Vietjet Air and the Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance Company Limited (MUL), a member of Japan’s leading finance group the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), signed a strategic agreement in Tokyo recently, witnessed by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and high-ranking dignitaries from Vietnam and Japan.
The agreement will pave the way for MUL to finance Vietjet’s acquisition of three brand-new A321 aircraft, worth $348 million, according to the manufacturer’s listed price.
The three aircraft are part of the A320 contract signed earlier between Vietjet and Airbus. Vietjet will receive the aircraft within this year to meet the expansion of its domestic and international flight network.
The airline has so far taken delivery of more than 20 brand-new A320s and A321s.
Under the terms of the agreement, Vietjet and MUL will also work together to share best practices in the operations and management of the carrier.
Last week, in the US, Vietjet also signed a series of deals worth a total of $4.7 billion for engines and component maintenance support and technical services, auxiliary power unit (APU) supply, APU technical maintenance, and aircraft financing.
MUL is a prominent global leasing company headquartered in Tokyo and is publicly listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Nagoya Stock Exchange.
Established in 2007, Vietjet now leads the domestic aviation market in Vietnam and is actively expanding its international flight network. After five years of operations, the airline has flown over 40 million passengers and been awarded 32 domestic and nine international accolades, such as being one of the Top 500 Brands in Asia 2016 and “The Best Asian Low Cost Carrier 2015” at the TTG Travel Awards 2015.
It now boasts a fleet of 45 aircraft, including A320s and A321s, and operates over 300 flights per day on 63 routes in Vietnam and across the region to international destinations such as Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Cambodia, China, and Myanmar.
