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Vietnamese Pop Icon Launches Indochina Airlines

Move over Branson, there's a new celebrity airline exec in town: A pop music composer in Vietnam launched the country's first privately-owned airline this week.

Alongside a group of Vietnamese businessmen, Ha Hung Dung, who's also a judge on "Vietnam Idol," put up the $12 million in cash to buy two planes for Indochina Airlines. The new carrier has four daily flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, as well two flights daily between Ho Chi Minh City and the central coastal city of Danang.

Vietnam Airlines and Jetstar Pacific, both with foreign-owned majority stakes, also fly within the country. But even airline execs in Europe agree that the Asian market is the future of flying, and carriers in the region are all one-upping each other with aggressive expansion even in the current business climate.

As more people discover that about half of Vietnam's border is lined by white-sand beach, the carrier plans to add flights to Nha Trang as well as to the ancient capital of Hue. No word on whether Ha Hung Dung plans to blast his catchy tunes aboard the flights, but from what we've heard of Vietnamese pop, we're crossing our fingers that it's a no.

--Claire Duffett

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