Nguyen Van The, Deputy Minister of Transport delivers his speech at the event. — VNS Photo

HCM CITY (Biz Hub) — Officials of VietJet, the country's fastest-growing airline, yesterday revealed that the carrier has transported 7.4 million passengers on more than 18,500 flights since its debut in December 2011.

At a preliminary business review held here, airline officials also said the carrier has transported three million passengers in the past seven months of the year, a whopping 182 per cent increase in capacity year-on-year.

With an expanded network of 27 domestic and international routes, the airline generated more than VND3.81 trillion (US$181.4 million) in revenue from January to July, contributing VND349 billion ($16.6 million) to the State budget and bringing its total taxed revenue to VND1.51 trillion ($71.9 miilion).

Airline officials also revealed that the company's board of directors has implemented enhanced training programs at VietJet's training center, with an estimated 1,708 students graduating from 132 training courses in the past seven months. The training center has earned a Certificate of Merit from the Ministry of Transport.

Speaking at the event, Nguyen Van The, Deputy Transport Minister, spoke highly of VietJet's achievements not only in the first seven months of 2014 but also since its first flight in late 2011 which helped Viet Nam "open up its skyline."

The said that in response to calls from the Politburo and the Prime Minister to promote "budget airlines," Dinh La Thang, the Transport Minister, urged government officials to take advantage of low-cost carriers to save on costs during business trips.

VietJet officials said that after completing its goals for the first seven months of the year, the company would continue enhancing its services and increase its On Time Performance (OTP) by five to 10 per cent before year-end while ensuring that its OTP would be on par with that of the region's best airlines.

To meet this target, the airline has called for further support from airports, flight operation suppliers, ground handling companies and catering services. — VNS