VietJet May Buy 787s or A350s as Airline Weighs U.S. Route

  • Budget carrier boosting growth with international flights
  • Private airline signs $600 million engine deal for 10 aircraft
Passengers use an automated check-in machine for VietJet Air, operated by VietJet Aviation Joint Stock Co., at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Monday, Jan. 9, 2017. VietJet, the Vietnam carrier known for its bikini-clad flight attendants, expects profit to surge 30 percent this year on rising passengers as it prepares for its Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange listing debut in February.Photographer: Linh Luong Thai/Bloomberg
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

VietJet Aviation JSC plans to expand its fleet to include wide-body jets as the Vietnamese low-cost carrier considers California as its first U.S. destination starting about 2019.

Vietnam’s biggest private airline would use the larger aircraft to begin the route after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration grants Vietnam airlines permission to fly to America, said Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, VietJet’s founder and chief executive officer. The first flights could link the Southeast Asian nation with the Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport, located near a large Vietnamese community, and would also be close enough to serve San Francisco, she said.