ch-aviation is reporting this morning that Vietnam's Bamboo Airlines has ordered the 777X and 737MAX. The article is behind a paywall and I can find no other reports at this time as to the mix and whether this is a firm order or an MoU / LoI (assuming the report is correct).

Bamboo and Boeing did enter negotiations about plans for 10 or 15 737 MAX and 5 777X in July 2017 ( viewtopic.php?p=20431251 ), but nothing was reported since. And in March of this year, the carrier signed an MoU with Airbus for 24 A321-200LR airframes with options for another 24.

15 MAx and 5 B777X

Wow - Great news if true. Can't wait for a press release of sorts to come out verifying the order, preferably from Boeing or such.

A MAX order is quite unsurprising... but the 777X is very ambitious. Will be interesting to see how they use it, either they really need the capacity or they're flying quite far...

MrHMSH wrote:

A MAX order is quite unsurprising... but the 777X is very ambitious. Will be interesting to see how they use it, either they really need the capacity or they're flying quite far...

California, here we come.

In March they also signed a MoU for 24 A321neo's.

Vietnamese newssite has some conflicting reports about this Boeing order. At the start of the month Boeing pitched the 737 MAX 8 and 10 + the 787-10 to the airline.

So basically it's unclear what they ordered until we see some confirmation from the Airline or Boeing.

I'll wait for other confirmation. That blog is known for reporting more sales than are firmed. I hope for more 777X sales, but a startup???

mham001 wrote:

MrHMSH wrote:

A MAX order is quite unsurprising... but the 777X is very ambitious. Will be interesting to see how they use it, either they really need the capacity or they're flying quite far...

California, here we come.

That would be very silly. VN aren't ready yet and they have aircraft better suited to opening up California. And they don't even have to make a profit.

A couple of questions:

1) Do we know the variants involved?

2) What type of airline is Bamboo? Full-service, hybrid or LCC? If it's an LCC the 777X seems very bold...

OA940 wrote:

1) Do we know the variants involved?

Discussions appear to have been for the 737-9 on the MAX side. No word on what the 777X model would be.

OA940 wrote:

2) What type of airline is Bamboo? Full-service, hybrid or LCC? If it's an LCC the 777X seems very bold...

They are a new startup owned by Vietnamese construction company, FLC Group and plans are to operate flights within Vietnam as well as to international destinations where FLC has significant tourism infrastructure. Per an article on VietnamNet from April 2018, Dang Tat Thang, General Director of the airline, said the plan was to open up to 40 routes. In Vietnam, the airline will connect tourism complexes, such as Thanh Hoa-Quy Nhơn, Thanh Hoa-Phu Quoc, Thanh Hoa-Nha Trang and Hai Phong-Quy Nhon. In the international market, Bamboo Airways will cover Japan, the Republic of Korea, China, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Philippines. It also plans to open flights to the US and Europe in the long term.

So assuming they are in fact intending to order, I could see:

737-9 for domestic Vietnam
A321-200LR for Asia
777X for US and Europe

MrHMSH wrote:

mham001 wrote:

MrHMSH wrote:

A MAX order is quite unsurprising... but the 777X is very ambitious. Will be interesting to see how they use it, either they really need the capacity or they're flying quite far...

California, here we come.

That would be very silly. VN aren't ready yet and they have aircraft better suited to opening up California. And they don't even have to make a profit.

It's about Bamboo Airlines, not Vietnam Airlines (VN)

Also VN is easily ready for US service with the 11 787-9's * 11 A350-900's in the fleet. They also have 8 787-10's on order. they replaced all their 777's after 15 years of 777 service.

rbavfan wrote:

MrHMSH wrote:

mham001 wrote:

California, here we come.

That would be very silly. VN aren't ready yet and they have aircraft better suited to opening up California. And they don't even have to make a profit.

It's about Bamboo Airlines, not Vietnam Airlines (VN)

Also VN is easily ready for US service with the 11 787-9's * 11 A350-900's in the fleet. They also have 8 787-10's on order. they replaced all their 777's after 15 years of 777 service.

His point is that VN is in a much better position to start California (for example) and haven't, so this startup seems like a pretty big stretch.

FriscoHeavy wrote:

Wow - Great news if true. Can't wait for a press release of sorts to come out verifying the order, preferably from Boeing or such.

Maybe waiting for Farnborough? It's not that far away now

rbavfan wrote:

MrHMSH wrote:

mham001 wrote:

California, here we come.

That would be very silly. VN aren't ready yet and they have aircraft better suited to opening up California. And they don't even have to make a profit.

It's about Bamboo Airlines, not Vietnam Airlines (VN)

Also VN is easily ready for US service with the 11 787-9's * 11 A350-900's in the fleet. They also have 8 787-10's on order. they replaced all their 777's after 15 years of 777 service.

I'm aware, I was drawing a comparison. VN are established and have the right aircraft but still haven't launched any routes. They may be physically ready but either because they don't have a business case or else the regulatory approval yet they haven't launched flights. This quote from the CEO earlier this year is telling:

The philosophy of the company is to help the economy and try to be viable and profitable,” Thanh told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference ahead of the Singapore Airshow.

