Vietnam Airlines has switched an order for 16 Boeing 787-8s to the larger -9 model, citing the unexpected performance limitations of the -8.
“The -8 doesn’t meet the performance guarantee as they told me,” Vietnam Airlines CEO Pham Ngoc Minh told Flightglobal during a meeting of the SkyTeam alliance in New York. “We found the -8 is a heavy -8; it’s not the original -8 they committed to.” Minh added that the 787-8 would not be able to economically operate on routes between Vietnam and North America due to the added weight to the aircraft.
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The carrier is now not expected to take delivery of its first 787 until 2015. Vietnam Airlines placed its first order for four 787-8s in 2005, and followed up with an order for four additional aircraft in 2007, while Vietnam Aircraft Leasing also ordered eight aircraft on behalf of the airline.