United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) could establish an MRO capability in Vietnam to support sales of the Superjet in Southeast Asia.

UAC president Yuri Slyusar made the remarks in Vietnam during part of a visit to the country with Russian prime minister Dimitry Medvedev.

Slyusar adds that Russia is eager to participate with Vietnam in both the commercial and military aircraft spheres. Superjet sales in Vietnam would serve as a springboard for sales to other countries in the region.

Flightglobal’s Ascend Fleets database shows that Vietnam Airlines relied on Russian types, namely the Tupolev Tu-134, until the mid-1990s, when more efficient types such as the Airbus A320 and Boeing 767 entered the carrier’s fleet.

Vietnam Airlines now has 79 aircraft in service, none of which is Russian. Low-cost carrier VietJet Air has 22 Airbus A320 family aircraft with 58 on order. In January, VietJet managing director Luu Duc Khanh told Flightglobal the carrier was exploring the possibility of turboprops and regional jets for none-trunk routes.

"On the flight performance the aircraft is competitive,” said Slyusar of the Superjet. “It also has a number of advantages from the point of view of passenger comfort and economic characteristics that allow it in this regard to qualify for particular attention of buyers. Our task is to show this.”

Source: Cirium Dashboard