Vietnam Airlines takes delivery of first ordered Airbus A321

Vietnam Airlines took delivery of the first of five A321s at a ceremony involving the airline's President Mr Nguyen Xuan Hien in Hamburg today. The airline has been operating A320 family aircraft since 1993, but the A321 delivered today is the first aircraft directly ordered by the airline in a contract signed in October 2002.

"The A321 will enable Vietnam Airlines to continue to expand its network and to address the needs of a rapidly growing Vietnamese market," said Vietnam Airlines' President Nguyen Xuan Hien. "We are confident that, with the additional aircraft, the Airbus Single Aisle Family will continue to play an important role in our fleet, and we look forward to a robust partnership between our two companies in the future. Furthermore, we are particularly proud to have contributed to the development of economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and Europe."

"The new Airbus aircraft will offer Vietnam Airlines the ability to further maximise profit potential while offering passengers the highest standards of in-flight comfort available today," said Airbus President and Chief Executive Officer Noël Forgeard.

The Airbus A320 Family comprises the 107-seat A318, 124-seat A319, 150-seat A320 and 185-seat A321. All of them share the same airframe - only the fuselage lengths are different - and the same cockpits, systems and engines, delivering unmatched operational commonality and savings to airlines.