ZCZC
BCN-24
US-VIETNAM-TRADE-ECONOMY-AVIATION-LEAD
Vietnamese carriers sign $21 bn in aviation deals with US firms
HANOI, Feb 27, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Vietnamese carriers signed $21 billion in
aviation deals with US firms on Wednesday as US President Donald Trump met
with top leaders in Hanoi ahead of his summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.
Trump has urged Hanoi to narrow its gaping trade gap with Washington as
part of his “America First” clarion call, urging Vietnam to buy more made-in-
USA goods.
The communist country’s aviation sector has boomed in recent years thanks
to a rapidly expanding middle class with growing appetites — and budgets —
for air travel.
Three of Vietnam’s top airlines signed several deals for planes, engines
and maintenance contracts on Wednesday as Trump met with the country’s top
leaders in Hanoi ahead of his much-anticipated second summit with Kim later
Wednesday.
Budget carrier Vietjet — famed for its bikini-clad air hostesses —
signed an agreement for 100 Boeing 737 jets worth $12.7 billion, along with
training and support contracts, the airline said.
“We are pleased to expand our partnership with Vietjet and to support
their impressive growth with new, advanced airplanes,” Boeing CEO Kevin
McAllister said in a statement from the airline.
A senior White House official said the budget carrier will also buy 215
engines made by CFM, a joint venture between America’s GE Aviation and
France’s Safran Aircraft Engines.
Startup Vietnamese carrier Bamboo Airways, which made its inaugural flight
only last month, will buy 10 787 Dreamliners from Boeing as it looks to grow
its nascent fleet and expand its routes to international destinations.
“Vietnam and the US economic and trade relations have seen rapid
expansion. Nonstop air routes between the two countries are of essence
accordingly,” said Trinh Van Quyet, the chairman of FLC Group, the airline’s
parent company.
Bamboo said Wednesday it wants to start flying to the US later this year
or early in 2020.
MORE/HR/1255
ZCZC
BCN-25
US-VIETNAM-TRADE-ECONOMY-AVIATION-LEAD 2 LAST HANOI
– Direct US routes –
There are currently no direct flights between Vietnam and the US, though
the US Federal Aviation Administration has granted Vietnam a “category 1”
ranking, paving the way for nonstop travel between the two countries.
Meanwhile state carrier Vietnam Airlines signed a $100 million maintenance
contract with Sabre Corporation.
The bundle of deals was praised by the White House, which under Trump’s
direction has also been urging its former wartime foe to buy more military
equipment.
“These deals will support more than 83,000 American jobs and provide
increased safety and reliability for Vietnamese international travellers,” a
senior White House official said after the deals were signed.
Vietnam’s aviation sector has soared in recent years, with passenger
numbers jumping from 25 million in 2012 to 62 million last year.
But growth is expected to start tailing off, analysts say, in the face of
increasingly squeezed airport capacity and tough competition across the
region, in particular from budget airlines such as AirAsia and TigerAir.
Wednesday’s aviation deals came ahead of Trump’s summit with Kim, with the
leaders set to meet at the historical Metropole hotel.
BSS/AFP/HR/1258