American Airlines’ Airbus A330s that were (prematurely, in my opinion) retired at the start of the coronavirus pandemic will be returning to the skies… but for a different airline! I first covered this back in the spring, but would like to provide an update, as we’re getting closer to the delivery of these aircraft, and have a better sense of the types of missions that they’ll fly.
Sun PhuQuoc Airways picks up eight Airbus A330s
Sun PhuQuoc Airways is a leisure airline startup based in Vietnam. The airline received its air operator’s certificate in September 2025, and commenced commercial operations as of November 2025.
The carrier’s primary hub is in Phu Quoc (PQC), as you may have guessed based on the name. So far the company has a fleet of 17 Airbus A320-family aircraft, including three A320neos, two A321s, and 12 A321neos. The airline has huge growth aspirations beyond that, including acquiring eight Airbus A330-200s, plus up to 40 Boeing 787-9s (which will be delivered as of 2031).
We’re now learning more details about how these wide body plans are taking shape. Back in April 2026, it was first reported that Sun PhuQuoc Airways would pick up eight A330s that used to fly for American.
The airline has now formally announced that four of these will be joining the fleet before the end of 2026, and then four more will be joining the fleet in the first four months of 2027. They’re still quite new, as they’re only 12-13 years old, and they’ve spent roughly half of that time in storage.
The airline has now shared a photo of the first A330 in its livery. While the initial plan was for the plane to have the full “Sun PhuQuoc” text on the fuselage, the airline has simplified its logo and branding, and it now simply shows “SPA.”
These are all planes that were initially delivered to US Airways, and they have 247 seats, including 20 business class seats, 21 premium economy seats, and 206 economy seats. The business class seats are in a reverse herringbone configuration, and the first photos of the cabins have been shared.
As you can see, minimal changes have been made, as just the finishes have been updated. The airline is calling the cabins a “resort in the sky,” which is both hilarious and sort of cute.
Vietnamese airlines are known for acquiring planes secondhand, and making minimal updates, so these are actually pretty substantial updates, all things considered. 😉
The airline claims it will use these A330s to strengthen routes to South Korea, Russia, Kazakhstan, Japan, and Australia, while exploring expansion to several destinations in Europe. Here’s what Sun Phu Quoc Airways CEO Nguyen Manh Quan had to say about this:
“Investing in the Airbus A330 wide-body fleet is a strategic move in the airline’s development journey. Our objective extends beyond network expansion. We are equally committed to enhancing the passenger experience on longer routes, with products and services that are meticulously developed from the outset. This also serves as the foundation for SPA to steadily refine its service quality in line with international five-star standards.”
I’m very curious to see how this all plays out. While Vietnam’s economy has been growing fast, the country’s aviation sector has seen mixed results. For example, several years back we saw Bamboo Airways growing at a very fast pace, only to then have to dump most of its aircraft, because the economics just didn’t make sense. The airline is now on the verge of liquidation, and no longer operates regularly scheduled flights.
I’m determined to fly on one of these PhuQuoc Airways A330s once they enter service, as this’ll be such a blast from the past for American (and with the Park Hyatt Phu Quoc finally opening, the timing is sort of great!).
These A330s were a major strategic blunder for American
It can’t be overstated how much of a strategic blunder it was for American to retire these planes so early, and as I see it, this was part of when American really firmly cemented its third place position among the “big three” carriers.
At the start of the pandemic, American retired all of its A330s, along with all Boeing 757s and 767s, and that massively limited American’s long haul growth opportunities. While that maybe seemed wise for some number of weeks when many people felt travel demand would never recover, demand sure came back fast and strong.
So when that happened, American found itself at a major disadvantage, given its small long haul fleet. What’s sad is that at a minimum, American could’ve initially reactivated these A330s. They were just six or seven years old at the time, and had plenty of life left in them, not to mention American had just reconfigured them to add premium economy.
But nope, American didn’t do that. Instead, it just pursued its “buy lots of new planes, bulk up on debt, and dominate the world via El Paso” strategy, which hasn’t exactly been a smashing success.
Bottom line
American’s gently used Airbus A330-200s will be returning to the skies, flying for Vietnam leisure airline startup Sun PhuQuoc Airways. The airline launched operations in late 2025, and has massive growth plans, including acquiring eight ex-American A330s, along with quite a few Boeing 787-9s as of 2031.
We’ll see how this all plays out, though I’m happy to see these planes getting another lease on life, given that they were only in service for such a short period. It’s just a shame American isn’t the airline that decided to bring them back.
What do you make of this deal involving ex-American A330s?
Membership is free and takes no more information than commenting as a guest. Earn status points for good contributions, and see fewer ads as your status grows.