Airbus secures new £5.5bn deal for widebody planes
This long-term order will support Vietjet's ongoing international network expansion, enabling the airline to increase flights on high capacity routes across the Asia-Pacific region, as well as to introduce new future long haul services to Europe.
Wings for the planes will be made at Airbus Broughton.
Vietjet Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao said: 'Modern Airbus aircraft, with the latest levels of efficiency and lower fuel consumption, have accompanied Vietjet's growth and will continue to support our global flight network expansion. Vietjet remains dedicated to delivering greater connectivity and sustainable air travel for millions of passengers and around the world.'
The new contract with Vietjet doubles its firm orders for the A330neo to 40 aircraft. In addition, the carrier has 96 A320neo Family single aisle aircraft on order. Vietjet currently operates an all-Airbus fleet comprising 115 single aisle A320 Family aircraft and seven A330-300s.
Benoît de Saint-Exupéry, EVP Sales Commercial Aircraft at Airbus said: 'Vietjet has established itself as one of the fastest-growing airlines in the world, bringing low fares with warm Vietnamese hospitality. We are proud that the carrier has selected the A330neo as its widebody aircraft of choice to build on its success, and we look forward to continuing our partnership as Vietjet expands its reach.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
French firm teams up with JetZero on hydrogen-powered flight
PARIS, Aug 20 (Reuters) - A French technology startup unveiled plans on Wednesday to work with clean-aircraft venture JetZero to explore a potential hydrogen-powered variant of its futuristic all-wing design. The move by SHZ Advanced Technologies is likely to rekindle a debate over the potential for zero-emission flight, six months after Europe's Airbus ( opens new tab put the brakes on plans to develop the world's first hydrogen-powered airliner. California-based JetZero aims to challenge the traditional duopoly of Airbus and Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab by developing a so-called blended wing-body aircraft, which it claims will be able to cut fuel consumption - and therefore carbon emissions - in half. JetZero and SHZ now plan to work together under a NASA research programme to design systems capable of storing and distributing liquid hydrogen fuel, which could eliminate carbon emissions altogether and evolve into a variant of JetZero's Z4. Hydrogen is prized for its carbon-free emissions and high energy related to mass, which makes it lighter than normal fuel. However, it also takes up much more volume and must be cooled to -253 degrees Celsius, making storage a significant challenge. JetZero's blended wing-body design features a V-shaped fuselage that acts as a wing and reduces friction in the air, rather than the familiar wings and cylindrical fuselage. "Due to the wider fuselage, the airframe is far more compatible with (liquid hydrogen) fuel tanks without sacrificing passenger seating, as a 'tube and wing' airplane would," SHZ Advanced Technologies said on Wednesday. Airbus said in February it was slowing down efforts to produce a hydrogen-powered regional plane and dropped a target date of 2035, blaming a lack of supporting infrastructure. Boeing, by contrast, has been cool on the commercial viability of hydrogen flight altogether. The concept of a blended wing-body design has been around since the 1940s and led to the U.S. B-2 bomber, as well as the X-48 research project between Boeing and NASA some 18 years ago. JetZero is revisiting such designs as the aviation industry struggles to meet a target of net-zero emissions by 2050. Airbus has argued that combining such radical changes to the shape of a plane with an entirely new propulsion system would be too ambitious, and is focusing instead on hydrogen-based fuel cells inside a normal tubular aircraft configuration. But SHZ Advanced Technologies' co-founder Eric Schulz - a former senior executive at Rolls-Royce (RR.L), opens new tab and Airbus - said JetZero would approach the task in two phases with the initial focus on a conventionally powered all-wing plane. Any hydrogen-based variant would come in a second step, he told Reuters. The French firm says it has developed hydrogen tanks that save space by avoiding the usual cylindrical shape needed for pressurised vessels and can fit more easily into the flowing contours of the Z4's fuselage. JetZero, whose backers include United Airlines (UAL.O), opens new tab, said in June it was on track to fly a full-scale prototype of the revolutionary 250-passenger airplane in 2027.
