Vietnam Airlines, Pratt & Whitney seal US$1.5-billion deal
The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and US aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney signed a contract worth over US$1.5 billion in the presence of President Tran Dai Quang and US President Donald Trump in Hanoi on November 12.
The contract focuses on the purchase of Pratt & Whitney’s 44 PurePower Geared Turbofan (GTF) engines and support services for Vietnam Airlines’ 20 Airbus A321NEO aircraft in accompany with comprehensive terms of warranty, maintenance and repair of the engines. The two parties also signed a memorandum of understanding on maintenance contracts for these engines.
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| Scene at the signing ceremony between Vietnam Airlines and Pratt & Whitney (Photo: Vietnam Airlines) |
The signing ceremony was held as part of President Trump’s official state visit to Vietnam. Vietnam Airlines President and CEO Duong Tri Thanh said the signing ceremony marked a new development of Vietnam Airlines' A321 fleet, adding that he believes these pacts will contribute to reinforcing Vietnam – US economic and trade ties.
Rick Deurloo, senior vice president of sales, marketing and customer support at Pratt & Whitney, said his company has been powering Vietnam Airlines since the early 1990s, and is looking forward to reinforcing the partnership.
Since its first operation in 2016, the GTF engine has shown a strong performance compared to the current engine, with the reduction of 16 percent in fuel consumption, 50% in emission and 75% in noise.
Vietnam Airlines expects to receive 20 A321NEO airplanes, equipped with GTF engines, in 2018 and 2019.
