Vietjet the only profit-making Vietnamese airline

Vietjet Air was the only Vietnamese carrier that reported profits in 2021, while its rivals Vietnam Airlines and Bamboo Airways both recorded losses of tens of millions of US dollars.

Vietjet Air posted net revenue of VND2,788 billion ($122 million) in Q4/2021, down 37% year-on-year, of which revenue from freight transport hit over $63 million, up 262%, according to the firm's financial report. It recorded a loss of more than $4.07 million in this quarter.

However, in the entire 2021, the company achieved profit after tax of $4.3 million, up 46% against 2020 from consolidated revenue of $568 million.

AirlineRatings, an airline safety and products rating system, named Vietjet as one of the world’s best airlines and best ultra low-cost airlines in 2021.

Vietnam Airlines, on the other hand, reported revenue of VND9,212 billion (nearly $403 million) in Q4/2021, up 13%. Total revenue in 2021 reached $1.23 billion, a 31% decline from 2020.

The carrier posted a loss of nearly $52 million in Q4/2021, contributing to the entire year's loss of $583 million.

As of December 31, 2021, the national airline’s total assets reached $2.76 billion, climbing $21.9 million from the last quarter.

By issuing 800 million shares to its current stakeholders last September, Vietnam Airlines successfully eliminated the risk of delisting on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, raising its chartered capital by $350 million to $969 million. However, its equity by the end of the year was only $22.2 million, down 91.7% from 2020.

Despite its youth, Bamboo Airways demonstrated its strong growth in recent years, with pre-tax profit of VND300 billion ($13 million) in 2019 and $17.5 million in 2020.

According to the consolidated financial statement of FLC, the group held a 21.7% stake of Bamboo Airways by the end of 2021 and incurred a loss of $21.9 million from the carrier. This means the airline could have lost $101 million last year.

As of the beginning of 2021, Bamboo Airways's charter capital was $306 million. In the first nine months of 2021, the company increased its chartered capital four times, to nearly $460 million on February 5, $547 million on April 13, $700 million on April 26, and $810 million on September 9.

As of December 31 last year, the carrier’s equity was $733.7 million, up 220% in a year, according to its unaudited 2021 financial statements.

Bamboo Airways recently proposed to the Ministry of Transport to allow its fleet to expand from 29 to 100 aircraft by 2028, which the firm described as "extremely urgent" to boost its competitiveness.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, Vietnam Airlines Group, including Vietnam Airlines, Jetstar Pacific, and VASCO, led the pack in terms of number of flights in 2021 with 59,431 flights. Vietjet Air operated 40,676 flights, down 47.5%, while Bamboo Airways carried 24,823 flights, a slight decrease of 12.7%.