Vietnam’s Bamboo Airway to get first Airbus A320neo next month

“This is the first one in the purchase order of 50 aircraft signed by Bamboo Airways and Airbus in 2018,” Bamboo Airways said in a statement. “It is also the first Airbus A320neo in Vietnam.”

Bamboo Airways, owned by property and leisure company FLC Group, currently operates with 10 hired aircraft and expects to also receive two Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner planes in 2020, it added.

The airline plans to be the first Vietnamese operator to launch direct flights to the United States from Vietnam, its chairman Trinh Van Quyet said in August.

Last month it revealed a plan to raise around $100 million from a proposed initial public offering (IPO) in 2020.

Vietnam’s aviation market has recorded double-digit annual growth over the past 10 years, making it one of the fastest growing markets in the world. The country’s airports served 106 million passengers in 2018, up 13% from a year ago, official data showed.

Bamboo Airways, which competes against budget carrier VietJet and state-owned Vietnam Airlines, has been banking on its network of golf courses to draw in visitors, especially from Northeast Asia, to its resorts across Vietnam.

VNF