Airbus has celebrated the delivery of its 9000th aircraft at a ceremony in Hamburg, Germany on 20th March 2015. The aircraft is the first A321 to be delivered to Vietnamese carrier VietJetAir and will join the carrier’s all-Airbus A320 Family fleet flying on its fast-growing Asia-Pacific network.

“The delivery of our 9000th aircraft comes as we enjoy ongoing strong demand for aircraft across our product line,” said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers. “The range of aircraft we offer today is unrivalled, meeting every airline requirement from 100 to over 500 seats with maximum efficiency, uncompromised comfort and broad customer appeal.”

“We are especially pleased to be delivering today’s aircraft to VietJetAir, which is a rising star in the fast-growing Asian region. With the A321, VietJetAir will be able to increase capacity on its most popular routes while benefiting from the lowest operating costs of any single aisle aircraft.”

“We are excited to be adding the A321 to our fleet today as we continue to develop our innovative value-based model in Asia-Pacific,” said Mr. Luu Duc Khanh, Managing Director of VietJetAir. “Based on our proven experience, we are confident that our decision to operate an all Airbus fleet will bring us unbeatable economies of scale while offering our passengers a comfortable travel experience. It will be a great honour for us to welcome the 9000th Airbus aircraft to its new home in sunny Vietnam.”

VietJetAir first took to the skies at the end of 2011 and now operates a fleet of 22 A320 Family aircraft on a network covering Vietnam and a growing number of destinations across Asia. The A321 delivered today is the first of seven ordered by the airline as part of a major aircraft acquisition plan for up to 100 A320 Family aircraft announced in early 2014.

Since delivering its first A300 in 1974, Airbus has developed the world’s most modern and comprehensive product line. Today this includes the market-leading single aisle A320 Family and the industry’s most extensive Widebody Family, comprising the super-efficient A330, the all-new A350 XWB and the world’s largest aircraft, the flagship double deck A380.

The 9000th delivery comes less than two years after Airbus reached its last milestone of 8000 aircraft-delivered in August 2013.  Over the last 10 years, Airbus has doubled its deliveries to reach over 600 aircraft a year today – a figure that is set to rise further as the demand grows.