Vietnamese airline VietJet has promised that all flight attendants on their soon-to-be-opened route from Ho Chi Minh City to Jakarta will be fully clothed after Indonesian authorities raised concerns.
The budget airline shot to prominence in 2012 when it hosted a mid-flight dance by bikini-clad beauty pageant contestants on a flight from Ho Chi Minh City to the coastal resort of Nha Thang in east Vietnam.
The airline was fined 20 million Dong, around US$880, for the unsanctioned PR stunt. It has since become synonymous with bikini wearing flight stewards and regularly uses them in advertising campaigns.
Because of this reputation, when the carrier announced that it was opening a route to the capital of Indonesia, officials in the conservative Muslim country raised concerns.
The airline’s Deputy Director for Commercial Affairs, Jay L Lingeswara, however, has confirmed that all VietJet employees will be fully clothed on all flights to Indonesia.