Aviation players on alert as competition expected to rise

Aircraft manufacturer Airbus is planning to expand its partnership with Vietnam in defence and space as part of its strategic efforts to respond to the local growing competition and demand.

Airbus boasts five helicopter models, which the company continues to develop new technologies for. Another focus is sustainability towards achieving net-zero by 2050.

Vietnam’s aviation arena is on the right track, with new aircraft being bought and competition rising, photo Le Toan

At present, Airbus is supporting Vietnam’s defence modernisation goals by 2030 with a wide range of advanced solutions, designed to strengthen the country’s capabilities and contribute to regional stability.

At the Vietnam International Defence Expo 2024 (VIDEX 2024) held on December 19-22 in Hanoi, one of Airbus’ key platforms was the C295, a versatile medium tactical transport aircraft that has demonstrated its capabilities in airlift, medical evacuation, and logistics missions.

Airbus is ready to support Vietnam with additional C295 transport aircraft and its other variants including maritime patrol, to enhance Vietnam’s airlift, as well as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities in safeguarding its airspace and territorial waters.

In the space sector, Airbus is strengthening its commitment to strategic collaboration with Vietnam. At VIDEX 2024, the company seeks to deepen local partnerships, focusing on enhancing Vietnam’s capabilities in space applications.

“These initiatives aim to unlock future cooperation opportunities, with an emphasis on key areas such as intelligence gathering, data processing and dissemination, satellite imagery, and communications applications supporting public safety and security,” Zakir Hamid, head of Asia-Pacific for Airbus Defence and Space, told VIR on December 18.

Like Airbus, Boeing is giving a priority to defence in Vietnam. The giant continues to bring new and modern products and solutions to the country. Specifically, at VIDEX 2024, it brought H-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopter, MH-139 Grey Wolf, ScanEagle, and Wave Glider.

Michael Nguyen, managing director of Boeing Vietnam, said, “Boeing’s presence at VIDEX 2024 is an important step forward in the growing partnership between Boeing and Vietnam.”

Boeing has been in Vietnam for nearly 30 years. Currently, it has a presence in a variety of fields including commercial aviation, supply chain, technical training, university cooperation and many community activities.

According to industry experts, these moves by Airbus and Boeing are among their strategic steps amid growing competition.

With the entry of Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) into the Vietnamese market this year, the duopoly of the two giants may be threatened in the long term.

Quietly but actively preparing itself as a major competitor in the worldwide aerospace sector, Comac has been designed to directly fight Boeing’s 737 MAX and Airbus’ A320neo, and its C919 narrow-body plane forms the core of this approach.

The company has a total investment of about ¥50 billion ($6.86 billion) and 18,000 employees focusing on producing C919 and ARJ21 aircraft lines, supplying partners worldwide.

Earlier this year, Comac brought the C919 and the ARJ21 to Van Don International Airport in the northeastern province of Quang Ninh for an exhibition. This was the second time the C919 had appeared at an event outside the Chinese market.

At the time, Comac’s chairman said that the event was an important step towards internationalising domestically produced commercial aircraft.

Wei Yingbiao, permanent deputy general director of Comac, said, “Vietnam is a large and potential market. We have been cooperating with Vietjet to set up a joint working group to discuss technical issues.”

Aviation expert Tuan Nguyen said, “Comac is no more a far-off threat, but in fact direct competition. It will be prepared to disrupt the global aerospace industry with the help of government funding and a rapidly expanding home market.”

Tuan Nguyen noted, “With the possible strong involvement of Comac, competition in the local market is expected to be heated up with new changes and new orders.”

Airbus said that the company welcomes competition. Thomas Zeman, head of Sales and Marketing for Asia-Pacific at Airbus Helicopters, said, “In order to respond to competition from traditional and new rivals, Airbus continues to invest in new technologies and products to offer the most advanced solutions in the market.”

A Boeing spokesperson told VIR, “Competition is always good for the aviation industry. It makes everyone in the industry invest in better technologies and find solutions to meet evolving customer needs.”

Vietnam’s aviation market to be on full recovery by year end The Vietnamese aviation market is set to fully recover by the end of this year since the Asia-Pacific market warms up, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV).

Aircraft shortage should pose no effect on aviation recovery Vietnam’s aviation industry is being affected by an apparent shortfall of aircraft. Dinh Viet Thang, head of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, talked to VIR’s Thuy Nguyen about the reason behind the scenes and the possible solutions ahead to stabilise the market.