Viking Air’s deal to sell six Twin Otter aircraft to Vietnam and train pilots to fly them will have a much wider economic impact than originally expected.
The consul general for Vietnam said his country’s relationship with the North Saanich aircraft manufacturer is a “signal for the establishment of further trade” with Canada.
It has also strengthened cultural and diplomatic ties, diplomat Dung Quang Tran said through an interpreter during a graduation ceremony of pilots on Wednesday at Viking’s headquarters at Victoria International Airport.
Dozens of dignitaries and representatives from federal, provincial and local governments watched as the first class of eight Vietnamese navy pilots earned their wings.
Tran noted that trade between Vietnam and Canada has increased 68 per cent since 2008, and that the Viking agreement is a shining example of how innovative deals involving technology and people can be achieved. “I strongly believe that working together we can increase trade between Vietnam and British Columbia,” he said.
No financial terms of the deal were disclosed, but the new Twin Otter has a base price of $6.5 million. The extras involved, such as amphibious landing gear, special instruments and gear, and custom training programs, push the selling price higher.
It was a historic deal for Viking Air because it was the first time that the Vietnamese government has ever purchased aircraft from a western country. The Vietnamese military has always flown Chinese- or Russian-made planes.
The 20-month project to train pilots is the first of its kind in Canada and was hailed Wednesday as an ambitious plan with successful results. None of the pilot candidates — all recruits who range in age 23 to 35 — could speak English or fly a plane when they arrived in Victoria.
In less than two years, the pilots received English training through a tailored program at Camosun College and had to earn their pilot’s licence as well as complicated flight and technical training that involved more than 2,100 landings on lakes and along British Columbia coastline.
Michael Coughlin, chief executive of Pacific Sky Aviation — a unit of Viking Air that provided the training, said the program “is quite unlike any other training program in the world.”
Another class of 12 pilots has already started training while the graduating eight will return to Vietnam this summer. The first of six planes will be delivered to a naval base in Haiphong in the fall and the pilots will start patrolling the coastline immediately. The pilot training will continue until 40 are qualified to operate the six aircraft, which will be delivered at intervals through to 2016.
Rear Admiral Hai of the Vietnamese Navy was visibly proud of his newest pilots and praised Canada for its unique program and quality aircraft. He called Canadians “open-minded” and “easy-going” and got a laugh from the audience when he commented on Victoria’s “stable weather.”
Hai said the navy covets the Twin Otter’s durability and its ability to fly in difficult conditions and landing situations, noting Vietnam is a country of lakes, rivers and 3,400 kilometres of coastline.
He also hinted at a further order from Viking. “This graduation ceremony is a first step in the relationship between the navy and Viking Air,” said Hai.
He told the pilots “to take what you have learned back to your country with pride.”
Team leader Pham Vu Tran, speaking on behalf of the graduates, admitted learning English and studying for a pilot’s licence was difficult in a foreign land in such a short time frame. But he was grateful for the experience and the class looks forward to serving their country.
Commodore Bob Auchterlonie, commander of Canadian Fleet Pacific, said he looks forward to seeing a Twin Otter overhead when he visits Haiphong aboard HMCS Algonquin as part of a naval exercise in southeast Asia this fall.
“It’s fitting that 2013 marks the 40th anniversary of a bilateral relationship between Vietnam and Canada,” said Auchterlonie. “This [Viking contract] only strengthens the ties between our two countries.”
Viking CEO Dave Curtis struck the deal with Hanoi in 2010, but was involved in talks with the Vietnamese years before as his company acquired the rights and plans to all of de Havilland’s aircraft.
The deal was actually made before the first Series 400 Twin Otter was complete and before the aircraft was certified to fly.
“We quickly realized that we’re not just selling an aircraft, but building a relationship with another country,” said Curtis. “As we travel around the world, that’s what we find. The Twin Otter isn’t only a famous Canadian brand, it’s a great ambassador for our country.”
Curtis said a similar deal is possible with the Peruvian Air Force, which bought 12 Twin Otters in 2011 and represents the company’s largest military order.
Viking inked its largest non-military order to date earlier this year at the Paris Air Show, selling seven aircraft to Moscow-based Vityaz Avia Corp. The latest order brought to 11 the number of Twin Otters purchased by the Russian company. The overall deal is estimated at $71.5 million.
Viking has sold 90 planes to 16 countries and production is backlogged to 2015. More than 30 aircraft have been delivered to date. Viking employs 575, a 400 per cent increase from three years ago.
About 450 are stationed at Viking’s headquarters at Victoria International Airport where the parts are manufactured.
The planes are partially assembled in Victoria and then trucked to a Calgary plant where final assembly takes place. The Twin Otters are then flow to Spokane, Wash., for painting, and then back to Victoria for finishing touches and certification.
The company said its plane is now confirmed as the world's best-selling “next-generation, 19-passenger aircraft.”
Viking provides support for the worldwide fleet of de Havilland legacy aircraft (the DHC-1 through DHC-7) and forms part of Westerkirk Capital Inc., a Canadian private investment firm with holdings in the hospitality, aviation and real estate sectors.
