The report on the deal, which confirms a Reuters report last week that Boeing was planning to sell 50 of its 737 MAX to Vietnam, came during President Joe Biden's visit to Hanoi on Sunday.
Boeing and Vietnam Airlines did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The sale of the 737 MAX planes by Boeing is a part of a deal with Vietnam Airlines' rival VietJet.
According to the International Air Transport Association, Vietnam was the world's fifth fastest-growing aeronautical market in 2022, when it lifted COVID-19 travel restrictions. The country will serve 150 million air transport passengers by 2035. Two fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia in 2018 and 2019, Boeing 737 Max fighter jets were grounded worldwide for months. The planes returned to service from the end of 2020. In the second quarter of this year, Vietnam Airlines lost 1.3 trillion dong, its 14th quarter in the red, its financial statements showed. The airline said it had caused the losses because of rising fuel prices and other financial risk factors. In an interview with Vietnamese authorities and other U.S. defense companies, Boeing has been in talks with Vietnamese officials about the possibility of selling military equipment, including drones and helicopters. Boeing, based in Arlington, Virginia, has six suppliers in Vietnam and is striving to increase their capabilities.