The creative director of Vietnamese would-be start-up Sun Phu Quoc Airlines has revealed that the carrier is a partnership between the Vietnamese government and privately held real estate and property company Sun Group.
Bill Bensley of Bangkok's Bensley Design Studios told the Skift Asia Forum that the government is interested in promoting Phu Quoc Island, where Sun Group has hotel interests, and will operate a hub-and-spoke network from Phu Quoc.
“We're going to build, within three years, this 40-fleet airline," said Bensley. “We want it to be very high-end, like Qatar Airways with half the plane in executive class and first class.”
State-owned Phu Quoc Airport is slated for a massive redevelopment, complementing the government's goal of developing Phu Quoc Island as a major tourist destination and economic zone. The first stage of the redevelopment, to be completed by 2030, will cost VND26.5 trillon dong (USD1 billion) and increase the airport's annual passenger capacity from the current four million to ten million. The second stage, targeted for completion by 2050, will cost another USD1 billion but increase Phu Quoc's annual passenger capacity to 50 million.
Meanwhile, Sun Group has committed USD96 million to the start-up costs of Sun Phu Quoc Airlines and says it hopes to be operating by the end of the year. However, it has not said where or how it will source its aircraft.
