Qantas execs return home from Vietnam

Two Qantas executives who had been prevented from leaving Vietnam have now arrived back in Sydney after the Vietnamese government terminated its investigation into fuel hedging losses at Jetstar Pacific.

Tristan Freeman and Daniella Marsilli, who were seconded to the Vietnamese carrier as its chief financial officer and chief operating officer respectively, had been prevented from leaving the country in December after the Vietnamese government commenced an investigation into fuel hedging losses by the carrier. Qantas defended the two executives, with an internal investigation clearing them of any wrongdoing. Nevertheless, they were prevented from leaving the country until the investigation was completed.

The incident over the two executives appears to be part of a wider move within some parts of the Vietnamese government to frustrate Qantas’s 30 per cent investment in the Ho Chi Minh City based low cost carrier. More recently, the government has announced plans to stop the carrier from continuing to use the Jetstar name and logo, although this threat appears not to have been carried out.

Despite the seemingly poor relations with the Vietnamese government, which owns most of Jetstar Pacific, Qantas says that it is not planning to divest itself from the carrier.