Vietnam Airlines is poised to find buyers for three new-generation A350s it will receive in 2016-17 and lease them back for use, in a move to cut debts, the Vietnamese national flag carrier recently said.

A close-up of a Vietnam Airlines' A350 XWB Airbus

Such a sale-leaseback plan has been submitted to the carrier’s shareholders for approval, a Vietnam Airlines representative confirmed to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

Sale-and-leaseback is a financial transaction, where one sells an asset and leases it back for the long-term.

The plan will be carried out in accordance with the law and ensures interests for the national airline, the representative said.

The move is to control the money Vietnam Airlines has to borrow to afford the purchases for the Airbus 305-seat aircraft, while still ensures an adequate number of planes for its operation, according to the source.

Vietnam Airlines has had to borrow both commercial and government-backed loans to purchase the new-generation A350 XWB’s.

The national flag carrier received the first A350 XWB last year and inaugurated the modern aircraft for the Ha Noi – Paris route on October 1, 2015.

The latest service to use the modern aircraft is the Ho Chi Minh City – Shanghai, which the first flight launched on March 28, Vietnam Airlines announced on Friday.

Vietnam Airlines’ A350 XWB is equipped with the latest aerodynamic design, carbon fiber fuselage and wings, and fuel-saving Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines, which Airbus says will deliver “unrivalled levels of operating efficiency.”

The jetliner, the latest member in the Airbus widebody family, also features the lotus flower logo and distinct gold livery of Vietnam Airlines, whereas its interior design is enhanced to further increase comfort and spaciousness, according to Airbus.

Airbus has a 20-year relationship with Viet Nam, after its aircraft became the first Western types to be operated in the Southeast Asian country in 1995.

Airbus jetliners have since served as a platform for Vietnam Airlines to grow at home and abroad, and also have contributed to the Vietnamese economy’s development, the planemaker said.

Besides the A350 XWB, Vietnam Airlines currently operates 59 Airbus-built aircraft, including 49 single-aisle A321s and 10 widebody A330s.

(Source: Tuoi Tre News)