Boeing Wins Nearly 100-plane Haul as Vietnam Inks $30B+ Jet Deals

With input from the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and Boeing.

Boeing just sold a boatload of metal to Vietnam.

In a ceremony in Washington, officials announced that US planemaker Boeing has deals with two Vietnamese carriers that together top $30 billion — and one of those deals alone is the biggest widebody purchase in Vietnam’s history.

The splashiest part: newcomer Sun PhuQuoc Airways has ordered up to 40 Boeing 787 Dreamliners to anchor a long-haul fleet built around Phu Quoc tourism. Sun Group’s chairman, Dang Minh Truong, framed the move as strategic — the Dreamliner, he said, is the aircraft that will “bring Phu Quoc to the world and bring the world to Phu Quoc.”

Sun PhuQuoc plans to base those routes at Phu Quoc International Airport, Stephanie Pope, leaned into the usual sales pitch: range, fuel efficiency, passenger comfort (big windows, lower cabin altitude). She also framed the order as a win for tourism and local jobs — the classic public argument when a big aircraft order drops into a regional economy.

The other half of the $30-plus billion story involves national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, which signed separate deals with Boeing at the same event. Combined, the buy signals warming trade and aviation ties between Washington and Hanoi just as both sides talk trade and market access.

A few context bits worth noting: Sun PhuQuoc is pitching a “resort aviation” model — think hub-and-spoke that funnels tourists into a single island resort ecosystem — and plans to grow its fleet toward 100 aircraft by 2030. Vietnamese officials, including Tran Minh Son and national figures such as To Lam, joined the announcement, underscoring the political heft behind the investment push.

What this means on the ground: more nonstop routes, more hotel rooms filled, and a boost to Vietnam’s tourism-first strategy. It also shows Boeing scoring major orders as global carriers recalibrate fleets for longer, more efficient planes after a decade of pandemic-era disruption.

The deal is big headline fodder — money, geopolitics, and shiny jets — and also a reminder that aviation still runs on long lead times and big capital bets. For Phu Quoc, the gamble is obvious: turn the island into a global gateway. For Boeing, it’s another notch in the order book at a moment when every widebody sale counts.