London Gatwick has announced a new route to Asia this winter with Bamboo Airways, the first private airline in Vietnam, launching flights to the popular Vietnamese destination Ho Chi Minh City.
Passengers across London and the South-East will benefit from the new Ho Chi Minh City service, and will also be able to connect onwards with Bamboo Airways to destinations across Vietnam, as well as Australia, Singapore and Thailand. An energetic country with enthusiastic locals and spectacular landscapes – including meadow-topped mountains, picturesque lantern-lit colonial towns, floating villages, and kayak friendly sheltered bays dominated by towering pillars of stone – Vietnam has been an overlooked destination for the adventurous for many decades.
The new service will initially fly once per week from December 7, complementing Bamboo’s upcoming inaugural route between London Gatwick and Vietnam’s capital Hanoi, which launches on October 30.
Stephanie Wear, VP of Aviation Development, Gatwick Airport said: ‘It is fantastic news that Bamboo Airways is already expanding its operation from Gatwick, ahead of its inaugural flight next month. Bamboo’s excellent network means passengers can now explore the wonderful Ho Chi Minh City, as well as more widely across Asia and Australia.
‘This is the latest in a number of new long-haul connections we have been able to offer passengers in recent months – highlighting the pull of Gatwick to long-haul operators – which is hugely beneficial not only to leisure travellers but also businesses across London and the South-East.’
Thach Pierre Hoang, Acting Chief Commercial Officer of Bamboo Airways said: ‘With this new route operating ahead of Christmas and New year 2023, Bamboo Airways hopes to meet the high travel demands of Vietnamese communities in the UK wishing to come back home for a holiday, while also creating favorable conditions to enhance bilateral cooperation and the development of economic, trade, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries in the post-pandemic period.’
The route will be operated on Bamboo’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, with three classes of travel to choose from, including economy, premium economy and business class featuring fully lie-flat beds.