Bamboo Airways operates first flight on Vietnam-Australia direct route
Vietnamese carrier Bamboo Airways operated first flight connecting Ho Chi Minh City and Melbourne in Australia on February 19-20.
According to the airline's Deputy General Director Truong Phuong Thanh, this is a new milestone in its roadmap to exploit Vietnam-Australia direct air routes.
Along with the Ho Chi Minh City-Melbourne route, the airline has planned to open additional routes linking major cities of Vietnam and Australia, he said.
The route helps shorten the travel time between the two cities to about eight hours, saving eight hours compared to transit flights.
Bamboo Airlines uses 787-9 Dreamliner for flights on this route.
Earlier in December, Bamboo Airways announced the launch of the Vietnam-Australia direct air route and signed agreements with Melbourne airport and Victoria State for the operation of the route.
Australia is a big tourism market of Vietnam with more than 383,000 Australian visiting Vietnam in 2019. Meanwhile, more than 300,000 Vietnamese students are studying in the country.
According to a representative of Bamboo Airways, the airline plans to expand its international network to nearly 40 routes in 2022, including the Hanoi-Narita (Japan), Hanoi-Taipei (Taiwan, China) and Hanoi-Incheon (the Republic of Korea); while the Hanoi-Frankfurt (Germany) and Hanoi-London (the UK) routes are scheduled to be launched in March.
Bamboo Airways is operating a fleet of 30 airplanes, including Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners and A321/A320 Neo.
