Air Mekong To Launch Flights With Help From SkyWest
News AWIN First Jul 26 , 2010 Neelam Mathews Startup Air Mekong plans to launch operations on Oct. 10, the millennium of Hanoi, Vietnam, AVIATION WEEK has learned. The majority partner with 70% is BIM Group, Ha Long Investment and Development, and 30% is held by U.S. regional carrier SkyWest Airlines, looking at the country for growth outside the U.S. SkyWest’s wholly owned subsidiary Atlantic Southeast Airlines will manage Air Mekong and supply flight crews. SkyWest’s decision is supported by figures released by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, which show Vietnam is having one of the strongest financial recoveries in the region. Visitor arrivals in the first four months of 2010 numbered 1.78 million, 35% more than in the same period the previous year. Regional tourism has picked up with Chinese arrivals jumping 95% year-on-year in April. South Korean and Cambodian visitors also posted strong increases, of 38% and 98%, respectively. Arrivals from the U.S. gre...