It's a newcomer to European skies. The young carrier Bamboo Airways, Vietnam's first private international airline, arrives in the European Union this February..
The carrier has had its sights set on Europe since its creation in 2018. Bamboo Airways quickly initiated a memorandum of understanding with Prague airport and the Czech authorities for flights between Hanoi and Prague. By 2020, it was doing the same in Germany with Munich airport. But then the Covid pandemic hit. The total closure of Vietnamese airspace to international airlines has effectively frozen Bamboo Airways' ambitions.
However, the reopening of Vietnam has given the carrier a new lease of life. Bamboo Airways has announced the official opening of its first routes in the EU and the UK. Although Prague is no longer a priority, Bamboo Airways to launch flights between Frankfurt and Hanoi. A Boeing 787-9 will offer two weekly flights from 25 February. The airline will increase the number of flights according to demand. In parallel, Bamboo to launch two flights a week to London Heathrow from 25 March.
In the near future, Bamboo plans to launch a Frankfurt-Ho Chi Minh City route and study services to Munich and Berlin. No announcement for the French marketwhich remains the preserve of the Air France/Vietnam Airlines tandem as part of the Skyteam alliance.
Vietnam Airlines has just announced reopen its flights to Paris CDG. From 8 February, the airline will be offering a weekly service on the Hanoi-Frankfurt-Paris route and return. The flight leaves Paris every Thursday on a Boeing 787-9. Bookings are currently open until 23 March, and it is likely that the upturn in tourism between France and Vietnam will lead to an increase in frequencies during the spring.
