Participants in the welcome ceremony for the 100th aircraft of Vietnam Airlines pose for a group photo (Photo: VNA)
The plane is the third among the eight Boeing 787-10s Vietnam Airlines has been receiving from August 2019 to March 2021.
This is the biggest aircraft type in Vietnam at present. Within two months, the first two Boeing 787-10s of the carrier conducted nearly 140 flights with more than 83,000 passengers on routes linking Hanoi with Ho Chi Minh city and Vietnam with the Republic of Korea.
Pham Ngoc Minh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vietnam Airlines, said the reception of the 100th plane is an important milestone, affirming the leading position of the firm with the biggest fleet in Vietnam that is comparable to other carriers’ in the region.
The fleet of new-generation aircraft has helped Vietnam Airlines improve its operating capacity, flight safety and service quality so as to become a five-star international carrier in the near future, he noted.
At the ceremony, Standing Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh said the joining of the 100th aircraft in the fleet demonstrates the development of Vietnam’s aviation industry in general, and of Vietnam Airlines in particular.
However, the aircraft number is just one of the elements of a carrier’s strength, he noted, adding that service quality, technical infrastructure, and the capacity of personnel in all steps are also key to its development, sustainability and success.
Vietnam Airlines currently owns the second largest fleet of Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 wide-body planes in Southeast Asia, with 14 Airbus A350-900s, 11 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, and three Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners.
While the firm’s wide-body airplanes mainly operate on long-haul domestic and international routes, the narrow-body ones consisting of 52 Airbus A321s, 14 Airbus A321neos, and six ATR-72s have proved effective on short-haul routes and those with lower travel demand or to airports with limited infrastructure./.