Vietnam based low cost airline VietJet Air will soon launch its operation in India. It will start direct flights from New Delhi to Ho Chi Minh City four times every week. The carrier would reportedly commence its operations between July to August this year.

Reportedly, on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of India-Vietnam diplomatic relationship and the 10th anniversary of the strategic partnership between the two Asian countries, VietJet announced its plan to connect India at the Vietnam-India Business Forum.

The airline is run by a woman entrepreneur Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao and is popularly called the ‘bikini airline’. It is also one of the most controversial airline. According to reports, it was in the news for their ‘sexy’ marketing stunts’. It is one of the most controversial airlines in the world as some countries are against the concept of bikini hostesses and it will be interesting to see what kind of response it gets from Indians. The budget carrier has also organized fashion shown abroad its flights featuring swimsuit-clad models and beauty pageant contestants.

Launched in December 2011, the budget airline saw an exceptional growth in its first years since taking to the sky. It gained immense popularity in no time, making its CEO, Vietnam’s first woman billionaire. In 2017, VietJet Air transported over 17 million passengers with a total revenue of $986 million, a 41.8 per cent rise from 2016.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 19, 2018 10:01 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).