VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam’s air carriers are trying to expand their fleets by purchasing new aircraft in large quantities, but poor infrastructure is hindering their work.

Vietnamese airlines would have 230 aircraft by 2020, according to a draft strategy on the development of air transport products and civil fleet in 2016-2020 from CAAV.

In 2011-2015, the aviation market witnessed a growth rate of 15 percent on average. The growth rate was unprecedentedly high in the last two years – 22.2 percent in 2015 and 31.2 percent in the first nine months of 2016.

The fleets of four Vietnamese air carriers have also been expanding, from 94 aircraft in 2011 to 141 by the third quarter of 2016.

Under the draft fleet development strategy, airlines would have the right to buy 89 more aircraft in the next four years, or 22 aircraft a year.

According to CAPA Fleet Database, Vietnam now ranks sixth in SE Asia in the number of aircraft in use, but it ranks third, after Malaysia and Indonesia, in the number of new aircraft ordered.

If ranking airlines in accordance with the number of aircraft, Vietnam Airlines would be in the fourth position, while Vietjet is ranked 18th. But if ranking airlines in accordance with the number of aircraft they have ordered, Vietjet would be in the third position, Vietnam Airlines ranks 12th and Jetstar Pacific 17th in the region.

If the orders are fulfilled, the number of aircraft Vietnam would have after 10 years would be 440 instead of the current 142. However, the fleet’s size would still be less than half of the two leading countries.

In reply to the warning that the aviation market has been developing too fast, experts said there was no need to worry. The demand for air transport has been increasing in recent years, thanks to the strong recovery of the economy and the airlines’ reasonable pricing policies.

With the sharp increase in the middle class and improved income of Vietnamese, expected to reach $10,000 by 2020 as forecast by the World Bank, the aviation market would see growth rate of 20 percent per annum in the next 3-4 years.

Therefore, it would be unreasonable to hinder the development of the aviation industry and restrict the number of aircraft that airlines can buy.

Luu Bich Ho, former head of the Institute for Development Strategy, said it was not a thorny problem to improve infrastructure conditions.

“The government can solve the problem by allowing private investors to develop aviation infrastructure items,” he said.

Thanh Mai