An interesting piece crossed the wire yesterday, with Bamboo Airways of Vietnam and Boeing confirming a memorandum of understanding of 20 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner Aircraft.
Bamboo Airways Boeing 787 – Image, Bamboo Airways/LIFT Strategic Design
But who are Bamboo Airways?
It’s an airline that’s in its start-up phase, based in Quy Nhon, Vietnam. It is owned by the a Vietnamese construction company, FLC Group.
FLC Group itself has hotels and other tourist infrastructure – in effect making an Air-Land Bridge to its products.
The carrier plans to offer flights within Vietnam before expanding into other Northeast Asian markets such as China, Korea and Japan, and is chasing the market between the Low Cost Carriers (Jetstar Pacific and VietJet) and full service carriers (such as Vietnam Airlines).
According to Mr Trinh Van Quyet, Chairman of FLC Group, the plan for the 787s is a bit different:
“Our long-term vision is to connect Vietnam to key markets within Asia, Europe and North America and the capabilities of these new state-of-the-art Dreamliners will help us achieve our goals. The 787’s superior economics and efficiency, as well as the passenger pleasing interior of the Dreamliner will allow us to successfully grow our business while enabling us to better serve our customers.”
The airline is due to commence operations in 2019 with 3rd party aircraft (around six), before shifting to a fleet made up of 24 Airbus A320neo family aircraft and 20 Boeing 787 Dreamliner Aircraft.
Bamboo Airways completed the deposit requirement in mid-June to reserve the 20 airplanes, which are tentatively schedule to deliver from April 2020 through 2021.
LIFT Strategic Design is providing services to deliver items relevant to the airline’s brand, including logo, livery and cabin interior.
20 Boeing 787s and 24 Airbus A320neo aircraft is a big statement for a start-up airline – it will be interesting to see if Bamboo can deliver on its promises to target new markets.
Image, Bamboo Airways/LIFT Strategic Design via Twitter
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