​Bamboo Airways all set to start ticket sales

According to Duong Thi Mai Hoa, vice president of the carrier, the first flights will be from Hanoi to HCMC, Da Nang and some other popular tourist destinations such as the central provinces of Quy Nhon, Quang Binh and Thanh Hoa and the northern province of Quang Ninh. 

The decision to begin ticket sales was announced shortly after the airline received its aircraft operator certificate (AOC) Tuesday, which allows it to operate aircraft for commercial purposes. This was the last regulatory step before the airline could start flying in Vietnam.

Bamboo Airways will have a fleet of 20 planes by the first quarter of 2019, and increase it to 40-50 by the end of the year.

It will fly on 37 routes connecting all major cities and popular tourist destinations in Vietnam as well as some international routes this year.

It will start off with 60 domestic flights a day. Later this year it will fly to Japan, Korea and Singapore.

Bamboo Airways was founded in mid-2017 with a charter capital of VND700 billion ($30 million), which it increased to VND1.3 trillion ($55.68 million) recently.

The airline has signed deals to buy 24 Airbus A320neo and 20 Boeing B787-9 Dreamliner aircraft for around $8.6 billion.

The four other carriers currently in Vietnam are Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air, Jetstar Pacific, and VASCO.