Vietnamese airline’s 2018 bikini calendar may set pulses racing – but using sex to sell seats doesn’t fly in conservative travel markets
Vietjet Air says photo shoot was to ‘showcase the airline’s high-quality service’, but the scantily clad women pictured in it are mostly not Vietnamese and don’t work on any of the company’s 49 aircraft – they are models
What matters most to you when choosing an airline? It’s probably low fares, free bags, or convenient flight times. Or perhaps it’s an expectation that your flight will have bikini-clad attendants.
Not for the first time, Vietnamese discount carrier VietJet Air is using sex to sell seats, unveiling a promotional calendar for 2018 featuring women in bikinis.
The airline, which flies from Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City and serves 23 domestic and 10 international destinations, is calling its VietJet Bikini Calendar a “hot item for all aviation fans and travellers”. It also appeared to suggest that this wasn’t only about sex.
“The hot and sexy models have always been the favourite of many VietJet passengers,” said a media representative for the airline. “Not only displaying their gorgeous looks, the models posed in different cabin crew and staff roles to showcase the airline’s high-quality service and friendly staff.”
Sexual harassment during flights may be a blind spot for airlines, particularly in Asia
So is this stunt really about promoting good customer service? The calendar includes images of scantily clad women posing as pilots, air traffic controllers, technicians, maintenance staff and flight attendants. All of this is in aid of “presenting a very interesting perspective to the airline’s excellent services and modern fleet”, according to the media release.
