Vietnam Airlines said on Tuesday the government has allowed it to plan the purchase of 10 Boeing 787s as part of the carrier's fleet and route expansion.

"Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has directed us to come up with plans to make the aircraft purchase and we plan to start the process soon," said Vietnam Airlines' spokesman.

The Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper quoted a decision by Prime Minister Nguyen as saying the airlines should immediately prepare plans to buy 10 new Boeing 787s, either the 787-9 or 787-10 models.

The Prime Minister also requested the carrier to study the Airbus A350 for additional purchases.

Vietnam Airlines has said it would need to spend around VND19 trillion dong (USD$1.2 billion) to expand its fleet to 56 aircraft by 2010 from 39 now, including using funds from international bond issues.

The unlisted airline expected to own 32 planes of the 56 aircraft in 2010.

Vietnam Airlines has projected revenues would grow more than 10 percent annually from now until 2010, when they should reach USD$2 billion.

The expansion of the airline's fleet, expected to have 100 aircraft by 2020, was to meet demand in Vietnam forecast to grow 13-14 percent annually over the next five years.

Vietnam Airlines had planned to launch direct flights to the United States -- home to an estimated 1.5 million people of Vietnamese origin -- in the middle of 2006. But in January, Deputy General Director Pham Ngoc Minh was quoted by state media as saying that a number of reasons, including a shortage of aircraft, meant a delay until 2007.

Last June, Vietnam Airlines signed a deal to buy four Boeing 787s worth around USD$500 million at list prices for delivery in 2009 and 2010.

At present, the airline operates Boeing 777s and 767s and Airbus A320 and A321 planes.