One of Bamboo Airways’ Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft was spotted in Europe again yesterday. The airline’s one-year-old Boeing 787 aircraft was operating the latest in a series of repatriation flights to the continent. However, rather than flying there and back, this flight operated an open triangle route.
A year ago Bamboo Airways was due to be operating regularly scheduled flights to and from Europe, starting with flights to Vienna. However, COVID-19 had something to say about that, throwing a spanner in the works. Despite the challenges presented, the young Vietnamese airline is still keen to branch out to Europe as soon as it is able.
Open triangle repatriation
From Sunday to yesterday, Bamboo Airways operated the latest in a series of repatriation flights to Europe. However, unlike most flights so far that have gone there and back, this flight took a slightly different approach with an open triangle routing.
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On Sunday, flight QH9058 departed from Hanoi at 15:11. After 11 hours and seven minutes, it touched down in Oslo at 21:28. Having spent the night in Olso, yesterday afternoon the plane took off as QH9059, bound for Warsaw. Following around two hours in the Polish capital, the aircraft departed once again as QH9059, this time bound for Ho Chi Minh City.
Given the flight numbers, it seems as though Vietnamese nationals were likely picked up in Oslo and Warsaw, while Europeans may have been flown to Oslo. This has been the case with previous Bamboo Airways repatriation flights.
As mentioned, the flights were operated by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. In this case, Bamboo Airways opted to fly VN-A819, delivered in December 2019. The aircraft had been due to go to Hainan Airlines, however, it wasn’t taken up. The aircraft wears a special “1st 787” Bamboo Airways livery.
European expansion?
By this point in time, Bamboo Airways had hoped that it would be operating regular flights to Europe. However, this hasn’t been possible due to ongoing travel restrictions. That being said, we do know the airline is still keen to make use of its long-range widebodies as soon as it is able.
Earlier in the year, the airline managed to secure lucrative London Heathrow slots. Alongside this, the airline is thought to be actively exploring launching flights to Frankfurt and the United States. Previously Frankfurt rival Munich had been planned as the second European destination after Vienna.
Speaking to Simple Flying, a Bamboo Airways spokesperson told Simple Flying,
“We are carefully preparing to reopen international routes as soon as the conditions are favorable and the government permits. European destinations, such as London and Frankfurt, are our top priority.”
When do you think Bamboo Airways will link up Vietnam and Europe with scheduled flights? Let us know what you think and why in the comments below!
