Vietnam Airlines has enjoyed a busy history since coming into existence 67 years ago as Vietnam Civil Aviation. From its humble beginnings as a small carrier in a challenging political climate, the airline has grown to become a SkyTeam member with an intercontinental footprint. Its current fleet consists of 104 aircraft.
Boeing widebodies
These have a considerable degree of variety in size, with some of the Vietnamese flag carrier's largest planes being aircraft from the Boeing 787 Dreamliner family. According to ch-aviation.com, the airline has 11 examples of the mid-sized 787-9 at its disposal, with an average age of 7.4 years.
These aircraft all arrived at the carrier within two years of each other, in a period that spanned from July 2015 (VN-A861) to May 2017 (VN-A871). Most have a three-class configuration that seats 211 economy, 35 premium economy, and 28 business class passengers. However, three have a denser two-class layout whereby 283 economy class seats are situated behind the 28 in business class.
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Larger still are Vietnam Airlines' four examples of the stretched-fuselage 787-10 model. These are 3.1 years old on average and arrived between August 2019 and March 2020; another four remain on order. Those that are already active in Vietnam Airlines' fleet have 343 economy class and 24 business class seats onboard.
Airbus widebodies
The Hanoi-headquartered SkyTeam member also flies aircraft from the Airbus A350 family, which serves as the multinational European planemaker's competitor to the aforementioned Boeing 787 series. At present, 14 examples of the A350-900 serve the Vietnamese flag carrier, with an average age of 6.3 years.
Some were among the first A350s to be produced, with serial numbers between 14 and 17. These four twinjets joined Vietnam Airlines between June and December 2015, seating 305 passengers. This capacity is spread across three classes, with 231 standard economy class seats, 45 economy seats with extra legroom, and 29 business class flatbeds laid out four abreast.
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Meanwhile, Vietnam Airlines' remaining 10 Airbus A350-900s, which joined the carrier between October 2016 and May 2019, have a slightly different three-class configuration. While also seating 305 passengers, the figure is spread between 240 in economy, 36 in premium economy, and 29 in business class.
Going smaller
While Vietnam Airlines' largest and most prestigious aircraft are its widebodies, the backbone of its fleet actually consists of 68 Airbus narrowbodies, 48 of which are examples of the older A321ceo model (11.8 years old on average). These are supplemented by 20 next-generation A321neos with an average age of 4.2 years.
Vietnam Airlines' fleet also includes seven ATR 72-500s that fly for its regional subsidiary, the Vietnam Air Services Company. At 13.7 years old on average (compared to a fleet-wide mean of just 7.8 years), these are its oldest aircraft, and Simple Flying reported last year that replacements are being considered.
What do you make of Vietnam Airlines' present fleet? How many of its aircraft have you flown on? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!
Source: ch-aviation.com