Jetset320
8th Apr 2006, 19:29
April 7, 2006
Vietnam has grounded five Airbus planes to repair landing gear, forcing carriers to cut several flights, state media said on Friday.
Officials at Vietnam Airlines and Pacific Airlines, both unlisted, could not be reached for comment on the reports. They said the manufacturer described technical problems with landing gear on the A320 and A321 models.
Vietnam signed a deal in December 2004 to buy 10 narrow-bodied A321 planes and the first two were to be delivered this year. The problem did not affect the new models, but Lao Dong newspaper said it created a plane shortage and a reduction in flights.
Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper said French experts have been hired to fix the problem and the planes were expected to return to service on April 18.
"Among the older Airbus, Vietnam Airlines has four with the problem, and one at Pacific," the newspaper quoted Nguyen Xuan Hien, general director of Vietnam Airlines, as saying.
Pacific Airlines, the country's second-largest firm in the aviation sector, is controlled by the Finance Ministry.
An estimated 980,000 foreign visitors arrived in Vietnam during the January-March period, up 16.3 percent compared with a year earlier, government figures show.
Vietnam Airlines has 39 planes, including A300-600s, A320s and A321s. Last week, it said robust passenger growth pushed revenues up 19.4 percent in the first quarter of this year to USD$270 million.
(Reuters)
http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1144400304.html
Vietnam has grounded five Airbus planes to repair landing gear, forcing carriers to cut several flights, state media said on Friday.
Officials at Vietnam Airlines and Pacific Airlines, both unlisted, could not be reached for comment on the reports. They said the manufacturer described technical problems with landing gear on the A320 and A321 models.
Vietnam signed a deal in December 2004 to buy 10 narrow-bodied A321 planes and the first two were to be delivered this year. The problem did not affect the new models, but Lao Dong newspaper said it created a plane shortage and a reduction in flights.
Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper said French experts have been hired to fix the problem and the planes were expected to return to service on April 18.
"Among the older Airbus, Vietnam Airlines has four with the problem, and one at Pacific," the newspaper quoted Nguyen Xuan Hien, general director of Vietnam Airlines, as saying.
Pacific Airlines, the country's second-largest firm in the aviation sector, is controlled by the Finance Ministry.
An estimated 980,000 foreign visitors arrived in Vietnam during the January-March period, up 16.3 percent compared with a year earlier, government figures show.
Vietnam Airlines has 39 planes, including A300-600s, A320s and A321s. Last week, it said robust passenger growth pushed revenues up 19.4 percent in the first quarter of this year to USD$270 million.
(Reuters)
http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1144400304.html