ninh Province. Sun Group built Vân Đồn, the first privately funded airport in Vietnam.
Its target passenger markets include Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, South Korea and Japan, with flights aimed at capitalist practitioners who need flights for project surveys, medical treatment, sightseeing, tourism or luxury resort trips.
Sun Air also intends to deploy larger, long-haul business jets from Boeing and Airbus in the future, though that timeline is unclear.
It will join Vietnam's six existing domestic airlines — Vietnam Airlines, VietJet, Pacific Airlines, VASCO, Bamboo Airways, and Vietravel Airlines, which was the previous newest addition to the market.
[Photo via VietnamPlus]
