Vietnam Airlines to launch inflight wifi for business-class passengers
Vietnam Airlines will launch inflight wifi for business-class passengers this summer when the airline takes delivery of new Boeing B787-9 and Airbus A350 aircraft in a bid to offer guests more value-added services.
The national flag carrier is expected to put the Airbus A350 in service in June this year and the Boeing B787-9 a month later. In addition to bigger seat space and screens for entertainment, business-class passengers can connect to wifi onboard.
Vietnam Airlines was quoted by Vietnam News Agency as saying that the carrier is now in talks with two providers of inflight wifi and they would have to get approval from Vietnamese agencies for launching this service in the country. If approved, inflight wifi will be switched on when the 3,000-meter altitude is reached.
The new aircraft will be used for Vietnam Airlines’ flights between Hanoi and HCMC and international services linking Vietnam and Paris, London, Frankfurt, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou.
Vietnam Airlines is investing heavily in new aircraft to expand its fleet to some 100 this year and 140-150 by 2020 from the current 82. This fleet will include 19 Boeing B787-9s and 14 Airbus A350 XWBs. The airline will take delivery of these planes from the middle of this year until early 2019.
This year, Vietnam Airlines Corporation targets 16.7 million passengers and total revenue of over VND70 trillion, including VND55 trillion for the holding firm. The corporation looks to pre-tax profit of over VND613 billion.
The corporation plans more than VND22.9 trillion for development investment this year, a 2.44-fold increase compared to last year with a majority of the funding going to modern aircraft as part of a strategy to upgrade Vietnam Airlines into a four-star carrier.