Vietnam Helicopter Corporation is a special defence and security company administered by the Ministry of National Defence. Currently, VNH is a leading helicopter service provider in Vietnam and in Southeast Asia for oil and gas flight service, VIP flight service, search and rescue flight service and MIA flight service.

However, it is little known that VNH started its business with limited and out-dated equipment. In addition, VNH was also the pioneer in helicopter services in Vietnam - a highly specialised and potentially risky flight service. Therefore, VNH faced numerous difficulties in business such as insufficient flight infrastructure, specialised equipment, helicopters and especially executives, pilots and technicians to meet strict requirements of offshore flight service for oil and gas companies.

Facing such hardships, the Board of Directors of the corporation developed and implemented investment and market development strategies for specific stages of development; promoted dynamism, creativity and boldness among all the staff. Besides, VNH regularly received valuable support and guidance from the Party, the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence. These enabled the corporation’s apparatus to be organised, strengthened, perfected and developed in the right chosen direction. With this sound decision, VNH entered a phase of rapid development, with the operational capacity and service quality raised significantly with hundreds of pilots, aviation technicians and a modern helicopter fleet that meets international standards and is operated over the territory of Vietnam and other parts of the world such as Norway, Malaysia, East Timor, India and Indonesia.

After a period of stability, in 2015, oil and gas flight service - the main market and business of VNH - plunged sharply in operations, flight hours and revenue, because the oil and gas industry slumped on falling prices. Revenue from flight service for oil and gas companies accounted for a vast majority of VNH’s revenue (about 85 per cent). The flying time of serving oil and gas companies dropped from over 16,000 hours in 2014 to 14,000 hours in 2015, just 10,500 hours in 2016 and estimated 7,500 hours in 2017. As a result, VNH’s revenue in 2016 sank nearly 40 per cent over 2015 and the average income of the staff only equaled 40 per cent that in the past.

Mr Tran Dinh Nam, Deputy General Director of VNH, said, 2017 is forecast to see a decline in flight hours and revenue gained from customers engaged in the oil and gas industry, because they will continue to cut costs, delay or stop oil and gas exploration, development and production programmes on low crude oil prices. To overcome this extremely difficult period while ensuring incomes and livelihoods for employees, the VNH leadership will have to maximise dynamism, creativity and boldness. Specifically, the corporation is determined to maintain the oil and gas flight and MIA flight markets, while expanding tourism, service and export flights to foreign markets to expand customers not active in the oil and gas industry in new markets.

Accordingly, to share and keep regular customers, VNH has actively cut costs and revised down service fees to serve oil and gas companies. Nevertheless, a further cost reduction of flight services is extremely difficult because spending on flight safety is substantial and impossibly cut. 

In order to balance long-term revenue structure, VNH will continue to perform comprehensive restructuring, diversify flight services and seek new customers, and penetrate into untapped markets. Specifically, VNH will deploy solutions suitable to each stage and each customer, introduce the most reasonable service policies and prices. In 2016, VNH successfully approached and implemented the fire and rescue service export project in Indonesia. In 2017, the corporation will continue to export 6 helicopters to Indonesia to provide fire and rescue flight services and one to India. At the same time, it will invest in two small helicopters for sightseeing flights in Ha Long Bay and central Vietnam and will buy modern Italian AW-189 helicopter to serve oil and gas companies, a step to replace older helicopters.

Despite numerous difficulties and challenges ahead, with its nearly 30 years active in renovation period, market economy and international integration trend, the corporation is confident to overcome all challenges, successfully achieve all national defence and security tasks and develop sustainably in the time of integration.
N.Nga

Source: vccinews.vn