VietJet eyes aircraft purchases as it relies on vaccine rollouts to revive air travel

Vietnamese budget carrier VietJet Aviation plans to expand its investment in new aircraft and technical facilities this year after reporting a small profit in 2020 despite the coronavirus pandemic, its chief executive officer said. “In 2021, we expect to continue to receive new modern planes and will invest in maintenance and training facilities, and the investment will be higher than in 2020,” VietJet President and CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao said. VietJet said separately on Wednesday it raised $28m via a bond issuance last month to fund its development plans in 2021. It did not provide further details about the bond sale. Vietnam has been successful in containing the coronavirus with a series of quarantine and tracking measures. With just over 1,500 infections and 35 deaths in total, it has resumed economic activities earlier than much of Asia. While all international commercial flights have been suspended since late March, domestic air travel has been subjected to few restrictions.<br/>