Mitsubishi unit funds Vietjet Air’s aircraft purchases

Vietjet Vice President Dinh Viet Phuong and MUL Managing Director Naoki Sato exchanged the signed agreement financing Vietjet’s acquisition of three new A321 aircraft (Photo: VNA)

Tokyo (VNA) – Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance Company Limited (MUL) will finance Vietjet Air’s acquisition of three brand new A321 aircraft, worth 348 million USD in total.

The loan followed an agreement inked between the two sides in Tokyo on June 5 in the presence of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and high-ranking officials from Vietnam and Japan.

The three planes are part of the A320 family aircraft contract signed between Vietjet and European aircraft manufacturer Airbus.

Vietjet will receive the aircraft this year to meet its expansion of flight network. The airline has so far received more than 20 brand new A321s and A320s.

Under the agreement, Vietjet and MUL - a member of Japan’s leading finance group Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group will also work together to share best practices for the operation of airlines.

Last week, the Vietnamese budget airline also signed a series of deals in the US worth a total of 4.7 billion USD on engine and component maintenance support, technical services, auxiliary power unit (APU) supply and technical maintenance, and aircraft financing.

Vietjet is the first airline in Vietnam to operate as a new-age airline with low-cost and diversified services to meet customers’ demands. It provides not only transport services but also uses the latest e-commerce technologies to offer various products and services for consumers.

The airline is a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) with the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certificate. It was also named as one of the Top 500 Brands in Asia 2016 by global marketing research company Nielsen and “Best Asian Low Cost Carrier” at the TTG Travel Awards 2015, which compiles votes from travellers, travel agencies and tour operators in throughout Asia. The airline was also rated as one of the top three fastest growing airline brands on FaceBook in the world by Socialbakers.

Currently, Vietjet boasts a fleet of 40 aircraft, including A320s and A321s, and operates 350 flights each day. It has already opened 53 routes in Vietnam and across the region to international destinations such as Thailand, Singapore, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, China and Myanmar. It has carried nearly 30 million passengers to date.-VNA