Hanoi, Nov 30, SPA -- Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has giventhe go-ahead to issue a license to the country's first privateairline, VietJetAir, DPA quoted Transportation Ministry officials as sayingFriday. "The prime minister has agreed in principle" to allow the companyto operate, and assigned the Transportation Ministry to prepare thelegal documents, senior ministry official Nguyen Van Cong said. Domestic flights are currently provided exclusively by the government-owned flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, and its wholly-ownedsubsidiary Pacific Airlines. Tour operators and travelers have longcomplained about the absence of alternatives. VietJetAir public relations' officer Robert Hugh said the companyexpected to launch operations within about one year. He said thedelay would be due to a shortage of available aircraft to lease. Hugh said the company would be a low-cost, short-haul carrier,serving domestic and some regional routes. "Our strategy will be to go after overpriced or under-servedroutes, and there are quite a few available," Hugh said. "Hanoi toSiem Reap is very expensive. Hanoi to Hong Kong is both overpricedand under-served." Tourism industry experts say there are too few operators inVietnam to meet rising demand on domestic routes. "Tour operators in Vietnam often have to book tickets very long inadvance due to the limited number of planes," said Vu The Binh, headof the Travel Department in Vietnam's Administration of Tourism."Vietnam needs as many more domestic airlines as possible." The new company will have a licensed capital of 600 billionVietnamese dong, about 38 million dollars.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/504630