Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet and Jetstar have all placed ambitious orders for hundreds of new planes to upgrade and expand their aging fleets. But with the expansion of Saigon’s Tan Son Nhat still years away, some wonder exactly where the airlines plan to park their planes.
Last May national flag carrier, Vietnam Airlines took out US$200 million in loans to pay for 4 Airbus A321s and 8 Boeing 787s in a bid to increase the quality of their international flights. It also has plans to add an additional 60 smaller planes to its fleet. In October, Vietjet announced their intention to purchase 100 Airbus planes valued at nearly US$8.6 billion. Finally, lost-cost carrier, Jetstar Pacific (of which Vietnam Airlines owns 70%) intendeds to add 5 additional aircraft in 2014.
But here’s the rub – Tan Son Nhat only has 42 parking spaces. And they’re already full.
Related Articles:
- Experts Reject Plan for New Saigon Airport
- The Story of Tan Son Nhat Airport
- Saigon's Airports in Transition
Dang Tuan Tu, Director of the Tan Son Nhat International Airport, expressed concern over this problem and suggested an out-of-the-box proposal:
“There are only 42 parking seats at Tan Son Nhat. Therefore, I strongly recommend to park in neighboring airports instead of Tan Son Nhat. Airlines can carry passengers to HCM City, but they should not park here overnight,” he said.
Airline executives such as Le Hong Ha, CEO of Jetstar Pacific quickly dismissed this recommendation as being unrealistic, citing its high costs.
The consensus seems to be that building the new, controversial Long Thanh airport is the best solution but given that it won’t be open until 2020 at the soonest, local airlines may find themselves in a pickle for the next decade.
[Vietnam Net // Photo via RightBrainPhotography]
