Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has approved Bamboo Airways’ investment project at Phu Cat Airport in the south central province of Binh Dinh. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister Trinh DinhDung has approved Bamboo Airways’ investment project at Phu Cat Airport in the southcentral province of Binh Dinh.
The project aims to make Bamboo Airways one of Vietnam’sleading carriers with a total investment of 700 billion VND (31.4 million USD).
The project plans to purchase ten Airbus 320 and 321 orBoeing 737 aircraft by 2023. It is permitted to operate for 50 years, startingfrom July 9, 2018.
The Deputy PM asked the Ministry of Transport to verifythe project and grant it an aviation business license, while the People’sCommittee of Binh Dinh was tasked with supervising the implementation of theproject.
In May 2017, property developer FLC Group announced it wouldestablish the Viet Bamboo Airways Company, a hybrid airline which will blendlow-cost traits with those of traditional or full-service carriers. It also aimsto be the first in Vietnam to provide First Class seats.
The carrier plans to serve 24 domestic air routes,including Thanh Hoa-Quy Nhon, Thanh Hoa-Phu Quoc, Thanh Hoa-Nha Trang and HaiPhong-Quy Nhon. It will also launch international flights to Japan, theRepublic of Korea, China, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines,the US and Europe.
In March, FLC Group inked an agreement with Frenchmanufacturer Airbus to buy up to 24 A321neo aircraft, worth 3 billion USD, forBamboo Airways.
Three months later, the group signed a deal with Boeingfrom the US to purchase 20 wide-body 787-9 Dreamliners, worth up to 5.6 billionUSD, to serve long international routes.
Bamboo Airways is set to startoperations in 2019 with aircraft on lease from third-party lessors beforetaking delivery of the aircraft from Airbus.
The airline expects to own a fleet of more than 200aircraft by 2020 and 400 by 2030 and to make up 3 – 5 percent of the country’saviation market share, according to General Director Dang Tat Thang.–VNA
VNA
