Vietnam seeks price discounts on four Boeing 777s
HANOI - Vietnam Airlines is seeking discounts on four Boeing 777s it
signed a letter of intent to buy last year due to the aviation industry's downturn, official media
said.
State-run Saigon Times Daily on Monday quoted Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung as saying that Boeing Co
had offered the aircraft at $140 million each and the two sides were currently in price negotiations.
``Other carriers earlier have agreed on this price, but we think they can
lower the prices given that the world aviation sector is undergoing hard
times following the U.S. attacks,'' the paper quoted Dung as saying.
It said he spoke on the sidelines of a session of Vietnam's National
Assembly that began last Tuesday.
Officials of Boeing in Hanoi said they were not able to comment on the
report.
Earlier this month, official media quoted the general director of Vietnam
Airlines, Nguyen Xuan Hien, as saying that the state-run firm planned to
sign contracts in February to buy the Boeings and five Airbus A321s.
The airline signed a letter of intent on the Boeings in November last year ahead of a historic visit by the then U.S. President Bill
Clinton. It signed a letter of intent with Airbus on the A321s in September.
A321s are made by Airbus SAS, which is 80 percent owned by Eauropean Aeronautic Defence & Space Co
NV .
Deputy Premier Dung is due to head a trade and business promotion roadshow to the United States from December 8 to 12,
to highlight opportunities in Vietnam after a historic trade agreement with Washington takes effect.
The market-opening pact is expected to be ratified by Vietnam's National Assembly on Wednesday.
Reuters - November 26, 2001.
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