Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (sixth from right) witnesses the agreement exchange between Vietnam Airlines and the ALC in Hanoi on December 15 (Photo: VNA)The agreement deals with VietnamAirlines’ renting of 18 aircraft, including 12 Airbus A321Neos and six BoeingB787-10s, during the remaining lease term under their contract.
The two sides also reviewed theaircraft lease provisions based on the economic and aviation recovery inVietnam and Southeast Asia.
Vietnam Airlines said the agreement, achievedafter a long negotiation process under the Prime Minister’s monitoring, is an importantachievement in its efforts to restructure and overcome the pandemic.
The ALC,headquartered in Los Angeles and one of the world’s largest aircraft leasingcompanies, is currently the largest supplier of aircraft for lease of VietnamAirlines.
Aircraft-related costs account for arelatively big proportion in total expenses of Vietnam Airlines, which has thebiggest fleet - more than 100 planes - in the country. Meanwhile, thesuspension of many air routes due to the COVID-19 pandemic has put great costpressure on this carrier.
General Director Le Hong Ha saidVietnam Airlines had 106 planes in July. It has sold two A321s since then and isplanning to sell nine more A321s and six ATR-72s this month. Twelve more A321swill be sold between 2022 and the end of 2023.
The firm predicted that its fleet willcontinue facing redundancy by 2025. Given this, it is restructuring its fleet,negotiating with leasing companies about support measures, and will sell more planes,he added./.
VNA
