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Vietnam Airlines to consider buying 4 airbus A380 planes
Vietnam Airlines Corp., the state-owned carrier, is considering purchasing four Airbus SAS A380 aircraft and using the world’s biggest passenger aircraft to ferry more tourists.
Vietnam Air signed an initial agreement with European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co., the parent of Airbus, to begin negotiations on the purchase, Pham Ngoc Minh, the airline’s chief executive officer, said in a telephone interview from Hanoi Thursday. He declined to elaborate.
A purchase may enable the flag carrier to compete with regional rivals Singapore Airlines Ltd. and Thai Airways Pcl, who have also ordered the double-decker plane.
The Hanoi-based carrier plans to double its fleet to more than 100 planes by 2015 and triple it to 150 by 2020 as the country’s economy improves, according to its website.
The agreement was signed Thursday during a three-day visit by French Prime Minister Francois Fillon to the Southeast Asian country, according to a statement from the Vietnamese foreign ministry.
thanhnien, bloomberg
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