“But growing the economy is more of a mandate. You can see on most of the intercontinental routes we are not making money. But we are helping to get people in and out.”

Thanh said his airline benefited from a diaspora of 2 million Vietnamese living in the United States, but most of the traffic was more likely to be driven by price rather than the convenience of saving a few hours of travel time.

“It is quite a big headache, to be honest,” he said, of coming up with a viable business plan for the flights.

So if VN is having trouble with more suitable aircraft and despite not being required to make a profit on the flights alone, then Bamboo trying to establish themselves and fly such a tricky route to make viable is going to be, er, 'fun'.

rbavfan wrote:

MrHMSH wrote:

mham001 wrote:

California, here we come.

That would be very silly. VN aren't ready yet and they have aircraft better suited to opening up California. And they don't even have to make a profit.

It's about Bamboo Airlines, not Vietnam Airlines (VN)

Also VN is easily ready for US service with the 11 787-9's * 11 A350-900's in the fleet. They also have 8 787-10's on order. they replaced all their 777's after 15 years of 777 service.

MrHMSH's point is that although VN (and Bamboo) would like to serve the US, they cannot currently do so because Vietnam is still waiting for the FAA to upgrade its safety category rating. Until that happens, Vietnamese airlines can't even fly here.

Here is the original source http://vneconomictimes.com/article/busi ... es-by-2023 which aviator.aero reported on originally

PlanesNTrains wrote:

His point is that VN is in a much better position to start California (for example) and haven't

It's not like they had a choice. They're still Category2

Hold up...Bamboo, the carrier that hasn't even taken delivery of its first aircraft, ordered 777X, a plane even the majors are hesitant about ordering?

This should be interesting...

Stitch wrote:

OA940 wrote:

1) Do we know the variants involved?

Discussions appear to have been for the 737-9 on the MAX side. No word on what the 777X model would be.

OA940 wrote:

2) What type of airline is Bamboo? Full-service, hybrid or LCC? If it's an LCC the 777X seems very bold...

They are a new startup owned by Vietnamese construction company, FLC Group and plans are to operate flights within Vietnam as well as to international destinations where FLC has significant tourism infrastructure. Per an article on VietnamNet from April 2018, Dang Tat Thang, General Director of the airline, said the plan was to open up to 40 routes. In Vietnam, the airline will connect tourism complexes, such as Thanh Hoa-Quy Nhơn, Thanh Hoa-Phu Quoc, Thanh Hoa-Nha Trang and Hai Phong-Quy Nhon. In the international market, Bamboo Airways will cover Japan, the Republic of Korea, China, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Philippines. It also plans to open flights to the US and Europe in the long term.

So assuming they are in fact intending to order, I could see:

737-9 for domestic Vietnam
A321-200LR for Asia
777X for US and Europe

I've never seen a startup with 44 aircraft in its fleet

Stitch wrote:

OA940 wrote:

1) Do we know the variants involved?

Discussions appear to have been for the 737-9 on the MAX side. No word on what the 777X model would be.

OA940 wrote:

2) What type of airline is Bamboo? Full-service, hybrid or LCC? If it's an LCC the 777X seems very bold...

They are a new startup owned by Vietnamese construction company, FLC Group and plans are to operate flights within Vietnam as well as to international destinations where FLC has significant tourism infrastructure. Per an article on VietnamNet from April 2018, Dang Tat Thang, General Director of the airline, said the plan was to open up to 40 routes. In Vietnam, the airline will connect tourism complexes, such as Thanh Hoa-Quy Nhơn, Thanh Hoa-Phu Quoc, Thanh Hoa-Nha Trang and Hai Phong-Quy Nhon. In the international market, Bamboo Airways will cover Japan, the Republic of Korea, China, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Philippines. It also plans to open flights to the US and Europe in the long term.

So assuming they are in fact intending to order, I could see:

737-9 for domestic Vietnam
A321-200LR for Asia
777X for US and Europe

I'm actually living in Quy Nhon now, and I recognise the FLC group. They're constructing a large hotel/golf complex a few km north of the city. Quy Nhon itself is relatively unique as its not been developed for tourism anywhere near as much as Nha Trang, Hoi An or Da Nang which all occupy the same stretch of coast. Very beautiful town and area though.

As for the airport, it's quite small, at present it only supports flights to SGN and HAN, but with a fair few daily frequencies on A320s and A321s, most towns with airports in Vietnam have more destinations available, even ones that are a similar size. It's far from the city centre so I imagine expansion shouldn't be too difficult, but this is still a very ambitious plan for a smallish town.

Stitch wrote:

So assuming they are in fact intending to order, I could see:

737-9 for domestic Vietnam
A321-200LR for Asia
777X for US and Europe

Haha, this is typical A.net. They haven't even got a plane yet and are an operation only on paper.

mham001 wrote:

California, here we come.

VN should be flying nonstop to LAX. If they don't, someone else will. Only a matter of time.

Looks like they went with the 787.

http://boeing.mediaroom.com/2018-06-25- ... reamliners