We love telling secrets and, in the travel and Tourism industry, they abound. The four-year-old Vietnamese carrier, Bamboo Airways, has taken the Aviation Industry by storm with its massive growth to claim the accolade, of ‘one of the quickest growing airlines in the world’.
The Vietnamese executives who launched Bamboo Airways must have known that bamboo was one of the fastest-growing plants on the planet and wanted their fledgling airline to reflect that growth. The airline duly experienced an early growth spurt to become the fastest start-up in recent times.
Based in Hanoi and taking off in 2019, the airline now boasts a fleet of 29 aircraft including the modern Embraer, Airbus A320 family, and three of the world’s most popular Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Each Dreamliner has a different configuration to appeal to passenger target markets. Two classes – Business and Economy, and three classes- Business, Premium Economy, and Economy.
Bamboo business class
Domestically, Bamboo Airways strengthens its flight network to promote market recovery, as well as contribute to local socio-economic development. Internationally, Bamboo Airways continues to expand its flight network to continental gateway airports in Asia, Europe, Australia, and America. The airline aims for an increase to 35 aircraft by the end of this year, 42 by 2023, and 100 by 2028.
The airline is not yet well known in Australia but the verdict of a check of passengers in Premium Economy and Economy agrees the airline is a welcome addition to Australian skies and has an excellent future. The airline developed multiple new routes to Australia during the Pandemic guaranteeing its commitment to growing the Australian market.
In March 2022, Bamboo Airways launched a twice-weekly eight-hour Sydney Ho Chi Minh City service which is intended to expand to four weeklies by the end of 2022.
Bamboo Airways operates two return flights a week SYD-SGN, two return flights weekly MEL-SGN, and one return flight a week MEL-HAN. It is the only airline to serve the nonstop regular MEL-HAN route. The aircraft model deployed on all these routes is the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The frequency will be increased in the future depending on market demands. Its popularity will flourish when the secret is out.
Bamboo Airways operates an average of 170 flights a day. It has an extensive domestic network which includes 21 of 22 airports in Vietnam while serving 12 international routes to Asia (Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia, etc.), Europe (Germany, UK, etc.), Australia (Melbourne, Sydney), Other routes are still on the drawing board. Load factors on many routes are high, frequently exceeding 80%.
In addition, international passengers connecting to domestic flights are offered selected complimentary domestic flights. These complimentary flights are valid at SGN and HAN (except routes to Dien Bien and Con Dao). The International routes that qualify for free add-ons include MEL/SYD/FRA/LHR/NRT/TPE/ICN to HAN/SGN.
Recently, Bamboo Airways was honoured as Most Improved Airline in Asia 2022, Best Cabin Crew in Asia 2022, Asia’s leading regional airline.
The airline had a change of management in early August and the new administration team will concentrate on expanding the fleet, and the destinations and ensuring that the reputation for top-class service and professionalism is enhanced.
Written by John Savage who paid for an economy fare and was upgraded to business class.
