Why Hire a Drone Show? 7 Compelling Reasons 2026

Why hire a drone show? Because a business pays for just one night of performance but receives a full package of equipment, pilot team, custom programming, flight permit and insurance, whereas investing in its own drone fleet costs tens of billions of VND and means maintaining a technical organisation all year round. As of July 2026, hiring the service remains the only sensible option for almost every business organising events in Vietnam, especially since Decree No. 288/2025/NĐ-CP tightened the conditions for operating aircraft. Drawing on its experience delivering the 500-drone Gia Lai show, the 700-drone Cần Thơ show and the 400-drone Đại Nam show, Drone Xuân Air analyses 7 reasons to hire and 5 criteria for choosing the right provider in this article.

1. What Does Hiring a Drone Show Include?

Hiring a drone show is not hiring unmanned aircraft by the hour; it is buying a complete performance product: hardware, software, people and the accompanying legal paperwork. Understanding the scope of the hire package correctly helps businesses compare quotations fairly and know which items they are paying for.

1.1. A full package of equipment, pilots, programming and flight permit

A standard drone show hire contract in Vietnam covers 6 groups of items, all of which are the provider's responsibility from start to finish:

• Drone fleet and ground station: the number of drones for the scale ordered, backup drones, the central control station and the RTK positioning system

• Storyboard and flight path programming: storyboard, 3D formation design, anti-collision simulation and music synchronisation

• Operating crew: flight director, programming engineers, ground safety personnel; a 500-drone show usually needs 8–12 people

• Flight permit application: the flight permit request under Form No. 06 of Decree No. 288/2025/NĐ-CP, the flight area diagram, and liaison with the competent military authority

• Insurance and safety plan: third-party liability insurance, emergency landing plan, safety buffer zone from the audience

• Post-production: filming, photography, and handover of media assets after the show night

The business only needs to provide the brand brief, the time and the venue. Everything else belongs to the drone show service provider.

1.2. Comparing hiring the service with investing in your own drone fleet

Investing in your own fleet only makes sense when a business flies at least 20–30 shows a year. On many forums, a commercial drone show equipment set of only about 52 units already has an indicative price of USD 150,000, equivalent to nearly VND 4 billion, for the smallest scale, not including licensed software, a maintenance workshop and engineers' salaries.

For events that take place 1–2 times a year, the lifetime cost of ownership of the self-investment option is always many times higher than the total cost of hiring.

2. 7 Reasons Businesses Should Hire a Drone Show

The seven reasons below are distilled from actual feedback from Xuân Air's corporate clients in the 2025–2026 period, revolving around four main groups of value: media differentiation, safety, brand power and risk transfer.

2.1. Creating a distinctive highlight and easily shareable content

A drone show is the only element of an event that makes the entire audience raise their phones to the sky in unison. The 10,500-drone performance in Ho Chi Minh City on April 30, 2025, a Guinness World Record, generated millions of organic shares on social media in a single night. At corporate scale, a 200–300 drone show still produces enough audience-filmed content to supply the whole of the following quarter's communications.

2.2. Safe, free of smoke and dust, suitable for residential areas

A drone light show burns no pyrotechnic powder, produces no smoke, makes no explosions and drops no embers. This is why many shopping malls, hotels and urban developments choose drones over fireworks: the event can be held right in the middle of a residential area, near a hospital or a conservation area, without breaching noise and fire safety regulations. The entire drone fleet flies within the permitted zone, completely separated from the audience area.

2.3. Putting the logo and brand message in the sky

Unlike fireworks, which only create colour effects, a drone show can accurately draw the brand's logo, product name, slogan, QR code and 3D tableaux. Xuân Air delivered a 100-drone show for SHB Bank on the occasion of its new card launch in 2025; the entire duration of the performance is the brand's own visual asset, something no outdoor advertising channel can recreate at a scale of thousands of square metres of sky.

2.4. Transferring technical and legal risk to a professional provider

This has been the most important reason since 2026. Under Decree No. 288/2025/NĐ-CP, for aircraft programmed through a central controller, which is exactly the nature of a drone show, the operator is required to hold a Class B visual flight control licence issued by the Ministry of National Defence, and this operating condition takes effect from July 1, 2026. Hiring the service means the business does not have to send people for training, does not have to register aircraft and does not have to put its name on the flight permit application.

The three remaining reasons are often mentioned by clients at the stage of finalising the plan:

• Budget control: a fixed cost under the contract, with no equipment depreciation or maintenance costs arising outside the estimate

• Flexible scale: the same partner can deploy 100 drones for a grand opening and 700 drones for a provincial-level countdown night

• Reusable assets: videos and photos from the show night become raw material for TVCs, social media and the business's own capability profile

3. Criteria for Choosing a Drone Show Hire Provider

Price is not the first criterion. A drone show takes place exactly once, with no chance to redo it, so execution capability and the degree of contractual commitment are what decide the outcome. The five criteria below should be checked before putting pen to paper; see more at completed drone show projects.

