Vietnamese carrier Bamboo Airways is continuing with its international expansion by announcing another flight to London, this time to Gatwick Airport. The airline is on an expansion mode, with plans to increase its network as well as fleet size amid competition from other carriers in Vietnam.

Direct Gatwick-Hanoi flight

Bamboo Airways will start a once-weekly service between Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport (HAN) and London Gatwick (LGW) from October 30th. The airline has started selling tickets for the flight on its official website. Bamboo will operate its flagship aircraft, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, on the route.

Passengers can expect a three-class configuration on the plane for their non-stop flight to London, including premium economy and a business class product that features flat beds.

While London's largest airport, Heathrow (LHR), sees maximum flights to Asia, Gatwick is gradually building up its own connections around the world, with flights to Bangkok and Singapore (Scoot), Doha (Qatar Airways and British Airways), Islamabad (British Airways), and Dubai (Emirates). Bamboo will be the latest to join the list of airlines operating long-haul flights from the airport.

Jonathan Pollard, Gatwick Airport chief commercial officer, commented,

“In the past 10 months, we have been able to significantly grow our connections across North America, so to also be able to continue to expand our routes across Asia is fantastic news for both leisure travelers and business passengers throughout London and the South East.”

International expansion

Bamboo Airways has been aggressively pursuing its international ambitions for a while now. In September last year, it became the first Vietnamese airline to launch a commercial passenger flight to a US destination, flying its 787-9 between Hanoi and San Francisco. The US government had approved the carrier to conduct up to 12 round trips between Vietnam and the US until November.

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In February, it began Ho Chi Minh City - Melbourne and Ho Chi Minh City - Sydney flights, and by April, it had launched its second route into Melbourne, Australia, with its Hanoi - Melbourne service.

The same month, Bamboo also launched a new route to Frankfurt from Hanoi, marking the airline's first regular scheduled services to Europe. A month later, it launched its first commercial service to London Heathrow from Hanoi, nearly a year after securing the slots at the airport. It began its second route to Germany in June, connecting Frankfurt with Ho Chi Minh City.

Long-term growth

Bamboo Airways has lofty plans for the next few years. The airline currently has 29 active airplanes in its fleet, per ch-aviation and plans to triple its fleet size to 100 by 2028.

Bamboo will receive its 22nd Airbus A321 jet and fourth Boeing B787 this quarter, CEO and chairman Dang Tat Thang told shareholders at the recent extraordinary shareholders' meeting of its parent company FLC. Its competitor airlines, VietJet and Vietnam Airlines, operate more than 75 and 95 aircraft, respectively.

As travel resumed, the airline's revenues have also risen by a staggering 150% between the first and second quarters this year. Bamboo Airways now operates nearly 200 flights a day on 60 domestic routes and 12 international routes, with new destinations on the horizon.

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