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For the very rich, private planes are the newest status symbol
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VietNamNet Bridge – At least three more bosses of big companies are completing procedures to buy a private plane in 2010, following the example of Hoa Phat Group Chairman Tran Dinh Long and Hoang Anh Gia Lai Chairman Doan Nguyen Duc.


Vietnam Air Service Company (VASCO) told Tien Phong newspaper that Duc’s purchase of a King Air 350 set a precedent; now the registration procedure is well-understood and it will be easier for other businessmen to purchase an aircraft for themselves.



VASCO refused to identify its clients. However, an anonymous source told Tien Phong that three Vietnamese businessmen are negotiating to buy planes from France and the US, including a big name in food processing and real estate field, a female boss in the field of real estate and a chairman of a big corporation.



These businessmen are willing to pay from $7-12 million for an aircraft. If these affairs go smoothly, the first plane may arrive in Vietnam in the second half of 2010 and be flying before Tet 2011. Planes at the above prices are said to be easy to operate, have low cost of maintenance fee and to be suitable for runways and airports in Vietnam.



VASCO Director Bui Ngoc Hoang said that VASCO (a unit of Vietnam Airlines) and other local firms can maintain planes like Duc’s King Air 350. They can provide pilots and related services for them.



An aviation expert said that it is easy to buy such aircraft because a number of foreign makers have begun marketing in Vietnam since 2008.



In early 2009, Euro Helicopter quoted prices of modern helicopters at from one to three million dollars each (factory price). The prices for used helicopters are much lower. For as little as one million dollars, a businessman can buy a used plane.



Hoang said that if the economic situation is bright and businessmen perceive a need to travel about, many private planes will likely be imported into Vietnam in the next few years, priced from $10-15 million per unit.



However, because the Vietnamese government is trying to curb a trade deficit, the import of luxurious products like cars and planes will receive extra scrutiny and ‘formalities’ are complicated.

Source: Tien Phong