Bamboo Airways first Vietnamese carrier to secure US direct flight slots

At the San Francisco International Airport, the daily flights are expected to land at 10 a.m. (U.S. time) and depart at 1 p.m.; and the landing and takeoff times at the Los Angeles International Airport flights are 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., respectively, the carrier said in a press release Friday.

The flights would be operated using the long-haul Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.

Bamboo Airways is rushing to complete the final steps in the process of building its personnel apparatus, including pilot and flight crew training, to get ready for operating the direct flights to the U.S., it said.

There are currently no non-stop routes between the two countries, and passengers have to transit through Hong Kong, South Korea or Taiwan, taking 18-21 hours in all. A direct flight would shorten the travel time to 15-17 hours.

Bamboo Airways had received a permit from the U.S. Department of Transportation to carry passengers and cargo to that country last year.

Vietnam's Ministry of Transport is also finalizing procedures to designate Bamboo Airways to operate charter flights between Vietnam and the U.S. following a proposal made by the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam at the end of April.

It will allow the private airline to carry passengers and goods from Vietnam to the U.S. and vice versa on charter flights upon approval by the prime minister and relevant agencies.

Passengers on these flights could be experts, foreign investors and Vietnamese citizens in the U.S. wishing to return home. Bamboo Airways chairman Trinh Van Quyet said the airline expects to operate charter flights to the U.S. from July.

Americans are among the top foreign visitors to Vietnam, with 687,226 arrivals in 2019, and an ethnic Vietnamese population of over 2.1 million in the U.S. is also expected to be a steady source of travel demand.