Vietnam Airlines Completes Purchase of Four Boeing 777 Aircraft

Vietnam Airlines Completes Purchase of Four Boeing 777 Aircraft

National carrier Vietnam Airlines received the fourth Boeing 777 (B.777) aircraft at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on September 19, concluding its contract with aircraft manufacturer Boeing signed in December 2001 to purchase four aircraft, the first commercial contract under the Vietnam-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA).

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Hien, general director of Vietnam Airlines, said at the receiving ceremony that the success of the contract would contribute to enhancing cooperation in many fields between Vietnamese and US enterprises in the spirit of the BTA.

The contract between the two corporations has been realised with the guarantee of the Vietnamese Government and the US Export-import Bank (EXIM BANK) and the active cooperation of engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney, by handing over the first B.777 on August 23, 2003 at Noi Bai Airport.

Vietnam Airlines Corporation recently inked a deal with the International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC) to hire two additional Boeing 777 - 200 airplanes, bringing its total number of B.777 in operation to eight after the deal is completed. The local corporation has also planned to buy four Boeing 7E7, the most advanced airplane the Boeing Company is manufacturing, with the aim of expanding the fleet and flight routes of Vietnam Airlines in the years to come, added Mr. Hien.

• T.N