VIETNAMESE carrier VietJetAir yesterday finalised an order with Airbus for purchase of 63 aircraft at the Singapore Airshow.
The agreement sees VietJetAir firming its orders for 42 A430neo, 14 A320ceo and seven A321ceo aircraft, plus 30 purchase rights. The airline will also lease eight more A320 planes from third parties.
Luu Duc Khanh, the airline’s managing director, said: “Based on this experience, we look forward to developing our business across the Asia-Pacific region.”
VietJetAir began operations in 2011 and flies 20 routes including domestic and international destinations like Bangkok, Seoul and Kunming.
Airbus’ latest Global Market Forecast predicts that Asia-Pacific will spearhead global demand for larger and eco-efficient aircraft in the next 20 years, and anticipates higher than average annual traffic growth of 5.8 per cent and replacement of almost 3,770 aircraft currently in use.
Feeding this demand would therefore require some 3,350 twin-aisle aircraft such as the A330 and A350 WXB, and 780 very large aircraft like the A380 model.
