Aircraft giants Boeing and Airbus are competing to sell their new jetliners to Vietnam while Bombardier of Canada is also fighting for a slice of the fast-growing market.
Air travel is taking off in the communist-ruled country of 84 million where the economy is growing at over eight percent a year and a new middle class is taking to the skies for both tourism and business travel.
State-run Vietnam Airlines, soon to be part-privatised, plans to modernise its fleet of 45 aircraft-a mix of Boeing, Airbus, ATR and Fokker planes-to compete against a slew of foreign carriers and new budget airlines. "We want to be one of the leading regional carriers," said Vietnam Airlines general manager for corporate affairs Bach Quoc Thang. "Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific are the examples we want to follow."
The airline is also considering turning subsidiary Vietnam Air Service Co into a low-cost carrier, sources say, to take on Pacific Airlines, part-owned by Qantas, and AirAsia, now in partnership with ship-builder Vinashin.
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