Summary
- Vietjet commits to a further 19 A321neos with Pratt & Whitney GTF engines, enhancing its fuel-efficient and eco-friendly fleet.
- By partnering with P&W, Vietjet secures engine maintenance for its expanding fleet, demonstrating confidence in GTF-powered aircraft.
- P&W secures significant orders on the Singapore Airshow, reflecting the industry’s trust of their engines for fuel efficiency and low emissions.
Vietjet has announced it is going to exercise options for one more 19 Airbus A321neo aircraft powered by Pratt & Whitney’s GTF engines. When added to its existing order book, the Vietnamese low-cost carrier could eventually welcome as much as 87 of the narrowbodies into its fleet.
Vietjet firms up 19 A321neos
In a signing ceremony on the Singapore Airshow this week, Vietjet firmed up options for a further 19 A321neos, which, like the remainder of its neo fleet, shall be equipped with P&W’s geared turbofan (GTF) engines.
Photo: Vietjet
The agreement will entail P&W providing engine maintenance through an EngineWise Comprehensive service agreement. Also on the Singapore Airshow, Vietjet signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Airbus for 20 A330-900s that can replace the carrier’s leased A330-300 medium-haul fleet.
The airline will proceed its remarkable growth in recent times with these fleet additions – it has expanded its network considerably previously 12 months, even having to wet lease several aircraft on short notice to deal with strong demand.
Photo: Vietjet
Vietjet Chief Executive Officer Dinh Viet Phuong said,
Over half a decade of neo flights
Vietjet became the primary carrier in Southeast Asia to take delivery of an A321neo back in December 2017 and now operates 24 of the planes. The aircraft offers significant improvements to previous-gen A320-family jets, including as much as 20% less fuel consumption, giving Vietjet one of the vital efficient fleets within the region.
Photo: Kittikun Yoksap | Shutterstock
Rick Deurloo, president of Business Engines at Pratt & Whitney, commented,
P&W secures Singapore orders
Pratt & Whitney made it a hat-trick of great orders on the Singapore Airshow following deals with Chilean carrier JetSMART – which opted for the GTF to power 35 of its upcoming A320neo-family fleet – and Philippines-based Cebu Pacific for one more ten A321neos and five A320neos. Like Vietjet, these two airlines may even receive engine maintenance from P&W under an EngineWise Comprehensive service agreement.
![The front of three Pratt & Whitney engines.](https://static1.simpleflyingimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/10products-11commercial-111gtf-1-carousel-content-card-1600x900-1.png)
What Exactly Is A Geared Turbofan Engine?
This latest type of engine has quite loads to supply.
Tons of of aircraft will likely be grounded every year through 2026 on account of the turbine disk metal impurity issue that can force 1000’s of engine inspections. In the primary half of 2024, it’s estimated that as much as 650 planes shall be inactive at periods on account of the forced inspections. P&W actually won’t escape significant damage from the debacle, with the enginemaker’s parent company RTX estimating the associated fee at $7 billion.
Have you ever ever flown on a Vietjet Airbus A321neo? Tell us your stories within the comments.