VIETNAM AIRLINES is expected this month to sign a lease with Singapore company Regionair for ten Airbus A320-200s, to replace eight similar aircraft now reaching the end of their leases from European airlines.
Air Vietnam's requirement will mean an imminent order with Airbus, as Regionair has no other A320s in its portfolio.
Airbus confirms that negotiations are in progress, but says that the source of the replacement aircraft remains uncertain. Air Vietnam's A320 operation has been a success, and the surplus aircraft, over and above those required for replacement, will supplant some of the airline's remaining Tupolev Tu-134As on regional routes.
Turkish charter airline Onur Air, which already operates five leased A320-200s, has ordered an A321 for delivery in mid-1996 and plans to lease two more.
The IAE V2500-powered A321 will accommodate 220 passengers in a single-class layout. Onur Air, which flies holiday charters between Western Europe and Turkey, has recorded a tremendous growth in traffic, from 83,600 passengers in 1993 to around 1 million in 1995.
Source: Flight International
