Vietnam Airlines : VN : HVN :

Vietnam Airlines believes the overhaul of its entire fleet with new generation aircraft by the middle of the next decade will help support its aggressive growth plans which now envisage a fleet of around 150 aircraft by 2020.
The SkyTeam-bound carrier currently operates a fleet of 58 aircraft; a mix of [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] 70s, ATR 72-200/500s, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]/A321s, A330s and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] 777s. In line with the strong recent and anticipated long-term growth of Vietnam and the neighbouring region, the carrier has previously said it hopes to grow its fleet to reach 110 by 2020.
But speaking to ATI during an interview at the carrier's Paris office, Vietnam Airlines president and chief executive Pham Ngoc Minh said the carrier now expects its fleet to nearly reach that size by 2015. "By 2015 it will be 107, by 2020, it will be around 150," he says.
"We believe that Vietnam Airlines will grow and will become a leading carrier in Southeast Asia," Minh says, noting the carrier is aiming to improve its product to help raise its competitiveness with other major network carriers in the surrounding regions.
"One of the policies to build up our competitiveness is the fleet programme. Vietnam Airlines wants to renew its fleet as soon as possible. By 2015/16, the entire Vietnam Airlines fleet will be new generation aircraft."
The latest part of this renewal is about to begin, as this May it begins replacing its ATR 72-200s with recently ordered -500 models. These will join the ATR 72-500s it already operates. "We are starting from May 2009 and we will complete it by May 2010. By the end of 2010, Vietnam Airlines will have a new fleet of 14 ATR 72-500s," he says.
"We have the same programme to renew the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] fleet. This programme will be completed by 2013, by then we have no more old [narrowbody] aircraft." The carrier has ten A320s in the fleet - dating back to 1996/97 - alongside 14 newer A321s and 24 more A321s on order. It has also just secured government authority to acquire 10 more A321s from Airbus and Minh, pointing to the good timing to negotiate for new aircraft, does not rule out taking more aircraft if it can strike the right deal.
On the long-haul, the carrier already has commitments in place for Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s. "With the A330 and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], we start our replacement process around 2013 and we hope to complete it by 2016," he says.
Despite the current tough market conditions, Minh says the growth in the region together with the boost SkyTeam membership will give it, means there will be plenty of opportunities to deploy the new aircraft.
"Vietnam as a single market will by 2020 have a population of 110 million. With open skies [in the surrounding area], it's a market of 130-150 million. Vietnam Airlines has enough room to put its fleet. More than this we can extend our market in south-east and north-east Asia. And with membership of SkyTeam we hope Vietnam will become a gateway to south-east Asia and I don't think 150 aircraft by 2020 is enough for a gateway," he says.
"My main challenge is how we can implement our aggressive plan for growth in a feasible way, not doing too much far, but at the same time I have to speed up this process.

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SkyTeam officials said Vietnam Airlines and Tarom will join the alliance as full members in June, according to a statement from the group's Incheon board meeting cited by Bloomberg News. The Romanian carrier signed an associate agreement with the alliance in May 2008 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], while VN was invited formally last April [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]. SkyTeam also is interested in Japan Airlines, currently a member of oneworld. "We would be keenly interested to see whether JAL would be interested to join SkyTeam as a potential partner," alliance Chairman Leo van Wijk said at a news conference, according to Business Week.
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EADS a annoncé, jeudi 12 novembre, avoir signé avec Vietnam Airlines un accord de principe pour la livraison de 4 Airbus A380.
Selon Marwan Lahoud, vice-président du groupe européen d'aéronautique, le transporteur national est le premier nouveau client pour l'avion géant d'Airbus depuis 2006. Sachant que le montant moyen de l'appareil est de 200 à 300 millions de dollars (133 à 200 millions d'euros).
L'accord a été signé à l'occasion de la visite de François Fillon à Hanoï, destinée à renforcer les liens commerciaux avec le pays communiste. Le Premier ministre est accompagné des ministres Valérie Pécresse (Enseignement), Anne-Marie Idrac (Commerce extérieur) et Dominique Bussereau (Transports). Une délégation de 45 chefs d'entreprises a également fait le déplacement, parmi lesquels les patrons d'Astrium (EADS Espace), François Auque, d'Arianespace, Jean-Yves Le Gall, et de France Télécom, Didier Lombard.

Confronté à une explosion du trafic aérien à mesure que se développe le pays de 86 millions d'habitants, Vietnam Airlines entend d'ici à 2020 trippler sa flotte, aujourd'hui composée de 50 avions. Depuis 2007, le transporteur a finalisé l'achat de 10 A350-900XWB et 20 A321-200. Au dernier salon du Bourget cette année, il a aussi signé une commande ferme de 16 autres moyen-courriers A321 et une intention d'achat de deux autres long-courriers A350.

