Bamboo Airways expands Australian network with new Ho Chi Minh City–Sydney route

On February 28, Sydney Airport and Bamboo Airways have inked an MoU and announced a new, bi-weekly Ho Chi Minh City-Sydney service starting from March 29 in a move that will boost tourism and provide greater connectivity between the two most populous cities in Australia and Vietnam.

The new service capitalises on a fast-growing market and what was one of Asia’s most popular tourism destinations prior to the pandemic.

Bamboo Airways’ nonstop Ho Chi Minh City-Sydney route will help shorten travel time to only approximately eight hours. The service will be operated on modern, next-generation Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner with the utmost fuel efficiency and many outstanding amenities.

Sydney is the largest, oldest, and most cosmopolitan city in Australia. It’s also the jewel in Australia’s tourism crown with various world’s popular destinations such as the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour.

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the number of Australian tourists to Vietnam in 2019 reached over 383,000, just behind the US, Russia, and some Asian countries. In 2018, there were 562,000 people travelling directly between Vietnam and Australia.

Not only will the new Ho Chi Minh City-Sydney operation directly fulfil the increasing air travel demand but it will also promote the connection between Australia and Southeast Asia in every aspect, thus creating opportunities for passengers to access Bamboo Airways’ international 5-star oriented services.

Expand Australian flight network

Bamboo Airways representative and Sydney Airport representative signed an MoU on February 28

Today’s announcement was marked by a ceremony at Sydney Airport, where representatives from the airline and Sydney Airport signed pledged to work together on opportunities to drive increased tourism, economic growth, and opportunities for cultural exchange between Sydney and Ho Chi Minh City.

Geoff Culbert, CEO at Sydney Airport said, “Hot on the heels of Australia’s borders reopening, it’s terrific to be announcing a new airline partner in Bamboo Airways. Vietnam is an incredibly popular destination for Australian leisure travellers and with a big Vietnamese diaspora in Sydney, it makes sense to build greater connectivity between our two cities."

Culbert added, “There is so much to love about Vietnam, and with this service increasing tourism capacity by more than 60,000 seats every year, I know many travel-starved Australians will be keen to get out and see one of the most exciting destinations in Asia.”

Dang Tat Thang, CEO of Bamboo Airways expressed, “We are thrilled to be the first new international airline at Sydney Airport soon after Australia lifted international travel restrictions. Bamboo Airways expects to provide a world-class flight experience to Australian travellers as well as the large Vietnam diaspora in Sydney, thus fulfilling the considerably increasing market demands in the post-pandemic period."

Thang further noted, "With the valuable support of Australia’s busiest airport and the government, we are committed to making the new regular service a great success for both sides and look forward to further development in our partnership.”

Bamboo’s arrival in Sydney was supported by its government’s Aviation Attraction Fund and is the first new international service to be confirmed since the fund was announced in October.

Minister for Enterprise, Investment and Trade; Tourism and Sport; and Western Sydney, Stuart Ayres, said "New South Wales is a key destination for Bamboo Airways, with more than 123,000 Vietnamese visitors arriving in Australia in 2019. The destination has the highest percentage of Vietnamese-born population in Australia and, with the reopening of our international borders, we can once again look forward to welcoming the family and friends of our sixth largest migrant community.”

Ayres added, “Our airports are the gateway to our state, so supporting the return of airlines to them through the Aviation Attraction Fund is key to our recovery roadmap and achieving our goal of making our state the premier visitor economy of Asia-Pacific.”

On February 19 and 20, Bamboo had successfully conducted the first nonstop Vietnam-Australia flights connecting Ho Chi Minh City and Melbourne.

On December 17, the airline also entered agreements with Melbourne Airport and Victoria State to promote nonstop Vietnam-Australia routes.

With increasing flights to Australia, the US, the UK, and many other countries, Bamboo Airways has constantly asserted its operational capacity.

As global aviation is assessed to strongly rebound this year, Bamboo Airways is targeting an expansive network of nearly 40 international routes.