Vietnam-based carrier Bamboo Airways has been granted a permit to fly to the US by the Department of transformation, media reports said. The carrier will fly its wide-body Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.
Bamboo Airways is the second carrier to be permitted by the US to fly to the country. The other carrier that was also granted a permit was Vietnam Airlines. It is reported that Bamboo Airways will begin operating in the US by the end of 2021 or early 2022.
The carrier will now file for paperwork with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Transportation Security Administration and other relevant agencies in the US.
Currently, there are no direct flights operating between Vietnam and the US. A direct flight would bring the travel time down to 14 to 16 hours, generally, it takes 18 to 21 hours to travel between the two countries.
Vietnam will soon have a new carrier operating in the country in Vietravel Airlines. The newcomer received approval to launch in December. Earlier, Vietravel was planned to launch in 2021.
Nguyen Quoc Ky, CEO, Vietravel Airlines told the media, “We will fly domestically first, targeting the 100 million population market. In fact, it is not a small market. Our July domestic travel revenue is already much higher than before the pandemic.”
Vietnam’s State Capital Investment Corp (SCIC) will inject more money into Vietnam Airlines to help the flag carrier cope with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. It is reported that SCIC could invest up to $293.44 million to buy new shares of the carrier.