Bamboo Airways (QH, Hanoi Noi Bai International) has taken delivery of its first new-build B787-9 and is set to shortly receive another second-hand unit of the type.
According to Vietnamese media, the airline took delivery of VN-A819 (msn 62736) at Boeing's Charleston International site on December 9. It is equipped with 294 passenger seats, including 26 in business class and the remainder in economy. The aircraft, which was initially ordered by Hainan Airlines (HU, Haikou) but was not taken up, has yet to be ferried to Viet Nam.
Meanwhile, the airline is also set to receive another B787-9 which was taken by Hainan Airlines but has now been retired by the Chinese airline. Msn 62739, owned by GECAS, was originally delivered in October 2018 but operated its last scheduled service for Hainan Airlines on November 18, 2019, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows. It is currently undergoing pre-delivery maintenance in Haikou.
In early December, Bamboo Airways said in a press release that it expected four B787-9s by the end of January 2020, including two delivered directly from the manufacturer.
"The first B787-9 Dreamliner will be operated by Bamboo Airways on domestic routes such as Hanoi Noi Bai International-Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh City-Da Nang. In the future, this will be the main aircraft for the medium and long routes of Bamboo Airways to Asia, Europe, America, connecting countries such as Japan, Korea, Czechia, Australia, and the USA," it said.
According to the ch-aviation fleets module, Bamboo Airways currently operates twenty narrowbody aircraft, namely one A319-100, six A320-200s, three A320-200neo, two A321-200s, and four A321-200neo. It also wet-leases three A320-200s from Turkey's Freebird Airlines (FH, Istanbul Airport). The airline has ten B787-9s on firm order from Boeing with another twenty due for delivery from lessors.
