The Vietnam Travel Aviation Co Ltd (Vietravel Airlines) on Monday held a ceremony to welcome its 220-seat Airbus A321CEO plane which landed at Phu Bai International Airport in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue for the first time.

According to a Vietravel Airlines representative, in December, the firm quickly completed its fleet of three A321CEO planes. The first aircraft arrived in Viet Nam on December 5 and the remaining two are expected to come to the country on December 24-25 and January 10, 2021.

Speaking at the ceremony, vice chairman of the provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thanh Binh said the event marked an important milestone in the service economy of the province.

Thua Thien - Hue pledges to create the most favourable conditions for Vietravel to implement its projects on schedule, thus helping the local service and tourism sectors quickly recover after the COVID-19 pandemic, he stressed.

Vietravel Airlines, headquartered at Phu Bai International Airport, aims to serve one million passengers in its first year of operations.

In the initial period, it plans to conduct more than 80 flights per week, mostly linking with HCM City, Hue, Ha Noi, and popular tourist destinations like Da Nang, Nha Trang, and Phu Quoc.

Vietravel Airlines is the latest air carrier in the country, joining Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet, Bamboo Airways, Pacific Airlines, Vasco, and Hai Au Aviation. It has a total investment of VND700 billion (US$30.2 million) and a lifespan of 50 years and is set to provide both domestic and international air transport services. — VNS