Accordingly, the airline will stop operating all or part of its flights using Embraer E190 aircraft, including from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Con Dao, Hue and from Hanoi to Dong Hoi (Quang Binh).
At the same time, the airline focuses on exploiting the North-South routes between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang and other domestic localities with large market capacity.
Regarding the restructuring plan, Bamboo Airways reported to the Government at the end of November 2023. Bamboo Airways and its aircraft leasing partner have reached an agreement to terminate the lease contract for 3 Embraer E190 aircraft early after the winter flight schedule ends at the end of next March.
Bamboo Airways stopped operating many flights from the beginning of April. (Illustration photo)
Thus, after ceasing operations of the Boeing B787-9 aircraft from November 2023 and continuing to return the Embraer E190 aircraft early, from April this year, Bamboo Airways will only operate narrow-body Airbus A320/321 aircraft on its domestic and international regional flight network, in accordance with its chosen strategy and business model.
Bamboo Airways' passenger fleet from April 2024 will include 8 A320/321 aircraft, expected to increase to 12 - 15 of the same type by the end of this year if financial and market conditions are favorable.
The Embraer E190 is a small jet aircraft manufactured in Brazil, which experts say is no longer suitable for the Vietnamese aviation market in particular and Asia in general.
Aircraft capable of landing and taking off on short runways - this type of airport is currently very rare in Vietnam. The country has only 3 such airports in Con Dao, Ca Mau and Rach Gia, of which 2 airports in Con Dao and Ca Mau have been oriented to expand and lengthen the runway to receive Airbus A320/321.
According to Bamboo, the Embraer E190 aircraft has high fuel consumption (almost equal to the Airbus A320/321, while the number of passengers it can carry is only half), is inefficient in the current context of high oil prices, and is not in line with the world trend of reducing fossil fuel consumption, moving towards fuel-saving technologies or using environmentally friendly aviation fuel.
In addition, Vietnam and the region do not have the Embraer E190 aircraft, so aircraft maintenance, procurement of supplies and equipment is very complicated and expensive (mainly with technical facilities located in Europe). Training and periodic training for pilots must also be carried out abroad, while in Vietnam there is available infrastructure for aircraft maintenance, training and education for the A320/321 aircraft.
In particular, under the conditions of domestic airfare ceiling regulations, this type of aircraft causes huge losses for Bamboo Airways' air transport operations and has no chance of improving business efficiency.
Most of the airports operated by Bamboo Airways using Embraer aircraft are included in the investment and expansion plans of the Government and authorities to accommodate larger aircraft, serving the needs of a large number of domestic and foreign passengers.
This is also a direction that is consistent with Bamboo Airways' strategy of unifying its fleet structure. It is expected that after completing the upgrade of the above-mentioned niche airports, Bamboo Airways will resume operations with larger and more modern aircraft, suitable for actual conditions.
By bringing the fleet back to the single Airbus A320/321 line, Bamboo Airways continues to restructure operations, labor, and technology to improve business indicators, increase revenue, save costs, etc., creating a business foundation to continue to effectively develop the domestic flight network and re-operate regional international routes from 2025.
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