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(L-R) Nguyen Chien Thang, EVP of Vietnam Airlines, and Paul Geaney, president and chief commercial officer of Avolon.
FARNBOROUGH—Vietnam Airlines plans to add 19 leased Boeing 737 MAX-8s to its fleet, supplementing its existing order for 50 aircraft.
The airline announced the leasing arrangements at the airshow Wednesday, securing 10 aircraft from SMBC Aviation Capital, four from Avolon and five from Phoenix Aviation Capital, which is managed by AIP Capital. Deliveries of the leased aircraft are expected in 2028.
“Today’s announcements mark the next milestone in Vietnam Airlines’ fleet investment strategy,” chairman Dang Ngoc Hoa said. “Beyond preparing for future growth, they reaffirm our commitment to building a modern, efficient, and highly competitive national carrier, while strengthening our position as a leading airline in the Asia-Pacific region.”
The narrowbodies will be used on domestic routes and short- and medium-haul international services. Their arrival will also diversify a narrowbody fleet currently composed entirely of Airbus aircraft.
According to CAPA Fleet Database, Vietnam Airlines has 92 aircraft in service. Its active narrowbody fleet comprises one Airbus A320ceo, four A320neos, 42 A321ceos and 14 A321neos. Six additional A321neos are listed as inactive. The SkyTeam alliance member’s widebody fleet consists of 14 Airbus A350-900s, 11 Boeing 787-9s and six 787-10s.
Vietnam Airlines is Vietnam’s largest operator by scheduled capacity in summer 2026, offering about 15.9 million seats across 123 airport pairs, according to OAG Schedules Analyser data. This represents growth of 4.3% from 15.2 million seats in summer 2025 and gives the carrier a market share of about 35.1%.
The planned fleet expansion comes despite a weaker near-term financial outlook caused by higher fuel prices linked to the war with Iran. Vietnam Airlines estimated that its parent company generated a pre-tax profit of VND3.95 trillion ($150.1 million) during the first quarter of 2026. However, the airline said its performance had been severely affected from April onward by the sharp increase in jet fuel prices.
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