'Runway clear for take (your clothes) off!': Vietnamese passenger airliner fined for hosting mid-air beauty pageant with scantily clad Hawaiian dancers



A pre-prepared meal and a slightly dated movie is the best most aeroplane passengers can hope for, but a Vietnamese carrier has taken its entertainment offering to a stratospheric level by serving up a mid-air beauty pageant.



None of the male passengers appeared to be dashing for the emergency exits when a string of women in Hawaiian bikinis trooped through the cabin on the inaugural VietJetAir (VJA) flight from Ho Chi Minh City to the coastal holiday destination of Nha Trang.



Instead they reached for their phones to record the scantily-clad women, who had all been contestants in a local beauty contest, performing a three minute hip-shaking dance in front of them during the night flight last Friday.

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Showstopper: Passengers reach for their mobile phones to record the moment contestants in a local beauty pageant enter the cabin of a VietJetAir flight from Ho Chi Minh City to the holiday destination of Nha Trang

We hope you enjoy your flight: Dressed in red and yellow bikinis the women perform a dance routine in an attempt to get passengers in the holiday spirit

Landing strip: No one appeared to be dashing for the emergency exits when the string of women in Hawaiian bikinis trooped through the cabin



However the airline has now been fined after a video showing the unusual high-altitude antics was posted on YouTube and became a hit on social network sites.

The Vietnam Aviation Authority has ordered the airline carrier, which was only launched last year, to pay £600.

Nguyen Trong Thang, chief inspector of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam said he thought the airline made a serious error of judgement in giving the go ahead for the sky high show.



Thang said VJA got the fine for violating the local aviation regulations by organizing an unapproved show on a plane.

When asked if VJA had also violated aviation safety regulation for letting passengers use camera phones to record the three-minute show he said that because the phones were used in movie mode only, they did not affect flight safety.

A VietjetAir official offered a diplomatic response.

He said: ‘It was the first flight to a beach town, so we came up with the idea of getting a number of girls in bikinis to dance and make passengers happy to improve our customer service.



Sky times: The women were all smiles as they paraded through the cabin during the flight to the south coast holiday destination



Up and away: One of the women dances down the aisle as passengers continue to film the bizarre incident on their mobile phones

Down to earth with a bump: The women pose for the camera at the airport but the company has been reprimanded over the on board antics

In addition, the plane had already reached its safe altitude before the time the show occurred, he said.

VJA hosted the bikini show, which was called a Hawaiian dance performance with the participation of contestants in the local beauty pageant, Miss Ngoi Sao.



VietJetAir was the first privately-owned airline to be established in Vietnam, being granted its initial approval to operate in November 2007.

It officially launched in December 2011 to become the second private airline to offer domestic service in Vietnam, as well as the fifth airline overall to offer civil domestic flights.



The carrier's launch was beset by long delays attributed to various causes, such as a global economic slowdown and regulatory issues.

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