HANOI, 13 novembre (Reuters) - Vietnam Airlines va acheter quatre Airbus A380 et deux Airbus A350XWB-900 dans le cadre d'une transaction représentant près de 1,8 milliard de dollars sur la base de prix catalogue.
L'accord entre la compagnie aérienne et Airbus, filiale à 100% d'EADS , comprend également un volet industriel qui prévoit notamment la fabrication de certains équipements au Vietnam et l'établissement d'un centre d'entraînement de pilotes et d'ingénieurs

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines is scheduled to receive 16 Airbus A321 aircraft in 2010 to expand its fleet of 58 planes.
The corporation has transported about 9.3 million passengers this year, including more than six million on domestic routes, increasing by 16% on the year before.
The airline plans to open new routes to Northeast Asia next year.
The carrier’s current fleet includes Airbus and Boeing aircraft. Vietnam Airlines also plans to expand the fleet to 104 planes by 2015 and raise that number to 150 by 2020.
Also in 2010, Vietnam Airlines will join SkyTeam, a global airline alliance with eleven members and three associate carriers.

Vietnam Airlines Joins SkyTeam

During a ceremony held in Hanoi today, Vietnam Airlines officially joined the SkyTeam global airline alliance. SkyTeam is increasing its focus on Asia as a whole, and by welcoming its first member in Southeast Asia, the alliance significantly strengthens its network reach in the region.
(Logo: [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] )
Joining SkyTeam marks an important step toward Vietnam Airlines' future growth. It will bring passengers convenient and seamless service of international standards to a global network covering more than 850 destinations in 169 countries. Vietnam Airlines customers can earn and redeem frequent flyer miles when traveling on flights of all other SkyTeam member airlines. Customers from the other SkyTeam frequent flyer programs can achieve the same when flying Vietnam Airlines.
As part of the joining ceremony, attended by Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, senior government officials and representatives from SkyTeam member airlines, Vietnam Airlines unveiled its first aircraft in SkyTeam livery to commemorate its membership in the alliance. "The joining today reaffirms Vietnam Airlines' position as a major carrier in the Southeast Asian region as well as a strategic partner of SkyTeam," said Dr. Pham Ngoc Minh, President and CEO of Vietnam Airlines. "Our cooperation will help further develop SkyTeam and its member airlines, generating valuable benefits for our passengers and making greater contributions to the international economic integration of Vietnam."
"We are proud to welcome the first carrier from Southeast Asia in our midst today," said Leo van Wijk, Chairman of the SkyTeam Governing Board. "Asia is an important and strategic growth market for SkyTeam and we well are on track to strengthen our network offering in this part of the world. Together with our current members China Southern and Korean Air, Vietnam Airlines brings us closer to becoming the leading alliance for Asia. By adding 20 new destinations to the SkyTeam network, the joining of Vietnam Airlines marks an important step in this direction."
"Apart from adding new destinations to our SkyTeam Round the World Pass, Vietnam Airlines enriches the opportunities of our Asia Pass, enabling customers to travel through Asia on a single ticket in a more economical way," said Marie-Joseph Male, SkyTeam's Managing Director. "Furthermore, Vietnam Airlines will be included in all our global deals we offer our corporate clients. Our newest member will also be part of SkyTeam Global Meetings, our service providing event organizers with helpful planning tools to bring people together from all over the world."
During the last 14 months Vietnam Airlines has worked intensively to fulfill the alliances' membership requirements, ranging from customer service elements such as the recognition of frequent flyer programs, lounge access and priority baggage handling, to establishing codeshare agreements with SkyTeam members. After Vietnam Airlines successfully passed the required audit in May, the SkyTeam Governing Board officially approved the membership.
About Vietnam Airlines
As the national flag carrier of Vietnam, headquartered in Hanoi, Vietnam Airlines flies 75 routes to 20 domestic and 26 international destinations with more than 290 daily flights. Operating the young fleet of 70 modern aircrafts mainly including Boeing 777, Airbus A330, A321/320s, the airline expects to further expand its fleet to 115 and 165 aircrafts by 2015 and 2020, respectively. [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].
About SkyTeam
SkyTeam is a global airline alliance providing customers from member airlines access to an extensive global network with more destinations, more frequencies and more connectivity. Passengers can earn and redeem Frequent Flyer Miles throughout the SkyTeam network. SkyTeam Member airlines offer customers over 415 lounges worldwide. The ten members are: Aeroflot, Aeromexico, Air France, Alitalia, China Southern, Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Korean Air and Vietnam Airlines. Additionally, SkyTeam has two Associate Airlines: Air Europa and Kenya Airways. SkyTeam offers its 393 million annual passengers a worldwide system of more than 13,000 daily flights to 884 destinations in 169 countries. SkyTeam celebrates its 10th anniversary in June 2010. [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

