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Private aircraft on sale for first time
Vietnamese companies have registered to sell and lease airplanes to private customers for the first time as the government loosens its strict limits on aviation in the country.
The Vietnam Aircraft Leasing Company (VALC) and Vietnam Air Service Company (VASCO) signed the first cooperation agreement to supply aircraft buying and leasing services to individuals and organizations Wednesday.
The venture will also offer consulting services to those interested in buying aircrafts for personal use or to lease out themselves, said company representatives at the firm’s launching ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City.
VASCO Sales Manager Vu Duc Bien said there would be a wide range of aircrafts available for domestic customers.
VASCO and VALC will cooperate with aircraft manufacturers, including Cessna in the US, Donier in Germany and Hawker in the UK, to introduce potential customers to the foreign firms’ aircrafts both for leasing and selling, he said.
Bien said VASCO, which currently operates charter flights and emergency medical flights, would consult with its customers on buying procedures as well as hiring pilots, both local and foreign.
Foreign pilots need a valid flight license approved by the local aviation authority and a legal contract with the owners of the aircraft they fly, he said.
“Owners can also lease the aircrafts to VASCO when they are not using them.”
“The country’s economic development has created successful entrepreneurs who want to enjoy the convenience and high-class services available to those who travel by private aircraft,” said VALC director Tran Long.
The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) has announced it would offer loans for individuals and organizations who want to buy aircrafts.
Vietnam’s first private aircraft
Doan Nguyen Duc, Chairman of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Joint Stock Company, based in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai, currently owns Vietnam’s only private aircraft.
He bought a 12-seater Beechcraft King Air 300 from the US for US$7 million in May last year.
When Duc bought his plane, regulations and procedures had barely been in place, he said at the ceremony, adding that things would surely be much easier now.
He said he currently used VASCO for maintenance and other services.
“Originally I thought about changing to a foreign company as the service was not so good on my first few flights,” he said. “But VASCO improved immensely before I made up my mind and service has been near perfect since then.”
Duc said local media reports that said he had to register his flights three days before takeoff were untrue.
“Before a trip from Hanoi to Vientiane in Laos, I suddenly changed my mind because I needed to go to Da Nang. The procedures only took 15 minutes,” he said.
He said he liked traveling by his own jet as he could use his mobile phone freely, which was not allowed on public planes.
“I can attend meetings in Can Tho, HCMC, Gia Lai and Hanoi all in the same day,” he added.
Rumors are abuzz that Vietnam’s next private aircraft owner will be Le Van Kiem, chairman of the Long Thanh Golf Club & Resort, as the entrepreneur has stated publicly that he wants to own a helicopter. One of Kiem’s representatives attended the ceremony Wednesday.
PRIVATE PLANES FOR LEASE AND SALE IN VIETNAM
Aircrafts:
- Cessna, Donier
- King Air B200, King Air B300, 1900D ($4-5 million)
- Beechcraft 400, Beechcraft Premier, Citation, Falcon, Gulfstream, Lear Jet, Prenon, Bombardier ($5-20 million) Helicopters:
- Bell 206, Bell 204: around $3 million -Eurocopter AS350, AS355, Dolphin: $1.5-4.5 million
- Robinson: from $500,000
Tran Hung
thanhnien
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