Vietnam’s VietJet orders 20 more Airbus planes as Macron visits Hanoi

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HANOI (Reuters) -Vietnamese budget carrier VietJet on Monday agreed to place a new order with planemaker Airbus for 20 A330neo wide-body jets, the airline said in a press release, as French President Emmanuel Macron was in Hanoi to meet Vietnam’s leaders.

The agreement brings to 40 the A330neo planes that VietJet has agreed to buy, the company said, as it follows another deal signed last year for 20 A330neo planes.

The company did not mention costs or detail a delivery schedule, but said the new order was meant “to support strategic expansion over the next decade”.

The new deal was signed by VietJet’s chairwoman Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao and Wouter van Wersch, a senior executive at Airbus.

Thao said the new order “will continue to support VietJet’s global flight network expansion” as the company plans to boost flights across the Asia-Pacific region, and possibly for future long-haul services to Europe.

“We are proud that the carrier has selected the A330neo as its wide-body aircraft of choice to build on its success, and we look forward to continuing our partnership as VietJet expands its reach,” van Wersch said in the press release.

The deal comes amid intense trade talks between Vietnam and the United States to avoid crippling tariffs on the Southeast Asian country.

VietJet has repeatedly signalled its intention to purchase Boeing planes, which Vietnamese and U.S. officials have said would help reduce Vietnam’s huge trade surplus with Washington.

The budget airline has agreed to buy 200 Boeing 737 MAX jets in a deal first signed in 2016 and revised afterwards, but no planes have been delivered yet.

(Reporting by Phuong Nguyen; Writing by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by John Mair)