3.1. Track record of projects actually delivered

Ask the provider for a list of shows flown, with venue, date, number of drones and original video, not a demo video rendered in software. Xuân Air's project portfolio includes 500 drones in Gia Lai to welcome the 2026 tourism season, 700 drones in Cần Thơ to welcome the new year 2025, 400 drones at Đại Nam, Bình Dương for the 2026 Spring Festival and 100 drones in Đà Lạt for a private marriage proposal. The number of drones actually flown is the clearest indicator of capability, because each tier of scale demands an entirely different level of operation.

3.2. Flight permit capability and event insurance

Ask directly: how many times has the provider itself submitted a flight permit application, and does it have third-party liability insurance? Under Decree No. 288/2025/NĐ-CP, the application must be submitted at least 7 days before the flight date; for flights affecting air routes or airports, it must be submitted at least 12 days in advance. Inexperienced providers often miss this deadline and push the risk of show cancellation onto the client.

3.3. Weather contingency clause and image rights

The clauses most often overlooked in a drone show contract:

• Weather contingency: specifies clearly the wind and rain thresholds at which the show must stop, who decides to stop, and the corresponding rescheduling or refund arrangement

• Image rights: determines whether the business has full rights to use the post-event videos and photos for commercial purposes

• Liability in the event of an incident: compensation limits and the handling procedure if a drone falls outside the approved flight zone

4. Frequently Asked Questions About Hiring a Drone Show

The most common queries from marketing managers and event organising committees hiring a drone show for the first time.

Roughly how much does hiring a drone show cost?

According to market levels cited by VnExpress, the converted cost is around VND 20 million for each drone taking part in the performance. A 100-drone show for grand openings and small brand events sits in the lowest budget group; a 500–700 drone show for a provincial-level festival is in the highest group. The final price depends on the complexity of the storyboard, the venue and logistics costs.

How far in advance do you need to book?

A minimum of 4–5 weeks for a 100–200 drone show and 6–8 weeks for a show of 500 drones or more, because the flight permit procedure alone requires the application to be submitted at least 7–12 days in advance and the processing time is 5 working days. For peak occasions such as Tết, April 30 and the New Year countdown, it is advisable to start 3 months ahead.

Does the business have to apply for the flight permit itself?

No, if it chooses a full-service provider. Xuân Air puts its own name on and handles the entire flight permit application; the business only cooperates by providing event information and the locality's written approvals for organising the event, if any.

Can the show fly if it rains or there are strong winds?

A drone show stops flying when the wind exceeds the safety threshold or there is heavy rain. This is why the contract must contain a weather contingency clause from the outset, usually a move to another time slot in the same evening or to the following day as agreed in advance.

How many drones do you need to hire to make an impression?

For a corporate stage and an audience of fewer than 1,000 people, 100–200 drones are enough to form a logo and 5–8 sharp scenes. 500 drones or more are only necessary when the audience exceeds 10,000 people and the viewing area spans several kilometres.

Can a drone show be hired for an indoor event?

Yes, but at small scale and with dedicated solutions such as a single LED drone or butterfly drones, because the ceiling and air-conditioning airflow limit the flight space. Formations of hundreds of drones can only be deployed outdoors.

How does a drone show differ from hiring fireworks?

Fireworks are single-use and create an explosive emotion but cannot convey specific content. A drone show reuses its equipment, can draw the logo and brand message, and is safe in residential areas; in return it needs a longer preparation time and permit procedure.

5. Xuân Air – Full-Service Drone Show Hire Provider in Vietnam

Xuân Air is a premium drone light show company headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City, providing a full-service hire package from storyboard, programming and flight permits to operation and post-production. Its verified project portfolio includes 500 drones in Gia Lai, 700 drones in Cần Thơ, 400 drones at Đại Nam, Bình Dương and 100 drones for SHB, along with an ecosystem of brand partners: Vietcombank, Budweiser, Sapporo, Grab, Masan Group and Biti's. The Xuân Air team comprises in-house programming engineers and an operating crew that has handled river-wind, sea-wind and hilly, mountainous terrain conditions on site.

Hiring a drone show is the way for a business to own a brand moment in the sky without bearing the investment cost, the technical organisation and the accompanying legal liability. Choosing the right provider, one with a real project track record, flight permit capability and a tight contract on weather and image rights, are the three things that decide success or failure. Xuân Air is ready to accompany you in turning the sky into the stage for your next event.

Contact Xuân Air for a free storyboard consultation + detailed quotation:

• Hotline: +84 969 045 871

• Email: trung@xuanair.com

• Website: xuanair.com/contact