Thai Vietjet plans to add 10 jets to its fleet per year, says parent exec

Thai Vietjet plans to more than double the size of its Thailand-based fleet over the next year as part of a longer-term expansion plan, a Vietjet executive said Friday. “We plan to increase our fleet size by adding 10 aircraft every year. That means, at the end of next year, Thai Vietjet will have a total of 17 aircraft,” Vietjet Vice President Nguyen Thi Thuy Bihn said. Thai Vietjet is currently operating 6 Airbus SE A320 family narrowbody jets, with another due to arrive next month. The expansion comes at a time of intense competition in Thailand’s budget market with AirAsia franchise Thai AirAsia and Nok Airlines reporting losses in the quarter ended June 30 on higher fuel prices. Nguyen did not elaborate on which routes the 10 jets to be added would operate. Thai Vietjet will kick off two new routes connecting Bangkok and Danang in Vietnam and Taichung in Taiwan this year, according to the airline.<br/>