Early operations
Pacific Airlines was established in December 1990 and began operations in April 1991 with a start-up capital of US$2.47 million. It was the first carrier to be established in Vietnam following reforms that permitted foreign investment in the country's airlines. Pacific Airlines operated chartered cargo flights to Thailand, Pakistan and France in cooperation with AOM French Airlines.[14][15][16] In 1993, prior to the lifting of the US embargo against Vietnam, the airline signed a deal with United Airlines that would have involved the training of Pacific Airlines' personnel and that had provisions for cooperation on US–Vietnam services.[17]
In 1994, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) proposed plans to the government about the possible trading of minority stakes of Vietnam Airlines, VASCO and Pacific Airlines to investors. With the lifting of the US embargo, the country was looking for funds for aircraft procurements.[18] Such plans did not materialise. However, in 1996, Pacific Airlines was consolidated with several air-service companies, including Vietnam Airlines, to establish Vietnam Airlines Corporation.[19] During the same year, Pacific Airlines wet-leased a Boeing 737-300 from Swiss charter carrier TEA Basel. In addition to its jointly serviced cargo destinations, Pacific had by now opened services to Hanoi, Hong Kong and Taipei.[20][21] In 2000, Pacific entered into an agreement with Greek charter airline Galaxy Airways whereby the Vietnamese carrier would operate flights to Taipei on its behalf.[22] In 2001, the airline's revenues totalled US$48 million, having made 3,600 flights using an Airbus A310 and two A321s.[23] From 2001 to 2004, a succession of regional and global events, namely the September 11 attacks, the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the SARS outbreak and a rise in oil prices, as well as misguided management decisions, contributed to a cumulative loss of more than US$13 million at the airline.[16] Consequently, Vietnam Airlines Corporation in late 2004 submitted a report about Pacific Airlines to the government, who decreed that all of the carrier's shares belonging to the corporation must be transferred to the Ministry of Finance (MoF).[24] As a result, the MoF assumed control of 86.49% of shares, with Saigon Tourist (13.06%) and Tradevico (0.45%) making up the rest.[25] The Ministry in January 2005 announced plans to sell all of its shares to increase the available capital by 20 times[16][26] One prospective investor was Temasek Holdings, who was looking to inject US$50 million to revive the business, which might have entailed launching passenger flights to Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.[26][27] Talks with various parties fell through. It was not until January 2007 when rumours circulated about another prospective investor.
Jetstar Pacific
Australian airline Qantas was in talks with the State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC), who was then managing the government's stake in Pacific Airlines, about a possible investment in the carrier.[28] Three months later, Qantas agreed to a minority stake in Pacific as part of its plan to expand its low-cost operations through Jetstar in Southeast Asia. The deal was finalised in July when Qantas acquired an 18% stake for US$30 million, with provisions to eventually increase the stake to 30%; SCIC held the majority of the remaining shares. The deal would see the carrier restructure as a low-cost airline and launch flights to the surrounding countries with a fleet of 30 Airbus A320s by 2014. It was renamed Jetstar Pacific Airlines (JPA, alternatively known as Jetstar Pacific) in May 2008.[29][30][31]
Return as Pacific Airlines
In June 2020, Vietnam Airlines announced that it would take over all Qantas's shares and increase its ownership of Jetstar Pacific to 98%.[49] The airline will no longer be operating under the Jetstar brand, but will revert to its original name Pacific Airlines. The ticketing system will also be migrated from the Qantas-based system used by Jetstar to the Sabre system used by Vietnam Airlines.[50]
Financial issues and restructuring proposal
Approximately one year after the Qantas withdrawal, in June 2021, Vietnam Airlines declared that the impact of COVID-19 had resulted in the financial situation of Pacific Airlines being "extremely serious", posing the possibilities of insolvency and termination of operations. The Vietnamese state-owned flag carrier is looking for investors in order to restructure Pacific Airlines, however, it was revealed that the investor selection process faced many legal and other obstacles due to the fact that it (both Vietnam Airlines and Pacific Airlines) is a
Financial issues and restructuring proposal
Approximately one year after the Qantas withdrawal, in June 2021, Vietnam Airlines declared that the impact of COVID-19 had resulted in the financial situation of Pacific Airlines being "extremely serious", posing the possibilities of insolvency and termination of operations. The Vietnamese state-owned flag carrier is looking for investors in order to restructure Pacific Airlines, however, it was revealed that the investor selection process faced many legal and other obstacles due to the fact that it (both Vietnam Airlines and Pacific Airlines) is a state-owned enterprise, admitting that the situation of Pacific Airlines "would be at risk" if no agreement is reached.[51]
In March 2024, due to serious difficulties, Pacific Airlines declared pausing its operations, with its parent Vietnam Airlines handling all the affected customers.[13]
The carrier restarted operations by June 2024 with three Airbus A321s from Vietnam Airlines, mostly to maintain its air operator's certificate.[52]
