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Vietnam Airlines order six ATR72s

Last Friday, national carrier Vietnam Airlines have signed an order to buy six turboprop ATR 72-500s from ATR. This deal was finalized, despite a struggling tourism industry in the country.

The first plane is scheduled for delivery in June 2009 and the last delivery would be met by February 2010.

“With today’s purchase of six further ATR 72-500s, we will satisfy the increasing demand for services on short-haul routes,” Pham Ngoc Minh—Vietnam Airlines chief executive—said in speech in Hanoi.

Vietnam Airlines is under pressure to boost the country’s tourism decline. The Hanoi-based airline now has 20 aircrafts in its fleet, including three ATR 72-500s and seven ATR 72-200s.

Minh also mentioned that they will gradually replace old models (ATR 72-200s) with newer models (ATR 72-500s) between July 2009 and May 2010.