Airbus Sees Near-Term Demand for A380 in Vietnam

European aircraft manufacturer Airbus sees a requirement for the superjumbo A380 in Vietnam in the next decade, driven by continued exceptionally strong traffic growth in and out of the country. Sean Lee, Airbus Head of Regional Communications – Asia, gave this forecast at a presentation for the Vietnamese media in Ho Chi Minh City today.

 

According to Mr Lee, passenger traffic on key trunk routes in and out of Vietnam could grow much faster than world average in the coming years. Whereas world passenger traffic is forecast to grow at 4.9% per year on average, Mr Lee said that on the Vietnam to Frankfurt routes, for instance, passenger traffic could increase as much as 10.2% per year. Given such growth, the A380 provides the optimum solution for airlines to meet demand efficiently for both business and leisure traffic.

 

With a typical seating capacity of 525 passengers in three classes, the A380 is the world’s largest passenger aircraft and offers a non-stop flying range of up to 8,200 nautical miles or 15,200 kilometers. This brings all major European destinations, such as London, Frankfurt and Paris, within non-stop flying range form Hanoi, as well as major US West Coast cities such as Los Angeles. As shown during a highly successful demonstration flight into Hanoi last September, the aircraft can operate into any airport capable of handling the Boeing 747.

 

In addition to offering the highest levels of passenger comfort available today, Mr Lee said that the A380 is the most fuel-efficient widebody aircraft ever produced, burning less than 3 liters of fuel per passenger for every 100 kilometers flown. This is significantly less per person than an average car on sale in Europe and is already better than the average fuel burn expected for the worldwide passenger fleet of all aircraft types in 2025. Mr Lee said that this offers significant economic advantages to airlines operating the type, contributing to overall operating costs some 25% lower than the older generation Boeing 747-400.

 

While airlines benefit from the operating economics of the A380, Mr Lee said that the aircraft was also good news for the environment, producing significantly less emissions in flight and half the noise around airports than older aircraft such as the 747.

 

The A380 first entered service with Singapore Airlines on 25 October last year. Since that time the airline’s fleet has grown to five aircraft operating daily scheduled services from Singapore to London, Tokyo and Sydney. Together the aircraft have already accumulated over 8,500 flight hours in more than 1,000 commercial flights and 400,000 passengers have already flown on the A380, with overwhelmingly positive feedback. The high level of passenger interest and demand has seen the carrier record load factors in excess of 90% on flights operated with the type.

 

Last month Emirates Airline of Dubai became the second operator of the type and has just started regular non-stop scheduled service linking its base in Dubai with New York. Meanwhile, final preparations are now being made for the delivery of the first A380 for the third operator, Qantas of Australia. This is scheduled for 19 September with the airline set to inaugurate services from Melbourne and Sydney to Los Angeles in October.

 

To date, Airbus has won 202 firm orders and commitments for the A380 from 17 customers worldwide. Many of the airlines will use the A380 on flights to major Asia-Pacific cities, reflecting the high passenger demand and projected traffic growth in the region.

 

Also during the press briefing in Ho Chi Minh City, Mr Lee said that Airbus had recorded overall strong sales to date this year, with a total of 754 new orders booked by the end of July. These included orders from Vietnam Airlines for 10 all-new A350 XWB widebodies and 10 single aisle A321s. Vietnam Aircraft Leasing Company also placed firm orders for 10 A321s, which will also be operated by Vietnam Airlines on lease.

 

Mr Lee said that the recent orders from Vietnam reaffirmed Airbus’s position as the leading supplier of large jet aircraft to the country, with the manufacturer accounting for 63% of all aircraft with more than 100 seats in service in Vietnam today and 71% of all outstanding future orders.