National carrier Vietnam Airlines plans to replace its fleet of ATR aircraft with new-generation regional jet aircraft. (Photo: Vietnam Airlines)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - National carrier Vietnam Airlines plans toreplace its fleet of ATR aircraft with new-generation regional jet aircraftcontaining about 100 seats in order to improve the efficiency of operation andservice quality on short routes.
This plan is part of the carrier’s policy besides upgrading the fleet of AirbusA321 aircrafts and enlarging the fleet of Airbus A350 and Boeing 787wide-bodied aircraft, said Vietnam Airlines.
In comparison with the Airbus A321, the jet aircraft will have fewer seats butbe really suitable with domestic routes and small airports such as Dien Bien, ConDao and Rach Gia. With flying distance from over 2,000km to nearly 6,000km,this type of jet aircraft is expected to possess high mobility in operation.
Vietnam Airlines said it was researching the operation efficiency of small jetaircraft including E190-E2 and E175-E2 of Embraer, Bombadier’s CRJ900/1000,Airbus and Bombardier joint venture’s A220, Mitsubishi’s MRJ70/90 and Sukhoi’sSSJ100.
According to Vietnam Airlines’ master development plan for the 2021-25 aircraftfleet, with a vision to 2030, the fleet of small jet aircrafts is expected tohave about 20 units. The firm will likely wet lease small jets in six months totest and evaluate the actual performance before deciding to hire or buy jet aircraftsand replace them with ATR in the long term.
On October 18, Vietnam Airlines attended a performance run of E190-E2 aircraftof the Brazilian manufacturer Embraer at Noi Bai International Airport.
The flying performance took place around Hanoi, departing at 11:30 and landing NoiBai Airport at 12:15.-VNS/VNA
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