27 February, 2019: Vietjet, an international low-cost airline from Vietnam has purchased 100 additional Boeing 737 MAX airplanes, taking their MAX order book to 200 jets. The $12.7 billion order signing ceremony was witnessed by United States President Donald Trump and Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong.
According to the contract, Boeing will deliver 20 MAX 8s and 80 of the new, larger MAX 10 variant, which will have the lowest seat-mile costs for a single-aisle airplane and it will be a most profitable jet in its market segment.
Vietjet has become the largest Asian customer of the MAX 10s as they have ordered 80 airplanes of that type from Boeing. The carrier will use the airplanes to meet the growing demand across Vietnam, as well as to serve popular destinations throughout Asia.
The Vietnamese carrier had placed its first order in 2016 for 100 737 MAX airplanes which had set the mark for the largest commercial jet purchase in Vietnam's aviation sector at the time.
"The deal for 200 Boeing 737 MAX airplanes today is an important move for us to keep up with our international flight network expansion plan with a higher capacity, thus offering our passengers with more exciting experiences when being able to fly to more new international destinations," said Madam Nguy?n Th? Ph??ng Th?o, President and CEO of Vietjet. "I believe that our fleet will have breakthroughs thanks to new-generation technologies, which helps improve flight quality and enhance operational reliability while reducing operating costs in the future. Passengers will then have more opportunities to fly with reasonable fares. The contract signing ceremony, which is witnessed by the top leaders of Vietnam and the US on the occasion of the US-North Korea Summit in Hanoi, will mark a milestone in the two companies' growth path."