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
Thousands of Airbus workers in UK to go on strike in dispute over pay
Thousands of Airbus workers in the UK are set to go on strike for 10 days in September in a row over pay which threatens to disrupt the production of aircraft wings. A series of two-day strikes are planned to begin on 2 September and continue throughout the month at Airbus's factories at Broughton, north Wales, and Filton, near Bristol, according to Unite. The union represents more than 3,000 of the company's aircraft fitters and engineers, with 8,500 workers employed across the two sites. Unite said 90% of its Airbus members had voted in favour of the industrial actionand that the strikes would go ahead unless the European planemaker improves its pay offer. The factories could be forced to halt production temporarily during the strike. Wings for Airbus's A320, A330 and A350 planes are produced at Broughton and Filton, and any slowdown in production could put pressure on the company's supply chain. Unite said the strikes would disrupt production of wings for Airbus's core commercial and military aircraft and would delay deliveries. Airbus said, however, that it was not concerned about the impact of the industrial action on its year-end deliveries. Sue Partridge, Airbus UK's country manager for commercial aircraft, said: 'We have made a competitive and fair pay offer in 2025 that builds on the strong foundations of pay increases totalling over 20% in the last three years and a £2,644 bonus payment made in April this year. 'Our priority remains to find a resolution together with the trade union that ensures the long-term competitiveness and success of Airbus in the UK.' Unite called on Airbus to return to talks as it seeks a pay offer that accounts for inflation and cost of living increases. UK inflation rose again in July to a higher-than-expected 3.8%, according to official figures released earlier on Wednesday, amid price increases for food and travel. The union added that the offer should reflect 'the value of members' highly specialised skills', allowing Airbus to deliver aircraft on schedule. Sharon Graham, Unite's general secretary, said: 'Airbus is generating billions in profit; workers deserve a fair deal. Our members are simply seeking fairness not favours. Airbus workers have the total support of their union in this dispute.' The world's largest planemaker describes Broughton as a 'global centre of excellent for wing manufacturing', and wing structures for Airbus aircraft have been produced at the site for more than 50 years. Filton is home to the largest concentration of aerospace engineers in northern Europe, according to the company, and leads in wing design and support. The planemaker is looking to increase production this year, in response to demand from airlines.
Reuters
7 hours ago
- Reuters
Airbus UK workers to strike for 10 days over pay
LONDON, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Thousands of Airbus ( opens new tab workers in Britain will go on strike for 10 days starting next month over a demand for better pay, threatening to disrupt production of aircraft wings, trade union Unite said on Wednesday. Unite, which represents more than 3,000 aircraft fitters and engineers at Airbus, said 90% of members voting in a ballot had chosen industrial action, which will go ahead unless the European planemaker presented an improved pay offer. Unite said the strikes, planned for September 2-3, 10-11 and other dates yet to be determined, from September 15, could disrupt wing production for Airbus's commercial and military aircraft programmes and delay deliveries. However, Airbus said: "We are not currently concerned about the impact on year end deliveries." The planemaker also said it had made a "competitive and fair" pay offer in 2025 following previous pay increases totalling more than 20% in the last three years, in addition to a 2,644 pounds ($3,569) bonus payment in April. "Our priority remains to find a resolution together with the trade union that ensures the long-term competitiveness and success of Airbus in the UK," Sue Partridge, Airbus UK's country manager for commercial aircraft, said in an emailed statement. Unite said it had asked Airbus for a pay offer that reflects rising inflation and cost of living. Data published earlier on Wednesday showed British inflation had reached 3.8% in July - its highest in 18 months. "Airbus is generating billions in profit; workers deserve a fair deal," Sharon Graham, Unite's general secretary, said. "Our members are simply seeking fairness not favours." ($1 = 0.7409 pounds)
