Vietjet has firmed up a Memorandum of Understanding unveiled at the Farnborough Airshow in July for an additional 50 Airbus A321neo aircraft.
The Vietnamese low-fare carrier placed the order with Airbus after a purchase agreement was signed in Hanoi by Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, the airline’s president and CEO, and Christian Scherer, the recently appointed chief commercial officer at the manufacturer. The signing was witnessed by Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Vietnam’s Prime Minister and Edouard Philippe, Prime Minister of France, during an official state visit.
The A321neo’s 2018 list price is US$129.5 million per aircraft. The deal increases the number of A320 Family aircraft ordered by Vietjet to 171, with 46 already delivered. It has a backlog of 125 on order for future delivery, comprising 120 A321neo and five A321ceo. The A321neo can sat up to 240 passengers in a single class layout and has a range of up to 4,000 nautical miles.
Vietjet’s CEO said the fuel efficiency of the aircraft would enable it to increase capacity and help it to expand its network significantly, especially on international routes. Scherer commented that the airline’s “latest preference for the Airbus product, in particular the A321, is a testimony to Vietjet’s professionalism and a great endorsement for the A321 in the highly competitive market.”
