Vietnam Airlines' aircraft was transferred to Pacific Airlines for lease, this is the second of three aircraft agreed upon by the two parties - Photo: PA
Pacific Airlines adds planes, plans to fly 1,000 flights this summer
Speaking to Tuoi Tre Online on the afternoon of July 15, the leader of Pacific Airlines confirmed that he had just received another plane from Vietnam Airlines. This is the second of three Vietnam Airlines planes that Pacific Airlines has leased for summer flights.
The plane registered in Vietnam, flight number VN-A354, has 203 seats, including 8 business class seats and 195 economy class seats.
According to plan, during the peak summer season, Pacific Airlines will operate 1,000 flights, equivalent to 180,000 seats.
Pacific Airlines is an airline with many ups and downs in its operations. In March 2024, the airline successfully cleared its debt of 220 million USD to its aircraft leasing partner, returned its entire fleet, and temporarily suspended operations for nearly two months.
By June, the airline resumed operations with one Vietnam Airlines aircraft, and is expected to continue to increase its fleet in the coming time.
During the summer, the global aircraft leasing market is quite active, and it is not easy to lease aircraft for operation. Many Vietnamese airlines have found ways to lease aircraft for operation during the summer, opening new routes when passenger demand increases.
In early July 2024, Vietnam Airlines received another Airbus A320neo aircraft. Previously, Bamboo Airways wet-leased a Royal Air aircraft from the Philippines.
Mr. Luong Hoai Nam - General Director of Bamboo Airways - said that in the first 6 months of 2024, the airline leased 3 more A320 aircraft, bringing the total number of aircraft in operation to 8. The airline plans to continue leasing more aircraft to increase the fleet size to 12 aircraft by the end of 2024, 18 aircraft by the end of 2025, if market conditions allow.
Recently, Bamboo Airways and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) - one of the world's leading aviation and defense industry groups - signed a contract to provide a maintenance service package for 6 CFM56-5B engines equipped on Bamboo Airways' A321 aircraft, in the period 2024 - 2025.
At the same time, IAI will lease 1 CFM56-5B engine to Bamboo Airways for a period of 2 years, starting from 2024. The total value of the signed contract is up to 36 million USD.
According to experts, in the context of the aviation industry lacking aircraft due to the impact of global engine recalls by manufacturers, Vietnamese airlines are finding ways to lease more aircraft, which is remarkable. Normally, when there is a shortage of aircraft, airlines will look to lease in other markets. However, at present, aircraft rental prices are increasing very high.
An airline said that the engine rental price for Airbus A321 aircraft has doubled compared to 2019, from 48,000 - 50,000 USD/month in 2019, now increasing to 80,000 - 100,000 USD/month (about 2.4 billion VND/month).
The cost of leasing a Boeing B-787 aircraft was $160,000 per month in 2022, now at $370,000 per month (about VND9.4 billion per month). The cost of spare parts and supplies increased by 10-13% compared to before 2019.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/pacific-airlines-thue-may-bay-cua-vietnam-airlines-de-tang-chuyen-he-20240715172150167.htm
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