Despite being scheduled for a December 29 takeoff, Vietnam's newest airline Bamboo Airways won't leave the tarmac until mid-January.
Failure to obtain its aircraft operator certificate (AOC) has caused the delay. The airline's CEO Dang Tat Thanh told VnExprees: "Bamboo Airways is currently going through the final stage of a tight examination by authorities before taking off."
"We are closely coordinating with the authorities so that the preparations for the first flight can be done in a prudent and accurate manner, and therefore changing the date for the first flight is necessary and requisite," added airline Chairman Trinh Van Quyet in a statement released on Thursday.
This is the third delay for the upstart operation. It expressed hopes to start services in early 2018, which was then pushed back to October 10, and then again to December 29. When they announced the previous delay they claimed it was also because they hadn't yet received their AOC.
The airline recently attracted attention for its splashing out on 20 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft from Boeing and 24 A321neo aircraft from Airbus.
FLC Group, a real estate behemoth and resort operator, established Bamboo Airlines in 2017 with early capital of VND2 trillion (US$85.68 million). Dang Tat Thang, the airline's general director, stated that the company is positioned as a “hybrid airline,” which is a combination of two elements: traditional and budget aviation. Based outside of Quy Nhon in Binh Dinh Province where FLC recently opened a large resort, it hopes to eventually operate 100 routes, including less-traveled destinations in Vietnam and Asia, with plans to fly to North America in the future.
[Photo via Bamboo Airways]
