HANOI, Dec. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- The Vietnamese government has just asked the management board of Pacific Airlines, the first shareholding company in the country's aviation industry, to restructure the firm's operation, including by issuing more shares or dissolving it.

    The government's instruction was issued because Pacific Airlines has suffered losses for years, with the total amounting to some 215 billion Vietnamese dong (nearly 13.7 million US dollars), according to local newspaper Liberation Saigon on Friday.

    Pacific Airlines was established in December 1990 with seven corporate shareholders, namely the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, and six other local enterprises. It offers domestic flights to Vietnam's major cities, and international ones to China's Taiwan and Hong Kong.

    The airlines has a six-aircraft fleet, including two Airbus A-321s, one Airbus A-320, one Airbus A-310, one McDonnell Douglas MD-82 and one Boeing 737-800.

    Pacific Airlines' major shareholder, Vietnam Airlines, currently operates 20 direct international routes and three indirect ones. It plans to carry roughly 5 million passengers and 85,000 tons of cargoes, and gain revenues of 11.2 trillion Vietnamese dong (713.4 million dollars) this year. Enditem