Vietnamese leisure airline Bamboo Airways is under way to launch non-stop flight services from Vietnam to the United States, after receiving approvals on the plan from the United States Department of Transport (DOT). On the basis of recovery of the pandemic, the consent will allow the airline to launch US routes as early as this year.

Bamboo has been approved to fly from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) to all international airports in the United States. At the initial stage, the airline is considering to launch flights to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO). The airline will use its Boeing 787 aircraft on these long routes.

Flight operations to the United States have always been part of Bamboo Airways’ program. Indeed, at some point, the airline proposed the idea of ​​using Airbus A380 aircraft to operate such flights. On Wednesday (Nov 11), the carrier has revealed that it will soon be able to operate flights across the Pacific.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Trong, Deputy Director General of Bamboo Airlines, commented on the permission and said, “Depending on the pandemic recovery of the US and market conditions, we will operate non-stop flights to the United States by the end of this year or at the beginning of 2021 at the soonest.”

Bamboo Airways is almost two years old. The airline originally planned to operate long-haul scheduled flights by now. However, the current state of the industry has put the wrench into the work. Nevertheless, the airline does have some long-haul flying experience after conducting several repatriation flights to Europe earlier this year.

Last year, the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States granted Vietnam Category 1 status. The status indicates that Bamboo Airways is eligible to apply for the Foreign Air Carrier Permit that it received. However, this will also allow the carrier to seek code sharing agreements with potential US partners. As Vietnamese airline hopes to expand its international influence, this may have a substantial positive impact on it.