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Vietnam Airlines emerges as possible customer for new A380 variant
[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] is waiting for [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] to provide more detailed specifications for a new higher gross weight variant of the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] before deciding whether to order the superjumbo.
The flag carrier revealed last November that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus covering four A380s. Vietnam Airlines chief executive Pham Ngoc Minh told Flightglobal on 22 June that the carrier has still not committed to acquiring A380s and the superjumbo is still "under study".
Minh says while a final decision has not yet been made Vietnam Airlines is leaning towards waiting for "the next generation of the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]" to become available. He adds that Airbus has informed him the manufacturer should be able to deliver to Vietnam Airlines in 2014 or 2015 A380s with a higher gross weight and more range than the current variant.
Flightglobal reported in May that Airbus was about to begin producing an upgraded [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] that features a 4t increase in maximum take-off weight and an additional 190km (100nm) in range. The launch customer of the new variant, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], is due to take the first upgraded A380 in 2013 and the higher gross weight is expected to be subsequently available as an option for other customers.
Minh says Vietnam Airlines is interested in acquiring A380s with more range than the current variant as it may operate the type on long-haul routes to the USA. But he says for now Airbus is unwilling to guarantee the performance the carrier seeks.
"We have to wait a bit. We have to make sure they meet the performance guarantee," Minh says.
He adds that the airline may have to wait until next year to find out if Airbus can meet Vietnam's desired operating specifications, but "if they can commit earlier we can conclude [the deal] earlier".
Airbus has not yet booked an A380 order from Vietnam Airlines. Last November the manufacturer confirmed it was talking to the carrier about the A380 without elaborating on a possible timescale for the negotiations or the number of aircraft that could be involved in the deal.

Vietnam Airlines has once again selected the IAE International Aero Engines V2500 to power a new fleet of 36 Airbus A321 aircraft it has on order. With deliveries scheduled to begin in April 2011, this deal, worth over $700 million, will see Vietnam increase its fleet of IAE-powered aircraft to 58 over the next 3 years.
The airline has been operating the V2500 since 2003 and currently has 22 IAE-powered aircraft in service. The aircraft are used on major domestic routes between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and on regional routes serving Hong Kong, Taipei, Bangkok and Singapore.

“We can only maintain our position as a major airline in Asia with a consistently reliable and competitive product that satisfies our customers’ needs,” said President and CEO Pham Ngoc Minh of Vietnam Airlines. “The V2500 has played a fundamental part in helping us achieve this thanks to its excellent in-service performance and reliability record, coupled with affordable cost of ownership. We view the engine as an integral part of our fleet.”

IAE President and CEO, Ian Aitken, added: “Vietnam Airlines successfully positioned itself as a modern brand through the acquisition of new aircraft and world-class technology. The airline’s repeat order for the V2500 fits with this vision and that its performance meets the high standards set by Vietnam airlines.”
Vietnam Airlines is purchasing 26 of the aircraft that make up this order while the remaining 10 will be leased from Vietnam Aircraft Leasing Company.

Vietnam Airlines: To Sign Deal With Boeing For 8 787-9 Dreamliners

Vietnam Airlines said Saturday it will sign a deal for eight 787-9 Dreamliners from Boeing Co. ([Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]), and is in talks to buy a further eight of the aircraft.
President and CEO Pham Ngoc Minh told Dow Jones Newswires that the national flag carrier will take delivery of the first aircraft in 2015.
He said the airline will also lease three further 787-9 Dreamliners.
The deal replaces an earlier agreement with Boeing for the purchase of an older version of the aircraft, the 787-8 Dreamliner

Jeannot a écrit:Confirmation de l'accord entre Boeing et Vietnam Airlines sur la substitution de 787-9s au 787-8s commandés initialement.

Vietnam Airlines, Boeing agree to 787 order change

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Vietnam Airlines and Boeing have agreed to terms for changing the airline's order for eight [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]-8 Dreamliners to the larger 787-9 model.
Vietnam Airlines and its leasing company, Vietnam Aircraft Leasing Co., each ordered eight 787-8s. In June, Flightglobal [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] airline CEO Pham Ngoc Minh saying the airline planned to switch to the 787-9 because the 787-8 turned out too heavy to economically operate long-haul routes from Vietnam to Europe and North America.
"Vietnam Airlines and Boeing have agreed to terms for 787-9s," Boeing spokeswoman Jennifer Cram said Monday. "We look forward to finalizing the conversion of eight 787s from -8s to -9s. We are committed to working with Vietnam Airlines to meet its evolving fleet requirements."
Cram said she could provide no details on a possible change of the Vietnam Aircraft Leasing Co. 787-8 order.
Dow Jones [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Minh saying Boeing scheduled delivery of the first 787-9 to Vietnam Airlines in 2015.

"787-8 turned out too heavy to economically operate long-haul routes from Vietnam to Europe and North America"... Quel aveu !

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pascal83 a écrit:Vietnam airline qui a commander des A380-8 mais n'a toujours pas decider quand elle prendra livraison des premiers prefererai quant a elle des A380 encore plus économe.