Vietjet, Pratt & Whitney announce selection of PurePower Geared Turbofan for aircraft orders
HANOI: Vietjet and Pratt & Whitney recently announced the selection of the PurePower Geared Turbofan (GTF) engine to power the airline’s order of ten new aircraft.
The signing ceremony in Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi, was attended by US President Donald Trump and Tran Di Quang, president of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, along with officials from Vietjet and Pratt & Whitney during Trump’s first official state visit to Vietnam for the 2017 AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit.
Valued at US$600 million at list prices, the deal includes a 12-year EngineWise Fleet Management Program for Vietjet’s 10 new-age aircraft. The two companies have so far reached a trade turnover of US$3.7 billion.
“We are delighted to add 10 additional GTFpowered new aircraft to our fleet. We look forward to the proven performance and environmental benefits that they deliver,” said Dinh Viet Phuong, vice president of Vietjet.
Since entering into service in early 2016, the GTF engine has demonstrated its promised ability to reduce fuel burn by 16 percent, regulated emissions by 50 per cent and noise footprint by 75 per cent.
“We were honored to celebrate a new relationship with VietJet last year, and we are thrilled to extend this relationship now and into the future,” said Rick Deurloo, senior vice president of sales, marketing and customer support at Pratt & Whitney.
Since commencing operations in 2011, Vietjet – Vietnam’s largest domestic airline – has become Asia Pacific’s fastest growing low-cost carrier. It has operated profitably since its second year of operations with over 73 domestic and international routes, and performs at a technical reliability rate of 99.6 per cent – the highest rate among the airlines in the region who operate the same aircraft model.