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VASCO, VALC join forces to capitalize on private plane market
VietnamAir Services Co. (VASCO) has teamed up with Vietnam Aircraft Leasing Co. (VALC) to provide consulting and charter plane services for individual operators in Vietnam.
Bui Ngoc Hoang, director of VASCO, said on the phone on July 29 that the two companies would help individuals buy suitable small-sized planes including Cessna for their business and leisure trips as part of an agreement they signed in HCMC on July 29.
Hoang said guests would be assisted with after-sale services including how to make use of their aircraft and manage operating costs efficiently. The two sides will invest in buying planes for long-term lease to individuals as well.
VASCO and VALC, Hoang said, will provide all the services as for Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group's chairman Doan Nguyen Duc, who was helped to purchase a Beechcraft King Air B350 for US$7 million over a year ago.
Duc signed a contract with VASCO for purchasing and completing procedures for a license for his own plane that can operate from runways as short as 3,300 feet and be used for short-haul flights of around 2,500 kilometers.
Duc got a license to operate the 12-seat aircraft that delivers near jet performance and is installed with Pratt & Whitney Canada engines not long after the plane delivery to him.
Hoang said the potential for Vietnamese individuals to own a plane was huge because many needed a private plane for travel. He added this was why VASCO and VALC were joining forces to cash in on this market segment.
Luu Thanh Binh, deputy director general of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam, described the agreement between the two companies as a breakthrough for Vietnam's civil aviation industry and a platform for the local private aircraft market to take off.
VALC is expected to help purchase the first private aircraft later this year, and is aiming to arrange 5-10 planes for individuals in Vietnam in the next two years.
VALC was established by major State-owned companies in late 2007 with registered capital of some US$200 million to provide aircraft charter, air taxi, airport services, aircraft maintenance and repair services among others.
VALC has ordered more than 20 modern aircraft including eight Boeing B787s for lease to Vietnam Airlines under long-term contracts the two sides have clinched. This national flag air carrier is one of the share-holders of the plane leasing firm.
VietNamNet, SGT
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