| |
| Qantas executives held in Vietnam |
|
09/Jan/2010 Intellasia | The Australian |
|
9 Jan, 2010 - 7:09:20 AM |
|
Two Australian Qantas executives have been held in Vietnam and the former boss of joint venture Jetstar Pacific arrested over losses at the budget carrier.
Qantas executives Daniela Marsilli and Tristan Freeman have not been formally charged but were forced to spend Christmas in Vietnam and are still prevented from leaving the country.
The two are part of a team seconded to modernise Jetstar Pacific, 27 percent owned by Qantas.
 |
| Former Jetstar Jetstar Pacific CEO Luong Hoia Nam (L) being taken into custody in Hanoi on Thursday Jan 7, 2010 (Tuoi Tre) |
Marsilli, a former managing director of Adelaide-based National Jet Systems (now Cobham Aviation Services), is chief operating officer and Freeman is chief financial officer.
Vietnamese media yesterday reported that former Jetstar Pacific chief Luong Hoia Nam was taken into custody in Hanoi on Thursday over allegations he acted irresponsibly and caused serious losses at the carrier.
Media reports alleged Nam and the two Australians flouted a board of directors resolution on fuel hedging and this led to losses of $US31 million ($33.7m).
According to the Toui Tre newspaper, the resolution allowed the officials to buy fuel futures to the end of 2008 but they kept buying until May last year.
But there have been suggestions the arrest may be part of a wider backlash from old-school communists unhappy with the partnership with private enterprise.
The controversy comes as Jetstar continues its push into Asia, announcing this week an operational alliance with Malaysia's AirAsia, tipped to save the airlines about $300m a year.
The Vietnamese embassy in Canberra had no comment on the arrest and detention of Jetstar staff but an Australian Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman said Australia's embassy in Hanoi had asked the Vietnamese government for further details on why the two were being prevented from leaving the country.
"DFAT officials also raised this issue with the Vietnamese ambassador in Canberra on December 24," the spokesman said.
Qantas said its executives were helping Vietnamese authorities review "certain operations of Jetstar".
"We understand that our employees are not formally detained," a spokeswoman said. "Qantas is receiving strong consular support and has requested clarification of our employees' status."
The spokeswoman said running an airline often involved complex transactions such as fuel hedging which could be new territory for a developing economy such as that of Vietnam. "This is something which is not unexpected and we remain committed to our investment and future business opportunities in the country," she said.
Jetstar Pacific is not alone in falling foul of fuel hedging. Virgin Blue, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Malaysia Airlines reported huge losses as previously soaring fuel prices rapidly fell because of the global financial crisis.
Qantas bought into Vietnam's second-biggest airline, then known as Pacific Airlines, in 2007 and now owns 27 percent as part of its strategy to expand the Jetstar brand across Asia. It has been managing the carrier, which operates an Airbus A320 and five Boeing 737s on domestic routes, in conjunction with Vietnam's government-owned State Capital Investment Corporation.
Other investors include Nam and the Saigon Tourist Holding Company.
The airline has seen some successes, increasing its market share from 14 to 25 percent and reducing its costs by 30 percent. But it has not been an easy partnership, as Jetstar chief executive Bruce Buchanan admitted on Wednesday. Buchanan said it was the first privatisation by the communist regime and there had been many challenges.
He said the process involved competitive reform in every area and there had been issues involving branding, ground handling, fuel supply, fares and tariffs.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/qantas-bosses-held-in-vietnam/story-e6frg6nf-1225817496532?from=public_rss
|
|
|
|
