Vietnam Airlines (VN) ordered six ATR 72-500s valued at more than US$112 million, ATR announced.

They will be equipped with the Elegance cabin, powered by PW127Ms and bring the number of -500s it currently has on order to 11.

All are scheduled for delivery in 2009 and 2010.

The airline's current ATR fleet comprises seven 72-200s and three 72-500s.

VN President and CEO Pham Ngoc Minh said demand for flights from big cities in Southeast Asia to "tourist destinations" is "accelerating rapidly."

The carrier currently flies 50 aircraft to 19 domestic and 23 international destinations and said it plans to expand its fleet to 104 by 2015 and 150 by 2020.

Image: Picture of the ATR aircraft in the livery of Vietnam Airlines.