(Feb 19): Vietnamese carriers launched a US charm offensive by announcing billions of dollars in new and old plane orders from Boeing Co as the nation’s Communist Party chief To Lam visits Washington looking to clinch a trade deal with US President Donald Trump.
Sun PhuQuoc Airways, which only began services in November, has placed an order for 40 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners in a deal valued at US$22.5 billion ($28.5 billion), the unit of conglomerate Sun Group said in a statement.
National carrier Vietnam Airlines JSC, which said it had finalised an US$8.1 billion deal announced in 2023 for 50 Boeing 737-8 Max aircraft, also announced it is in talks to acquire a further 30 widebody jets for about US$12 billion.
The announcements come as Lam is in Washington to attend Trump’s inaugural Board of Peace meeting and looking to wrap up a trade deal with the Communist country’s most important export market.
The Southeast Asian nation, which ships everything from smartphones to sneakers to America, posted a record US$133.9 billion trade surplus with the US in 2025, a 28% jump from the year before, according to the statistics agency. Vietnam already had the third-largest US trade gap, behind only China and Mexico.
Vietnam has repeatedly promised to buy more big-ticket American items, including high-tech machinery and equipment, in a bid to reduce its trade imbalance with the US.
See also: Airbus slams Pratt & Whitney for holding back output plans
To that end, budget carrier VietJet Aviation JSC also said in a statement that it had inked a US$5.4 billion engine and maintenance agreement with Pratt & Whitney. It also said it signed a financing deal worth about US$965 million with Griffin Global Asset Management for six Boeing 737-8 aircraft.
Uploaded by Tham Yek Lee
