Vietnamese carrier Pacific Airlines on Monday received one more Airbus A321 from Vietnam Airlines (VNA) to serve summer flyers.

Speaking to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper the same day, a leader from Pacific Airlines said that this is the second out of the three Airbus A321s that it leased from VNA amid the peak summer travel season.

This aircraft, registered under Vietnamese nationality, features 203 seats, including eight business class ones.

Pacific Airlines planned to operate 1,000 flights, equivalent to 180,000 seats, this summer.

This carrier has experienced so many fluctuations in its operations.

It temporarily ceased operations from March 16, returning all of the leased A320s to its lessors to wipe off US$220 million of its debt.

It resumed air services late last month, using only one aircraft provided by the national flag carrier VNA and looking to expand its fleet in the upcoming time.

Global airlines are on a massive hiring spree to serve summer travelers, making efforts to hire an adequate number of aircraft quite hard.

Several Vietnamese airlines pursued various strategies to lease aircraft from international lessors and introduce new air routes to accommodate the summer travel surge.

Early this month, VNA received an Airbus A320neo, while Bamboo Airways, another local airline, wet-leased an aircraft from Royal Air Philippines.

A 'wet lease' is a short-term leasing arrangement whereby one carrier provides an aircraft, a complete crew, maintenance, and insurance for another.

Luong Hoai Nam, general director at Bamboo Airways, said that the airline hired three A320s during the first half of 2024, sending its fleet to eight.

Bamboo is working to expand the fleet to 12 by the end of the year and 18 by 2025, Nam added.

Bamboo Airways and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), one of the global leaders in development and production of military and commercial aerospace and defense systems, signed a contract worth US$36 million last week.

As per the deal, IAI will provide maintenance services for six CFM56-5B engines installed on Bamboo Airways’ A321 aircraft in the 2024-25 period.

The major Israeli aerospace and aviation manufacturer will also lease another engine to Bamboo Airways for two years, starting from 2024.

Industry experts lauded Vietnamese carriers’ huge efforts to hire additional aircraft amid a global shortfall of jets caused by manufacturers recalling a large number of jet engines.

The shortage has resulted in soaring aircraft rentals.

A local carrier revealed that rental prices for an Airbus A321 rose twofold, from $48,000-50,000 per month in 2019 to $80,000-100,000 per month now.

The current lease rate for a Boeing B-78 is $370,000 compared to $160,000 per month in 2022.

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