Report / Image : VnEconomy / Direct translation, editing : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA
Earlier this week, many prestigious international aviation magazines simultaneously reported that Bamboo Airways was issued a flight slot at London Heathrow International Airport by UK Airport Council. The first Bamboo Airways scheduled flight was expected to begin in May 2021.
Accordingly, Bamboo Airways will be granted a flight slot to operate 6 flights / week to Heathrow airport, including 3 flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays from Heathrow airport to Tan Son Nhat airport ( HCMC); and 3 trips to Noi Bai airport (Hanoi) on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Flights will land at 3.30 pm and take off at 5.40 pm, pick up and drop off at Terminal 2 of Heathrow Airport.
Some observers comment that Bamboo Airways will exploit the Hanoi / Ho Chi Minh City - London direct route with Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, the flagship aircraft in its wide-body fleet.
The media said that after going into operation, Bamboo Airways will temporarily not face direct competition. Although the movement at Heathrow airport has decreased in recent years due to the pandemic, London's overall tourism potential and outlook - one of the world's most attractive destinations - still keeps airlines ticking over for slot allocations here.
Last year, Bamboo Airways had planned to fly direct to London (UK) and Frankfurt (Germany) in the first quarter of 2021 but this plan was delayed due to the epidemic that forced international routes to be temporarily closed.
However, it is worth noting that during the pandemic, Bamboo Airways conducted a direct relief flight to pick up citizens from London to Hanoi with its 787-9.
Responding to reporters' questions, a Bamboo Airways representative confirmed this information, adding that slots were allocated in March 2021, allowing Bamboo Airways to deploy direct flights to London as early as May subject to conditions such as market demand and government approval. Advanced wide-body Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner will be deployed on this route.
"Through the busiest airport in the world, Bamboo Airways' international flight network in the near future will be strengthened to connect with the busiest airport destinations. This will contribute to helping Bamboo Airways respond well moreover to international passengers' travel demand, promote Vietnam's tourism brand to the European market, as well as promote bilateral trade and investment activities between Vietnam - UK ", this representative said.
Located in West London, Heathrow Airport is the main gateway connecting London with more than 170 destinations worldwide. London is in the list of top tourist destinations, this fact has put Heathrow Airport in the top busiest airports.
Not stopping there, Heathrow is also famous as the most expensive airport on the planet. Airlines may have to pay tens of millions of dollars to get the desired takeoff pair.
Recently, in response to Bloomberg, Bamboo Airways Chairman Trinh Van Quyet also expressed his wish that the Government would reopen "cautiously" international commercial routes from the end of the second quarter to the beginning of the third quarter of the year. now, when the disease situation is effectively controlled across the country.
Bamboo Airways said that its international flight promotion activities are now ready. Direct flights to South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan are still available from the second quarter of 2021. The procedures for opening new direct scheduled flights to Tokyo (Japan), Melbourne, Sydney (Australia), Singapore, Thailand, China etc are still being carried out as soon as the scheduled routes and timings are approved. Bamboo Airways has been licensed by the US Department of Transport to fly directly to the US since the fourth quarter of 2021.
