Things are certainly not good for Bamboo Airways, Vietnam’s new(ish) airline that was growing at a very fast pace until recently.
Bamboo Airways appears to be discontinuing its 787 flights.
I recently wrote about how Bamboo Airways was struggling to survive and was so strapped for cash that they couldn’t even pay their pilots on time. The airline confirmed it was undergoing a restructuring that included reducing its route network and fleet, but there were initially few details about what that would look like.
Although nothing has been officially announced by the airline, everything is pointing towards the airline discontinuing long-haul flights altogether and removing its Boeing 787s.
- As of November 2023, the airline has completely zero empty seats on all long-haul flights, including flights to Frankfurt (FRA), London (LGW), Melbourne (MEL) and Sydney (SYD).The airline had already abruptly suspended flights to London in mid-October, with other routes indicated to be suspended in the coming days.
- With the airline discontinuing long-haul flights and considering reducing its fleet, it seems almost a given that the airline will get rid of its Boeing 787s in some way.
Well, I had the pleasure of flying Bamboo Airways’ Boeing 787 business class from Hanoi to Frankfurt for a short time while the plane was in service…
What a strange mess for an airline.
The aviation industry is endlessly fascinating. Even for established and conservative airlines, operating consistently and profitably can be difficult. However, sometimes we come across airline startups that make us scratch our heads. Bamboo Airways was one of them.
This airline had tremendous growth plans. In other words, Bamboo Airways currently operates only three of the 20 Boeing 787s it has ordered, and at one point was seriously considering ordering the Boeing 777X and leasing the Airbus A380. there were.
This airline’s growth plans are pointless.
- Vietnam is a highly competitive aviation market. There is a lot of domestic and regional demand, but mainly for ultra-low-cost airlines.
- In the long-haul market, Bamboo Airways competed with Vietnam Airlines, which had much better connectivity and name recognition but was originally unprofitable.
- Bamboo Airways’ schedule made little sense.The airline operated long-haul flights once or twice a week in many markets, a schedule that doesn’t work for many consumers.
- Without established partnerships, it is very difficult to become a new network carrier
In fact, the airline lost $722 million in 2022, an unprecedented number for an airline of its size. I think the big question at the moment is whether Bamboo Airways can survive in some form or whether it will eventually go into liquidation…
conclusion
Although nothing has been officially announced, Bamboo Airways has discontinued all long-haul routes in the coming days, so it appears that the airline will no longer operate long-haul flights as of November 2023. . , it suggests that Bamboo Airways will also retire its Boeing 787s.
I’ll be interested to see how this plays out as this airline struggles to survive. I feel sorry for the employees…but I don’t know what management was thinking from day one.
What do you think about this Bamboo Airways situation?
