LONDON – Vietnam low-cost carrier Vietjet has just taken up delivery of its new Airbus A321neo ACF, just as the airline prepares for the air travel peak season.
The latest arrival touched down at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on New Year’s Eve of 2022 and will be put into action in the early days of 2023.
VietJet’s new A321 ACF is one of the more modern Airbus aircraft with a capacity of up to 240 seats while also having outstanding improvements in terms of fuel economy and emission reduction.
These improvements, together with the fact that it can carry up to 240 passengers, allow the aircraft to increase its carrying capacity while also enhancing the environmental efficiency as the airplane is able to carry more passengers while emitting even less CO2 than its predecessors.
The A321 ACF is also the base for the longer variant, which is also known as the A321LR, and the ACF will be the standard for all A321neos from 2020 onwards.
VietJet didn’t only receive new A321neos, but they also received a new A330 on Christmas Day in 2022 as their Christmas present.
VietJet was looking to expand its flight network to the further destinations in the Asia Pacific and beyond, as well as offering a variety of flying experiences with the new SkyBoss Business, SkyBoss, Deluxe, and Eco ticket classes, and many attractive promotions for its flyers.
The A330 delivered to VietJet has a rich history. It began its life with AirAsia X in 2010 with the registration of 9M-XXH and having been retired in April of 2020, after almost 10 years of operations.
The airframe then went to be stored under ICBC Leasing’s name as VP-CJV until December 2022 as it has been delivered to VietJet as VN-A812.
VietJet has according to planespotters.net 3 planes remaining on order, 2 A321neo and 1 Boeing 737 MAX 8-200. They also have 4 A330-300 due, all 4 of which are ex-AirAsia X A330s.
Past orders
VietJet has previously ordered 50 A321neos back in 2018 at the Farnborough Airshow in July of that year. The CEO of VietJet commented on that by saying:
“The fuel-efficient A321neo will enable us to increase capacity and help us to expand the network significantly, especially on international routes,” said Vietjet’s President CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao at the time of the order.
“We are honored to be a long-term partner of VietJet and to finalize this new order,” said Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer.
“The airline’s latest preference for the Airbus product, in particular the A321, is a testimony to Vietjet’s professionalism and a great endorsement for the A321 in the highly competitive market.”
“Vietjet is one of the fastest growing carriers in the Asian region and we feel proud to have the A321XLR joining its fleet.”
“This order is another strong endorsement of our decision to bring true long range capability to the singe-aisle market with the A321XLR, enabling airlines to extend their networks at the lowest possible cost,” stated Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus on the order.
Fleet modernization
Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, Vietjet President & CEO also referred to Vietjet’s policy of moving to newer aircraft types with greater fuel efficiency; also noting the relatively low average age of their Airbus fleet:
“Vietjet has always been a pioneer in operating new, modern, advanced and fuel-efficient aircraft. We are proud of operating one of the world’s youngest Airbus fleets with an average age of only 2.7 years and this has contributed greatly to Vietjet’s success over the past years.”
