Bamboo Airways serves Vietnam – Australia flights

On Feb. 19, Melbourne Airport and Bamboo Airways celebrated the first nonstop HCMC – Melbourne flight and handed out gifts to passengers. On Feb. 20, Bamboo Airways organized a ceremony for its first Vietnam – Australia flights in 2022 at Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

At the ceremony, Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Department Le Truong Hien Hoa praised Bamboo Airways’ efforts in operating the nonstop HCMC – Melbourne route, thus bringing diverse options and benefits for travelers and enhancing bilateral cooperation in various fields: economy, tourism, and people-to-people exchange.

Truong Phuong Thanh, Deputy Director of Bamboo Airways, said this is a stepping stone for Bamboo Airways’ promotion roadmap of upcoming routes between other major cities in Vietnam and Australia, creating opportunities for passengers to access the international 5-star oriented services of Bamboo Airways.

Bamboo Airways hands out gifts to passengers on the its Vietnam – Australia flights. Photo courtesy of Bamboo Airways

Earlier in December 2021, Bamboo Airways announced the Vietnam – Australia route and inked a Letter of Support with Melbourne Airport to promote the nonstop flights between the two countries. The nonstop HCMC – Melbourne route of Bamboo Airways helps shorten travel time between both cities to just over seven hours, less than approximately nine hours compared to transit flights. The modern wide-body Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner is operated on this route with utmost fuel efficiency and superb amenities and services.

Trung Vu, a 39-year-old passenger on the Feb. 19 flight, burst with joy: “I haven’t seen my family in Melbourne for a long time due to the pandemic. But thanks to this flight, my family and I had a chance to gather around, and it feels like we’re turning back to the pre-pandemic life.”

As Australia’s second-largest city, Melbourne has been crowned among the most livable cities for many years regarding culture, education, and economy. Melbourne Airport is also one of the busiest airports in Australia and a crucial gateway to the Asia-Pacific region. Australia is among the countries with the largest Vietnamese community in the world, with more than 300,000 people, mainly in Sydney (New South Wales) and Melbourne (Victoria).

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the number of Australian tourists to Vietnam in 2019 reached over 383,000, just behind the U.S., Russia, and some Asian countries. In 2018, there were 562,000 people traveling directly between Vietnam and Australia.

Operation of the Vietnam – Australia route is a part of Bamboo Airways’ international expansion roadmap. Based on the constrained pandemic and travel reopening of the government, Ministry of Transport, Civil Aviation Authority, and relevant authorities, Bamboo has actively prepared for the resumption and increase of international flights from the beginning of 2022.

Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner of Bamboo Airways at Melbourne Airport, Victoria, Australia. Photo courtesy of Bamboo Airways

As for routes to Asia, Bamboo is currently operating Hanoi – Narita, Hanoi – Taipei (Taiwan), and Hanoi – Incheon (South Korea). As for European routes, the airline plans to launch Hanoi – Frankfurt (Germany) in February 2022 and Hanoi – London (U.K.) in March 2022. The airline also plans to gear up operations between HCMC – Frankfurt, Hanoi/ HCMC – Munich in the coming time.

In Southeast Asia, Bamboo Airways is planning a HCMC – Singapore route in March 2022 and to other countries in the region. Regarding the fleet, Bamboo Airways has currently put in place 30 aircraft. Adding to the wide-body Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners and narrow-body A321/A320NEO, Bamboo also efficiently operates Embraer jets for niche routes and restricted airports. As global aviation is expected to strongly rebound this year, Bamboo Airways is targeting an expansive network of nearly 40 international routes.