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| The sign of the lotus: Vietnam
Airlines emerges as a regional carrier. |
| Courtesy The Boeing Company |
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| First Boeing
777 delivered |
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Vietnam Airlines accepted delivery of
its first Boeing 777-200 ER (extended range)
airplane on April 17, 2003, when the aircraft
landed at Noibai International Airport, Hanoi.
The wide-body, long haul airplane is configured
with 307 seats. Every seat is equipped with
LCD screen, headphone, in-seat reading light
and PC power outlet. Passengers can select
audio and video programs in English and Vietnamese,
traditional Vietnamese as well as international
music, sports programs and games, or use an
in-flight telephone service for voice calls
or to hook up to the Internet.
This Boeing 777 airplane is the first
of two leased by Vietnam Airlines.
The second delivery is scheduled for June
2003.
Vietnam Airlines also purchased four 777s
directly from Boeing. First delivery of Vietnam
Airlines-owned airplanes is expected for August
2003. Those airplanes will serve the routes
between Vietnam and France, regional destinations
and on a major domestic route between Hanoi
and Ho Chi Minh City, where traffic is increasing
rapidly.
“With those state-of-the-art airplanes,
Vietnam Airlines [is] affirming its stunning
development in modernizing the fleet and perfecting
the quality of services,” the airline
says in a news release.
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Flight Network
Paris, Dubai, Moscow, Sidney, Melbourne, Beijing,
Kunming, Guangzhou (China), Seoul, Tokyo,
Osaka, Fukuoka (Japan), Taipei, Kaohsiung
(Taiwan), Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore,
Bangkok, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, (Cambodia),
Vientiane
Under the sign
of the golden lotus
Barely ten years after being composed exclusively
of old, Russian-built aircraft, Vietnam airlines
has created one of the youngest, most modern
fleets in SE Asia.
The fleet is composed of:
12 Airbus A320/321s
4 Boeing 777s
3 Boeing B767-300s
2 Fokker 70s
9 ATR 72s
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Nothing could be a better symbol for a two-way
trade relationship than an aircraft. So it probably
comes as no coincidence that the first major deal
penned under the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA)
was the purchase agreement between Vietnam Airlines
and The Boeing Company. In fact, the deal was signed
minutes before the signing of the BTA and celebrated
in the halls of the Commerce Department as the political
leadership signed the BTA.
Boeing and Vietnam have rapidly entered into a close
relationship – one between a large American corporation
that understands how to invest into a long-term partnership
with a client with great future potential, but also
a country that knows how much it still needs to learn
about doing business with Washington.
Vietnam is just learning the ropes of how to work
Capitol Hill and the Administration, and working issues
through with the assistance of U.S. partners helps
the Vietnamese side to tilt the learning curve upwards
faster.
“We support the overall development of Vietnam,”
says Christopher Flint, Boeing’s sales director
for the Asia-Pacific region. “Growth in the aviation
sector is directly tied to trade, investment and tourism.
So beyond selling aircraft, we have put a lot of effort
into promoting trade and investment and tourism.”
In fact, he explains that historically the aviation
sector outpaces the growth in a country’s GDP
by approximately 2%. With expected GDP growth around
7% per year, Boeing could indeed do good business
in Vietnam.
Boeing has also supported Vietnam through testimony
on Capitol Hill during the annual ritual of obtaining
waivers for the famous Jackson-Vanik amendment and
spoke out in favor of a bilateral air transportation
agreement, needed to fly directly between the two
countries.
Support of normalization
Boeing has a long history of support for normalization,
not only in Vietnam but the world over. And with its
impressive history of global sales, the world’s
number one aerospace company has a good case to make
in favor of free trade.
More than 700,000 workers were directly employed by
the aerospace and aviation industry in the United
States in 2002, contributing 1.5% to GDP, according
to the Aerospace Industries Association. And Boeing
Commercial Airplanes Company alone purchased $10 billion
worth from more than 5,500 U.S. companies in 2001.
These numbers help make the case for countries interested
in acquiring U.S. aircraft, especially when weighed
against the fact that prior to 1995, when the embargo
was lifted, the Vietnamese market was essentially
left to Airbus, Boeing’s European competitor.
As a consequence, Airbus gained a foothold in the
short- and mid-range market of Vietnam Airlines, but
Boeing was allowed to get into the game early enough
to compete – successfully – for the long-range
planes a soaring Vietnam Airlines was buying.
In a statement to the House Ways and Means Committee’s
Subcommittee on Trade, Boeing pointed to the remarkable
transformation of Vietnam Airlines within 10 years,
from a carrier flying small, aging, Russian planes
to a modern, first-class airline.
The statement further estimates that given the
solid economic growth in Vietnam and the position
of Vietnam Airlines in the region, the potential
market over the next 10-15 years is significant
– likely to produce $3 to $5 billion more in
aircraft orders. “Approval of annual NTR [normal
trade relations] for Vietnam is essential for Boeing’s
ability to continue to compete for commercial aircraft
sales to Vietnam,” the statement concludes.
Putting a smile on the face
It’s not only the immediate market for airplanes,
says Jean Pritchard at the Washington, D.C., office,
but also being present in the region as Vietnam Airlines
expands as a major regional carrier. At the moment,
Vietnam Airlines flies two leased Boeing 777-200ER
(extended range) aircraft on flights to Paris and
will use the four newly purchased 777s for flights
to regional destinations.
As the BTA has helped usher in a massive increase
in bilateral trade, the next major business opportunity
is in cargo planes, where Boeing has the top aircraft
with its massive 747.
But Boeing brings with it more than just the logo
on the planes. “It is normal for the Boeing Company
that we always make an effort to be part of the community
we work in,” says Pritchard. “We want to
be a responsible corporate citizen. We find it mutually
beneficial when we are vested in the country that
has such wonderful growth potential.”
Boeing’s advertisers certainly like to see smiling
passengers. So Boeing made sure that future passengers
can show their teeth.
Boeing sponsored Operation Smile, an organization
that provides free cleft palate surgery to poor children
in the developing world. “They performed 186
operations,” said Pritchard, who was invited
to take a look at how Boeing’s money was put
to good use.
Says Ivy Takahashi, a communications manager for Boeing
Commercial Airplanes at headquarters in Seattle: “The
need to show a high level of commitment to work with
communities is very important in Vietnam. But it is
very rewarding to see this country develop so rapidly
under our eyes.” |
