Start-up airline Bamboo Airways has received an operating licence from the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam.
The airline plans to launch operations at the end of this year; its first flight is scheduled for December 29th. Flight tickets are expected to go on sale one month before the airline’s launch.
While the Quy Nhon (central Vietnam) based airline does plan on operating a number of international connections, including long haul flights, its first routes are going to be domestic ones, mostly to and from capital Hanoi. Bamboo’s first aircraft, a leased Airbus A320, is expected to arrive in Vietnam on December 12th, the company says.
A former Turkish Airlines A320 was recently repainted into Bamboo Airways’ livery, however it is not known when exactly this aircraft will join the airline’s fleet. In addition, a Small Planet Airlines (Lithuania) A320 (registration LY-ONL) has been spotted wearing Bamboo’s color scheme (see photo above). According to some sources, a former Silk Air Airbus A319 will also join the Vietnamese carrier soon.
Bamboo has 24 Airbus A321neo (plus 24 options) and 20 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on order, both aircraft types’ purchase agreements were signed earlier in 2018.
The new airline is owned by Vietnamese property investment and construction company FLC Group. It is now becoming the fifth carrier in the South-East Asian country, which has one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world, joining flag-carrier Vietnam Airlines, VietJet, Jetstar Pacific and VASCO (Vietnam Air Services Company).
Read more: Vietnamese Bamboo Airways to order 20 Boeing 787-9
Jakob Wert is an aviation journalist from Germany. He built up the website IFN.news and is the Editor-In-Chief of International Flight Network.
