Vietnam Air plans to buy four 7E7s
Vietnam Airlines said yesterday it plans to buy four Boeing 7E7s as the state-owned carrier attempts to expand its long-range fleet and may start flights to the United States. The first of the planes would be delivered to Vietnam Airlines by 2010, said Chief Executive Nguyen Xuan Hien, speaking yesterday after a ceremony at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport to mark the arrival of the last of four Boeing 777s the carrier agreed to buy in 2001.
The new 7E7, which would seat between 200 and 300 passengers and use less fuel than similar-sized planes such as the 767, is scheduled to come into service by 2008. Vietnam Airlines has asked for government permission to buy the planes, Hien said.
"The government is gathering opinions from concerned ministries," Hien said. "Assuming that the project is approved by the end of the year, we will make a deposit and be in one of the first groups of customers for the plane." Boeing has invited Vietnam Airlines to take part in the design process, Hien said. Vietnam Airlines may be one of Boeing's so-called "launch" customers, those that "purchase an aircraft upfront and participate in the final design," Boeing Asia-Pacific Sales Director Chris Flint said during a visit to Vietnam last month.
Flint said then that Boeing has followed up on a June visit to Hanoi by Alan Mulally, chief executive of Boeing's commercial-aircraft business, with "market and information sharing." During Mulally's visit, Vietnam Airlines signed a document "stating an intention and desire to pursue the purchase of the 7E7," according to Boeing.
Vietnam Airlines plans to use the 7E7 to phase out leased 767s, Hien said. The carrier may begin flying to the West Coast as soon as the end of 2005, Hien said. The airline has cited San Francisco as a likely first destination in the U.S. "We have to find a place to make a stop en route," Hien said, citing Japan, South Korea and Taiwan as possibilities. United Airlines will use Hong Kong as a stopover when it becomes the first passenger carrier to begin flights between Vietnam and the U.S. in December.
Vietnam Airlines is likely to use the 7E7 for flights to the U.S., Flint said in August. "The United States and North American aviation market is extremely competitive," Flint said. "The yields can be quite low. We want to be sure Vietnam Airlines is fully prepared when they go." In July, Vietnam Airlines took delivery of the first of five A321s the carrier ordered from Boeing rival Airbus.
By Jason Folkmanis - Bloomberg News - September 20, 2004.
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