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Vietnam Airlines buys two more propeller planes
Vietnam Airlines bought two propeller passenger planes from European aircraft maker ATR for 41 million euros on Monday, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
The two ATR 72-500 turbo-prop planes, used for domestic short-haul routes, bring the national flag carrier’s ATR 72-500 inventory to five.
General Director Pham Ngoc Minh told the Vietnam News Agency early this month the carrier would replace its first generation ATR 72-200 planes with 14 ATR 72-500s by the end of 2010.
Vietnam Airlines has ordered 16 medium-haul A321 s from Airbus SAS, the world’s largest commercial aircraft maker, the companies said in a statement at the Paris Air Show Tuesday. The carrier also signed a memorandum of understanding to order two additional A350 planes.
The catalogue price for the jets is US$1.9 billion (1.4 billion euros).
Vietnam Airlines expects to triple its fleet of 50 aircraft by 2020 to up its regional position, Minh told Vietnam News Agency.
The carrier flies 29 domestic and 36 international routes and carries nine million passengers a year.
It wholly owns Vietnam Air Service Company (VASCO), a regional airline in southern Vietnam.
The airline is expected to become a member of SkyTeam in 2010, making it the sole Southeast Asian carrier to join that airline alliance.
ThanhNien
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