Bamboo Airways (QH, Hanoi Noi Bai International) has scheduled its intercontinental debut for later this month, with Melbourne Tullamarine planned for February 19, 2022, and to Frankfurt International for February 25.

The Vietnamese carrier initially plans to operate to each of the destinations 2x weekly, using B787-9s. Services to Australia will operate from Ho Chi Minh City and will launch over a month earlier than previously planned, while flights to Germany will depart from Hanoi Noi Bai International, the ch-aviation schedules module shows. The airline plans to add its third intercontinental route, from Hanoi to London Heathrow, on March 22, 2022.

Bamboo Airways said it would consider adding a Ho Chi Minh City-Frankfurt route as soon as market conditions improve. Given the potential it sees in the German market, it said it would also contemplate adding Berlin Brandenburg International and Munich to its network going forward.

In an interview with VietnamNet, Chief Executive Dang Tat Thang said the airline was also planning to launch flights to San Francisco later this year. Bamboo Airways previously said it was aiming to debut transpacific operations in late 2021 or early 2022.

The carrier currently operates one A319-100, six A320-200s, six A320-200Ns, three A321-200s, four A321-200Ns, two A321-200NXs, three B787-9s, and five E190s. Dang said Bamboo Airways is planning to grow its fleet to 100 aircraft within the next six years and is already in the process of securing new inventory.

He also reaffirmed plans to list Bamboo Airways either in Viet Nam or internationally in 2022.