VietJet Commits to 100 Boeing 737-Max Aircraft

The largest Vietnamese aircraft order is valued at $11.3 billion.

Vietnamese carrier VietJet has committed to the nation’s largest commercial aircraft purchase and will add 100 Boeing 737 MAX 200 airframes to their fleet between 2019 and 2023. In a press release, the Chicago-based manufacturer confirmed the order, valued at $11.3 billion.

The aircraft order was confirmed as part of a historic trip to the Southeast Asian country by United States president Barack Obama. The signing ceremony was witnessed by both the president and Vietnamese president Tan Dai Quang. According to the airline, adding the higher capacity 200-seat aircraft will help bolster their flying opportunities throughout the region.

“Our investment in a fleet of B737 Max 200 will accommodate our strategy of growing Vietjet’s coming international route network including long haul flights,” Nguyễn Thị Phương Thảo, president and chief executive of VietJet, said at the signing ceremony. “Through this agreement, Vietjet will contribute increasing bilateral trade turnover between Vietnam and the United States, as well as the integration and development of the aviation industry in Vietnam.‎”

VietJet’s commitment comes as the airline is trying to shed a previous image of their carrier that embodied stunts to attract flyers to the airline. In 2012, The Telegraph reported the airline was fined around $900 after a group of beauty pageant contestants performed a dance while in flight. Two years later, the carrier was caught in a scandal after pictures of women in company-colored swimsuits aboard an aircraft were made public.

The order is the first Boeing order for the five-year-old carrier and continues to bolster the aviation manufacturer’s investment in Asia. In 2015, the manufacturer announced the construction of a 737 finishing facility in China, which will complete airframes destined for Asian carriers. The order does not include options on additional Boeing aircraft.

[Photo: Boeing]