Among those present at the event was Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung who also joined a takeoff ceremony for the new jetliner.

The PM congratulated Vietnam Airlines on its A350-900 new-generation aircraft and spoke highly of effective cooperation between the carrier and Airbus Group. He praised the airline’s announcement of its upgrade programme on service quality and new brand identifying system

He said he hoped the airliner would expand and ensure air safety and security.

He suggested Airbus continue supporting Vietnam in personnel training and development of technical logistics facilities while affirming Vietnam’s willingness to cooperate with the aircraft manufacturer in other field.

At the ceremony, the PM witnessed the signing of a technical cooperation agreement between Vietnam Airlines and Airbus Group in which later pledged to provide a full package of parts and supplies for the former’s A350 fleet over 12 years.

Aircraft A350-900 XWB is the newest member of Airbus’s wide-body family.

Receiving Aircraft A350-900 XWB is part of Vietnam Airlines’ plan by 2020 to enlarge its fleet of new-generation wide-body aircrafts for its long-distance services. The national flagship carrier is the second airline in the world, after Qatar Airways, to operate the new generation aircraft. As scheduled, Vietnam Airlines will have fourteen A350-900s, including 10 ordered directly from Airbus and another four from leasing firms.

During the ceremony, Vietnam Airlines introduced its plan to upgrade its services to meet four-star rating by the end of this year, covering ticket booking, in-flight services, after-sales and staff attitude alongside its new brand identifying system applied from July 3 onwards. — VNA/ VNS