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CONFIRMED: Two Vietnamese Airlines Sign Deals for 110 Boeing Jets Ahead of Trump-Kim Summit

CONFIRMED: Two Vietnamese Airlines Sign Deals for 110 Boeing Jets Ahead of Trump-Kim Summit
Bamboo Airways

Vietnamese carriers VietJet and Bamboo Airways on Wednesday signed deals with Boeing Co to buy 110 planes worth more than $15 billion (11 billion pounds) as the fast-growing companies look to expand their operations in Asia and beyond.

On the sidelines of a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi, VietJet signed a firm order to purchase 100 737 MAX planes worth $12.7 billion. The deal was made provisionally in July last year.

US President Donald Trump (centre L) and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Phu Trong (centre R) witness a signing ceremony between Chairman of Bamboo Airways Trinh Van Quyet (R) and President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes Kevin McAllister (L) at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on February 27, 2019, ahead of the second US-North Korea summit. (Photo by LUONG THAI LINH / POOL / AFP)LUONG THAI LINH/AFP/Getty Images
US President Donald Trump (centre L) and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Phu Trong (centre R) witness a signing ceremony between Chairman of Bamboo Airways Trinh Van Quyet (R) and President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes Kevin McAllister (L) at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on February 27, 2019, ahead of the second US-North Korea summit. Image: Luong Thai Linh/AFP/Getty Images

Bamboo signed a firm deal with Boeing to purchase 10 wide-bodied 787 planes worth $2.9 billion.  

Bamboo, owned by property and leisure company FLC Group is also in talks to buy 25 narrow-bodied Boeing 737 planes, chairman Trinh Van Quyet told Reuters. 

Bamboo, which made its first flights in January, had placed a provisional order last year for 20 Boeing 787 widebody jets worth $5.6 billion at list prices, and Wednesday’s deal is not part of that. 

Bamboo Airlines. Image: samchui.com
Bamboo Airlines. Image: samchui.com

 

“The purchases are part of our strategy to expand our operations on the international market, including flying to the United States and Europe,” Quyet said. 

He said Bamboo plans to launch its first non-stop flights to the United States late this year or early next year.

VietJet. Image: Airlineratings.com
VietJet. Image: Airlineratings.com

Earlier this month, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration declared Vietnam complied with international aviation standards, allowing Vietnamese carriers to fly to the United States for the first time and codeshare with U.S. airlines. 

VietJet also finalised a $5.3 billion long-term engine support agreement with General Electric for the LEAP-1B engines in its fleet. 

Trump and Kim Jong Un meet in Hanoi on Wednesday for their second summit, with Trump holding out Vietnam as a model of economic success that isolated North Korea could follow.

 


Source : Reuters 

Indah Gilang Pusparani

Indah is a researcher at Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan Penelitian dan Pengembangan Daerah Kota Cirebon (Regional Development Planning and Research Agency of Cirebon Municipality). She covers More international relations, tourism, and startups in Southeast Asia region and beyond. Indah graduated from MSc Development Administration and Planning from University College London, United Kingdom in 2015. She finished bachelor degree from International Relations from University of Indonesia in 2014, with two exchange programs in Political Science at National University of Singapore and New Media in Journalism at Ball State University, USA. She was awarded Diplomacy Award at Harvard World Model United Nations and named as Indonesian Gifted Researcher by Australian National University. She is Researcher at Regional Planning Board in Cirebon, West Java. She previously worked as Editor in Bening Communication, the Commonwealth Parliament Association UK, and diplomacy consulting firm Best Delegate LLC in USA. Less
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