New-age carrier Vietjet and Airbus signed purchase agreement for additional 50 A321neo aircraft worth US$6.5 billion according to manufacturer’s list price. Another agreement about the long term EAP-1B engine support worth US$5.3 billion was also signed with CFM International.
Vietjet President & CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao and Airbus Chief Commercial Officer Christian Scherer represented both parties to sign the A321neo contract. The signing was witnessed by Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, during his official visit to Vietnam.
“We are honored to be a long-term partner of Vietjet along with the airline’s success and pleased to finalize this new order today,” said Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer. “The airline’s latest preference for the Airbus product is a testimony to a great endorsement for the A321 in the fast-growing market.”
The new order is to comprehensively realize Vietjet’s growth strategies and enhance the airline’s operation efficiency and capacity to expand its flight network, especially on international routes and serve the carrier’s development of airline alliances across the Asia Pacific region, which sees the fastest aviation growth rate in the world.
The A321neo is incorporated with the latest engines, aerodynamic advances and cabin innovations and offers a reduction in fuel consumption of at least 15 per cent per seat and up to 20 per cent in 2020. As part of this agreement, Airbus also deploys a series of strategic partnership programs inclusive of trainings for pilots, technicians and engineers; flight management and flight safety management for Vietjet.
The MoU includes spare engines and support packages to facilitate the airline’s already-ordered new and modern aircraft
CFM International has provided engines for Vietjet’s modern aircraft since the airline commenced operations in late 2011 with CFM56-powered aircraft and currently operates a fleet of 65 CFM56-powered aircraft.
“The LEAP-1B has been doing extremely well in commercial service in the last 18 months and we believe the engine will prove to be an important asset for VietJet over the long term,” said Philippe Couteaux, vice president of Sales and Marketing for CFM International. “Over the past seven years, CFM has worked closely with Vietjet to introduce several support programs in terms of technical management, training, and fuel efficiency. We certainly appreciate the high level of confidence this agreement shows in CFM and we look forward to further strengthening this very special relationship in the years to come.
