On the occasion of the state visit to Vietnam by French president François Hollande, Airbus has signed contracts for a total of 40 aircraft with three Vietnamese carriers.

• Jetstar Pacific Airlines finalised a purchase agreement with Airbus for 10 A320ceo aircraft. The contract follows an MOU announced earlier this year. Based in Ho Chi Minh City, Jetstar Pacific is a joint venture between Vietnam Airlines (70%) and the Qantas Group (30%). The order from Jetstar Pacific marks the first direct purchase by the airline from Airbus. The aircraft will join an existing fleet of 12 leased A320 Family aircraft flying with the airline on domestic and regional routes. Jetstar Pacific is part of the larger Jetstar Group network that connects to more than 75 destinations in 17 countries with 4,000 weekly flights across Jetstar Airways (Australia), Jetstar Japan (Japan), Jetstar Asia (Singapore) and Jetstar Pacific.

• Vietjet placed a firm order for 20 A321 single aisle aircraft to meet growth on its domestic and regional network. Vietjet and Airbus also finalised an agreement for the manufacturer to provide training services for flight crew and maintenance personnel at the airline’s new facility in Ho Chi Minh City. This will see Airbus oversee courses at the facility identical to those offered at the manufacturer’s own training centres. Vietjet first took to the skies at the end of 2011 and now operates a fleet of 40 A320 Family aircraft. Following today’s announcement the airline has placed firm orders with Airbus for a total of 119 A320 Family aircraft, including 54 A320s and 65 A321s.

• Vietnam Airlines signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Airbus for 10 more A350-900 aircraft. The aircraft will be used by the airline on non-stop flights to the U.S., beginning with services between Ho Chi Minh City and Los Angeles. Vietnam Airlines last year became the first airline in East Asia and the second in the world to operate the A350 XWB. The carrier already has four aircraft in service, with another 10 on firm order for future delivery. The additional 10 aircraft covered by today’s MOU will enable Vietnam Airlines to operate non-stop to the US West Coast, carrying 305 passengers in a three class premium layout. To date, Airbus has recorded a total of 810 firm orders for the A350 XWB from 43 customers worldwide. A total of 36 A350 XWBs have been delivered so far and the aircraft is now in service with eight carriers, including Vietnam Airlines.