A crew of first brand new Airbus A320CEO aircraft of Jetstar Pacific in Toulouse, France.— Photo courtesy Jetstar Pacific
Low-cost Vietnamese airline, Jetstar Pacific, has received its first brand new Airbus A320CEO aircraft at the Airbus factory in Toulouse, France, as part of the airline’s goal to expand domestically and internationally.
The airline said in a statement it is the first of 10 Airbus A320CEO Jetstar Pacific is acquiring, following a deal signed at the Farnborough International Air Show 2016, in the UK.
The new aircraft took off from Toulouse on June 28th for its maiden voyage to Tan Son Nhat Airport in HCM City, before making its first commercial flight in Viet Nam.
Nguyen Quoc Phuong, CEO of Jetstar Pacific, said: “We are delighted to welcome 10 new Airbus A320ceo aircraft to Jetstar Pacific as we continue to develop and update our modern fleet.
“This continues to affirm our long-term commitment of providing low fares every day, in making travel even more affordable and at the same time, exceeding customer satisfaction on our flights,” Phuong added.
The Viet Nam-registered aircraft will boast 186 seats in its Economy Class cabin.
The budget airline also signed a purchase agreement with International Aero Engines (IAE) for 24 V-2500 engines that includes installation into all 10 new A320CEO aircraft, with four backup engines available.
Jetstar Pacific was Viet Nam’s first low fare airline, operating a total of 36 domestic and international routes.
It is part of the Jetstar Group network that flies to more than 80 destinations in 18 countries with 5,000 weekly flights across Jetstar Airways (Australia and New Zealand), Jetstar Japan (Japan), Jetstar Asia (Singapore) and Jetstar Pacific.
Jetstar Pacific, a member of Jetstar Group, has grown from five aircraft in 2013 to 12 aircraft and flies on 32 domestic and international routes.
Recently, the two major shareholders of the airline, Vietnam Airlines (70 per cent share) and the Qantas Group (30 per cent), committed to the long-term development of Jetstar Pacific. The two shareholders expect Jetstar Pacific to have a fleet of up to 30 aircraft by 2020. — VNS