Cherrie Aviation, a new airline backed by the Vietnamese low-cost carrier Vietjet, has appointed David May as its chief executive as it prepares to challenge established Australian domestic carriers Qantas and Virgin Australia. The airline is targeting tourist routes linking major cities such as Sydney and Melbourne with popular holiday destinations like the Gold Coast, and recently took delivery of its first aircraft, which was registered with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority in September.
May, who became a director of Cherrie on October 26, has publicly addressed conflicting accounts regarding his departure from Jetstar, where he held senior commercial roles. In a 2024 podcast recorded with his wife, May stated he was fired from Jetstar following an incident related to a Powderfinger concert in Brisbane during 2010 and cited heavy drinking during a company offsite in Bali. However, in a recent interview and statements to media, May denied being dismissed and said he resigned voluntarily to join iSelect, a comparison platform for insurance and energy services, to assist with its ASX listing ambitions.
May said his podcast comments were partly fictionalized and designed to promote his wife’s business, involving a blend of fact and creative storytelling. He clarified that he held three separate stints as Jetstar’s chief commercial officer over approximately 18 months, including two interim assignments during periods of management disruption. A Cherrie Aviation spokesperson confirmed May’s service as chief commercial officer during two distinct periods.
Discrepancies also exist regarding May’s tenure at Jetstar, as Medibank chief executive David Koczkar was listed as Jetstar’s chief commercial officer from 2008 to 2014, overlapping the period May claimed to hold the position. May maintains that his appointments were intermittent and sometimes interim in nature.
Cherrie’s launch comes amid a highly concentrated Australian domestic aviation market, where Qantas, Virgin Australia, and Jetstar hold about 98.5 percent of market share. The airline benefits from Vietjet’s support and its considerable aircraft orderbook, including engines rolling off Boeing’s Renton factory earlier this year. Vietjet operates in several markets, including Thailand and Kazakhstan.
However, Cherrie’s expansion is complicated by legal and financial disputes involving Vietjet and FitzWalter Capital, a London-based investment firm led by former Macquarie banker Ben Brazil. FitzWalter is owed more than US$250 million in unpaid aircraft leases by Vietjet, which struggled financially during the COVID-19 pandemic and missed payments on four Airbus aircraft. A recent British High Court ruling authorized FitzWalter to appoint receivers with authority to seize Vietjet’s assets, including aircraft recently delivered to Cherrie. The court found Vietjet had attempted to obstruct efforts to return the planes by orchestrating interference in Vietnam.
Cherrie maintains it is a separate legal entity from Vietjet. Meanwhile, May’s past financial history includes a personal bankruptcy declared in 2016 with debts totaling approximately A$2 million; this bankruptcy has since been discharged. He now leads Cherrie’s efforts to establish itself in a competitive market dominated by entrenched carriers.