Vietnam's Bamboo Airways Will Fly To Prague

If they can get a codeshare in order with a couple of major European airlines, then I think this route could work very well. Might be a little hard if they leave it purely as a point to point flight.

They basically consider Vietnamese traveling, not western people so of course you don’t understand their plan and intention.
If they fly directly to US, EVA would be hurt very badly.

@ Creditian -- Just because they're targeting Vietnamese people rather than western people doesn't mean I can't understand their plan. Keep in mind that Vietnam Airlines has repeatedly said that they'd lose money flying to the US, as they do on many of their long haul routes. So what would make Bamboo Airways more successful?

If the primary market is Vietnamese, then they can put the seat pitch at 25in, or 63cm, and nobody will complain.

Every year, Prague Airport publishes a list of top unserved routes. These are top destinations that people from PRG fly to, but where no direct flight exists. Of course, this only accounts for people traveling on a single connected itinerary, not on separate tickets, but it's still a fairly accurate metric. Here's the list: https://www.prg.aero/en/node/5156

HAN has steadily risen to the top of that list in the recent years, and that's due to several factors:
- Locals fly more than ever before. PRG hit close to 18M passengers in 2019 (overwhelmingly O&D traffic), and has been growing for seven years in a row, from 11M in 2013.
- The Czech Vietnamese diaspora has become better off, and can now afford to travel to Vietnam more regularly.
- Vietnam has become a popular tourist destination in the recent years.
- There are now more intense business ties, as mentioned in the article.

Assuming Bamboo doesn't get slaughtered on fares by EK/QR/MU/3U, they should do fine.

100,000 travellers between the two cities Vs 70,000 diaspora in Prague is pretty impressive, no?
As other posters have pointed out, PRG-HAN is currently way underserved. The only real options are QR, EK, and Aeroflot (! plus SkyTeam codeshares). I suspect a direct routing by a Vietnamese airline would go down very well with leisure, and possibly business, travellers, and it is almost surprising that Vietnam Airlines haven't done it first.

@heishen

That sounds racist.

The cabin looks exactly same as HNA Hainan Airlines new Dream Feather design. They work with Priestman Goode.

https://www.priestmangoode.com/project/brand-development-cabin-interiors-and-ground-services/

https://www.hnair.com/adnews/mengxiangfeixing/feather.html

@Eskimo, ah come on! He is just joking, relax. Not everything has to be considered racist. Geez.

There's a large Vietnamese diaspora on the US west coast so it is possible that Bamboo could tap into that market if they are careful and don't run before they can walk.

Now can we please book a flight without needing a Vietnamese card Bamboo?

I'm Czech, we have huge Vietnamese population who are actually richer than regular Czech people and also Vietnam is no. 1 'exotic' destination where Czechs travel to, especially young people. The route has been rumoured for years and is regularly mentioned in local press like 'starting in 2020' since like 2 years ago. PRG management has been trying to make this route work since as long as I can remember so I'm sure they'll even get a good offer on slots&discounts on landing fees

@eskimo, Yes. He is super racist. You're doing a good job at being insulted just because you can, the world's favorite pastime nowadays.
By the way, did you know that the word 'eskimo' is a derogatory term for Inuit and Yupik people? Who's the real racist here?

On topic: if they find a code share partner in Europe or if they sell connections to other destinations from their base in Hanoi, then I think this will work very well. Already 100.000 people traveling between Prague and Vietnam will only increase if the threshold (either via lower prices or via cutting mandatory connections or via offering a Vietnamese product) is lowered or if people get more pecunia to spend on this kind of trips. I travel to the Czech Republic quite often and I think the number of people with Vietnamese roots will increase, as a lot of them seem to have quite a few children.

I hope for a code share partner in Europe. Prague airport is small and efficient and a good place to connect, generally.

In Vietnam, Bamboo has amazing on time percentages compared to Vietnam Airlines and VietJet.

Vietnam compare to many other Asian countries has limited direct flights to Europe. For many years, London, Paris and Frankfurt are the only Western European airports offering this route by Vietnam Airlines.
Having additional routes is definitely needed for the destination. It will without any doubt attract a lot of Travellers and not only Vietnamese or Check. Prague is well located in Central Europe with easy access. Eastern German might prefer taking their flight from Prague rather than Frankfurt. Polish Travellers which are growing significantly in Vietnam will also see it positively, etc.
Despite Vietnam is offering visa free for 15 days to a large number of nationalities, the destination is still suffering from the limited number of international direct flights outside Asia. There is without any doubt needs for more direct routes to/from US and Europe.
@Ben, Vietnam Airlines does not offer direct flights to US, thus they cannot lose money on this segment.

Finally, I have just experienced Bamboo Airways services domestically. Their services were really good for amazing cheap price. On top of it, the flight was perfectly on time which is quite an important challenge in Vietnam.

Corporate wants the East bound longer so it helps anticipated turn time delays in Prague.

Flights in April on Bamboo Airlines One Way is only $331 on their actual website

The buffer on the eastbound flight duration may be a smart move with regards to EU261.

@eskimo it’s not racist to refer to a group of people who are shorter. Filipinos , Indonesians and Bolivians on average ,the shortest people in the world

Pricing seems off. This is a highly price sensitive segment and you can get cheaper deals on legacy European carriers.

@Ben...

Flying west often incurs a headwind, but that also depends on time of year.