National carrier Vietnam Airlines has signed a $1.7bn deal with General Electric (GE) Aviation to purchase and lease 40 GEnx aircraft engines to power its fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
The airline is currently purchasing eight of the Boeing aircraft that are scheduled to be delivered beginning Q2 2015.
Under the new deal, which is part of the Vietnam Airlines’ aim to strengthen its position as a leading Asian carrier, the airline will buy 18 engines and lease 22 others to be delivered by 2015.
GEnx engines, which use GE propulsion technology, are developed to reduce noise, aircraft weight, fuel consumption, carbon and nitrogen oxide emissions, as well as several maintenance and operating costs.
Vietnam Airlines CEO Pham Ngoc Minh said that the Dreamliners will enable Vietnam Airlines to increase its flight frequency and improve efficiency.
"I strongly believe that the operation of B787 will be a success, helping us to expand our network, improving our services and ultimately realising our target of becoming one of Asia’s carriers of choice by 2020," Minh said.
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By GlobalDataVietnam Airlines aims to expand its aircraft fleet to 101 by 2015 and to 150 by 2020, from the current 82 aircraft.
The airline currently operates more than 300 flights every day to 21 domestic and 28 international destinations in Asia, Europe and Australia.
The latest deal is also part of GE’s efforts to fortify its position in Vietnam and Southeast Asia and highlights the growing economic ties between Vietnam and the US.
Image: The new GEnx engines will be installed on Vietnam Airlines’ fleet of Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. Photo: file image.
