Viva Macau close to launching service
Budget airline to get regulator go-ahead this month and challenge recent arrival Oasis Hong Kong
Viva Macau, which will give south China's budget air travellers a low-cost option to the recently launched Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, is set to start scheduled operations.
The airline, majority controlled by Macau businessmen Ngan In Leng and William Ho, is close to being awarded its air operator's certificate (AOC), necessary for running commercial flights, and will begin scheduled services to Jakarta and Maldives' capital Male, as well as regional charter flights.
'We will receive our AOC by the middle of this month, and we intend to launch operations before the month is over,' chief executive Andrew Pyne said yesterday. 'We have taken the very conscious decision to not begin ticket sales until we have the AOC in place.'
Oasis started selling tickets more than six weeks before receiving an AOC, which it received only five days before its scheduled October 25 debut. That flight was then prevented from taking off for 17 hours when the carrier was refused permission to fly over Russia.
Macau's aviation authorities have given Viva a firm date for receiving the AOC, which Mr Pyne declined to disclose yesterday.
Viva, faced with rising bills, is under pressure to get the airline up in the air and revenue coming in. The carrier has two leased 767s on its books, which analysts said would be costing its owners about US$400,000 a month per aircraft. The airline also has a staff of about 150, including 100 cabin crew and pilots on the payroll.
The AOC application is being spearheaded by former Qantas and Jetstar executive Con Korfiatis, Viva's chief operating officer, according to company sources.
Mr Pyne, who would not reveal ticket prices for Viva's initial services, has previously said the airline will offer seats at about 30 per cent less than the market average for full-price carriers.
The carrier will begin offering charter services to Manila and Davao, in the Philippines, as well as to Seoul and Saigon. Frequencies are still being discussed.
'Most of the charters will be arranged in conjunction with the local casinos,' he said. 'We expect the charter segment to be a big part of our business for the first two to three years. We are also targeting regular charters to Sydney - initially four times a week - in the second half of next year.'
Mr Pyne said flights to Vancouver and Moscow were also on the cards, but 'will not be managed overnight' due to the same complex and unpredictable overflight negotiations that delayed Oasis's launch.
'Vancouver is a bit like Sydney in that we believe it is a route with a lot of potential,' he said. 'We are talking to charterers and we hope to start offering that service in the second half.'
Viva this week signed on with Guangzhou Aircraft Maintenance Engineering, in which Hutchison Whampoa has a minority stake, for all its aircraft maintenance and repair needs.
