Vietnam’s Bamboo Airways is eyeing stock market listings in both Vietnam and the USA, as tourism company Vietravel reportedly tops up its investment in Vietravel Airlines.
Bamboo hopes to list on Vietnam’s Unlisted Public Company Market in the first quarter of 2022, says deputy general director Nguyen Khac Hai.
In addition, the company hopes to raise $200 million by listing 5-7% of its shares on the New York Stock Exchange.
The carrier adds that it aims to operate regular non-stop flights on the Ho Chi Minh City-San Francisco route by the end of 2021. Initially the service, operated by Boeing 787-9s, will be five times weekly, but this will rise to daily in 2022.
The airline says it also plans to launch services connecting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to London Heathrow by the end of the year.
Separately, the Vnexpress news portal reports that Vietravel will invest VND594 billion ($26 million) into Vietravel Airlines.
Vietravel Airlines is based at Phu Bai International Airport, which serves the country’s ancient capital, Hue.
The airline had been started in April 2020, but its operations were severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. It resumed flights on 18 October.
According to Vnexpress, it lost VND90 billion in 2020.
Cirium fleets analyzer shows that Bamboo Airways has 30 aircraft in its fleet, comprising three 787-9s, five Embraer E190s, and 22 Airbus A320 family aircraft. It also has orders for 10 787-9s.
Vietravel Airlines has three A321s, with no aircraft on order.
