Boeing struck a new deal for 100 passenger jets with Vietnamese budget airline VietJet Air on Wednesday, deepening a battle for market share against rival Airbus in one of South East Asia's hottest markets.
Boeing and VietJet signed the provisional order for 100 Boeing 737 MAX airplanes worth almost $13 billion at list prices at the Farnborough Airshow in southern England.
Of these, 80 are the recently launched 737 MAX 10 - the largest version of Boeing's best-selling 737 range - and 20 are the benchmark 737 MAX 8 model.
"The growth is incredibly strong in South East Asia," said Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Kevin McAllister. "VietJet is a major player there."
The draft deal comes two years after Boeing upstaged Airbus by clinching an order for 100 737 MAX jets during a visit by then-US President Barack Obama.
Until then, VietJet had only ordered planes from Airbus, including a bumper order for 92 jets in December 2013.
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Read more:
VietJet soars on debut as shares hit daily limit
AirAsia to launch new Vietnam airline with demand soaring
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However, aircraft finance industry sources have expressed doubts over whether all the planes on order would be delivered on schedule amid a glut of airplane orders in the region.
VietJet CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao insisted on Wednesday the airline would use both the A320 and 737 aircraft in its fleet and would have "no problem" taking delivery.
The companies said VietJet, one of the fastest-growing carriers in South East Asia, needed the planes to satisfy surging demand on high-density domestic routes as well as popular routes throughout Asia.
Vietnam's first privately owned airline will become the largest MAX 10 customer in Asia once the deal is completed, with deliveries due in 2022-2025, the companies said.
Results
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4.35pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Wafy, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 $350,000 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Wildman Jack, Fernando Jara, Doug O’Neill.
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6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 $600,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Matterhorn, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Dolittle
Director: Stephen Gaghan
Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Michael Sheen
One-and-a-half out of five stars
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
PROFILE BOX
Company name: Overwrite.ai
Founder: Ayman Alashkar
Started: Established in 2020
Based: Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai
Sector: PropTech
Initial investment: Self-funded by founder
Funding stage: Seed funding, in talks with angel investors
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
