Vietnam airlines buy 40 planes worth $6.5 bn from AirbusSeptember 6, 2016 - 11:30 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Vietnam airlines bought 40 airplanes worth $6.5 billion from France's Airbus on Tuesday, September 6, as President Francois Hollande visited the communist nation to drum up business ties with one of Southeast Asia's fastest-growing economies, AFP says. The deal is the latest move by Vietnamese aviation giants to boost fleets and feed demand from a mushrooming middle class with money to burn on air travel both at home and abroad. Hollande, the third French president to visit Vietnam since independence, said the "very important deals" deepened ties with its former colony where France's legacy is ubiquitous, from the country's colonial-era buildings to French-influenced cuisine. "We agreed to encourage both countries to establish economic partnerships on the basis of technology transfer," Hollande said after Airbus signed three separate deals. Low-cost private airline VietJet, known for its bikini-clad hostesses, bought 20 planes while national carrier Vietnam Airlines and budget airline Jetstar Pacific bought 10 each in "deals worth 6.5 billion", Airbus Asia spokesman Sean Lee told AFP. He did not provide a breakdown of each deal's value, but VietJet said later in a statement it was spending $2.39 billion on its new planes. The VietJet purchase comes after it bought 100 passenger jets from U.S. aircraft maker Boeing for $11.3 billion in May, during a visit by President Barack Obama. It called the deal the largest single commercial air plane purchase in Vietnam aviation history. Founded in 2007, VietJet has gained notoriety with bikini-wearing air stewardesses and along with Vietnam Airlines and Jetstar is making a major move into the lucrative Southeast Asian aviation sector. Related links: Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Get Started: An educational platform for young startuppers The Get Started program which operates in two phases is an important platform for young startuppers. Byblos Bank Armenia celebrates Students' Day with scholarship recipients YSU students who received scholarships from Byblos Bank Armenia gathered in a casual setting to meet with the Bank's CEO, Hayk Stepanyan. Azerbaijan extends Rune Vardanyan’s arrest by 5 months A court in Azerbaijan has extended the arrest of former Nagorno-Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan by five months. Armenia border residents dissatisfied with delimitation Residents Kirants are dissatisfied with the results of the delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. |