Vietnam’s Bikini Airline Proves Unsurprisingly Profitable

VietJet Air, Vietnam’s only privately-owned airlines, has worked up quite a stir in the aviation industry with its young, attractive, bikini-clad flight attendants. Female VietJet employees don colorful bikinis and even put up an inflight performance for their customers, mostly during inaugural flights to beach locations. The marketing gimmick has earned the company huge profits, and plenty of criticism to boot.

越南的唯一一家私营航空公司，越捷航空，在航班上配备了年轻、性感、着比基尼的空姐，他们甚至在飞行中着多彩的比基尼为乘客表演热舞，多数是在到各海滨度假城市的首航上。这种营销噱头在为公司赢得丰厚利润的同时，也引发了巨大的争议。

These ‘bikini performances’ are not a standard practice on all flights – they’re more like a featured bonus on certain routes. One of the earliest shows was staged on a 2012 flight from Ho Chi Minh City to the coastal city of Nha Trang. As reported by ABC News, “Clad in vaporous string bikini tops and sarongs that flaunted the company colors of red and yellow, young, beautiful women filed down the plane’s aisles for a bikini show.”

这些“比基尼表演”并不是所有航班的标配——它们更像是针对某些路线的特别福利。早在2012年从胡志明市飞往海滨城市芽庄的航班上就出现过。据ABC新闻报道，“穿着性感的、代表该航空公司的鲜明的红黄色彩比基尼上衣和围裙，年轻、美丽的空姐鱼贯走入飞机的过道进行比基尼表演秀”。

“As passengers pulled out their smart phones and video cameras in order to archive their unique airline experience, the young women sashayed up and down the plane, batting their eyelashes at the passengers and handing out toys to children.”

“当旅客们拿出他们的智能手机和摄像机以便记录下此次独特的航空体验，这些空姐们飞快的移动着舞步，向乘客眨着眼睛，并且为小朋友们送上玩具。”

Although the airline managed to delight its passengers on that occasion, Vietnamese aviation authorities were not amused. As clips from the performance went viral online, the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) slapped VietJet with a $1,000 fine for holding an “unapproved show” on the plane. But because the plane had reached a safe altitude before hosting the three-minute show, the airline was allowed to continue with the practice.

尽管航空公司想借此逗乘客开心，但越南民航管理局可不高兴。随着空姐表演的视频在网上走红，越捷航空因“未经批准进行表演”被越南民航管理局罚款1000美金。然而因为三分钟的比基尼表演会在飞机降至安全海拔后进行，所以这种表演也就继续保留下来。

According to Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, Vietnamese businesswoman and the brains behind VietJet, the bikini-clad models on flights are meant to represent empowerment amidst the nation’s conservative culture. “You have the right to wear anything you like, either the bikini or the traditional ao dai,” she said, speaking to Bloomberg Pursuits. “We don’t mind people associating the airline with the bikini image,” she added. “If that makes people happy, then we are happy.”

据越南的女企业家、越捷航空公司负责人阮氏芳邵族介绍，飞机上的模特代表着对这个国家保守文化的挑战。她接受彭博社采访时说，“人们有权按自己喜好来穿着，无论穿比基尼还是传统越式旗袍。”她还表示，不介意人们把越捷航空和比基尼的形象联系在一起。邵女士觉得，“如果这能给大家带来快乐，也就是我们的快乐。”

From a business standpoint, the bikini image seems to have paid off for Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, as VietJet is all set to surpass national carrier Vietnam Airlines as the nation’s biggest domestic carrier this year. As for the ambitious CEO herself, after the company holds its IPO sometime in the next three months, she will become Vietnam’s first woman billionaire.

从商业角度来讲，比基尼形象对阮氏芳邵族来说似乎宣传效果很好。今年，越捷航空已经超越越南国航成为全国最大的航空公司。至于雄心勃勃的CEO邵女士本人，未来三个月，在该公司上市后，她将成为越南第一个女亿万富翁。

完成阅读

来源:英语新闻爱语吧作者:Grace