The new aircraft begins operating on domestic and international routes to and from Vietnam right in January 2018. (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - The low-cost carrier Vietjet has become the first airline in Southeast Asia toreceive the delivery of an A321neo (new engine option).
The Airbus aircraft landed at Tan Son Nhat International Airport on January 2from Hamburg, Germany.
The A321neo, registered as VN-646, is powered by Pratt & Whitney’slatest-generation GTF engines. It is also the 17th aircraft to bedelivered to Vietjet from Airbus in 2017.
Fitted with 230 comfortable, leather seats and high-quality carpeting, thefirst five rows of Vietjet’s spacious, new A321neo have been especiallydesigned to accommodate passengers flying Skyboss, the airline’s premiumservice. The aircraft’s interior also features a unique colour-changing LEDlight system and striking decor to create a comfortable and refreshing ambiencethrough the whole cabin.
According to the aircraft manufacturer, its GTF engines offer a significantreduction in fuel consumption — at least 16 percent from day one and 20 percentby 2020 — as well as 75 percent reduction in noise and 50 percent in emissions.The engines were first introduced by Pratt & Whitney in 2016. Vietjet isone of the very first airlines in the world to incorporate the engines into itsaircraft.
The new aircraft will begin operating on domestic and international routes toand from Vietnam in January 2018.
On this occasion, Vietjet also announced its decision to upgrade an existingorder for 42 A320neo aircraft to the superior and larger A321neo models.Accordingly, the airline now has a total of 73 A321neo and 11 A321ceo on orderfor future delivery.
“The A321neo combines a higher capacity with the lowest operating costs in itsclass, offering unbeatable efficiency. This aircraft will be a real asset inVietjet’s expansion plans in such a competitive market,” Fabrice Bregier,Airbus Chief Operating Officer cum President of Commercial Aircraft, said.
“The A320 family aircraft has greatly contributed to Vietjet’s impressiveoperation performance, with the airline’s technical reliability rate standingat 99.6 per cent in 2017. The aircraft have also helped us maintain some of thelowest operating costs in the airline world,” said Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao,Vietjet President and CEO.
“The upgraded A321neo deal once again emphasises Vietjet’s ceaseless efforts tomodernise our fleet. We believe that the technical reliability rate and otheroperation and safety indexes will continue to go up in order to bring maximumcomfort, joy and safety to our valued passengers,” she said.-VNA
VNA
