After the newest carrier in Vietnamese skies received permission from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) this week, the first flight connecting Hanoi and Prague will take off on March 29, said Truong Phuong Thanh, Deputy General Director of Bamboo Airways.

The Hanoi-Prague direct air route using Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft will operate two flights a week. 

The expected durations are 11 hours and 20 minutes for the Hanoi-Prague flight and 10 hours and 20 minutes for the return flight, which are significantly shorter than the 14-19 hours taken now, using connecting flights transiting in a European or Middle Eastern city.

Flight tickets are on sale in Vietnam from February 5, and in overseas markets from February 10.

In early January, Bamboo Airways announced an official cooperation pact with the AVIAREPS group, a leading aviation service solutions provider in Europe, as its general agent in the Czech Republic. 

Previously, in April 2019, within the framework of the official visit to the Czech Republic by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and a senior delegation of Vietnam, Bamboo Airways and Prague International Airport had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in the presence of the Prime Ministers of both nations. 

Vietnamese Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Ho Minh Tuan at the signing ceremony
between Bamboo Airways and Prague International Airport.

"The Hanoi - Prague route operated by Bamboo Airways is the only direct route from the Czech Republic to the ASEAN region, a very dynamic area with more than 600 million people. Therefore, this route not only aims to connect Vietnam with the Czech Republic but also connects Southeast Asia with the European Union," said Vietnamese Ambassador to Czech Republic, Ho Minh Tuan.More than 80,000 Vietnamese live in the Czech Republic now, making Vietnamese the third biggest minority group in the country, which also pushes demand for air travel between the two countries, according to official figures.

Bamboo Airways said it will offer 5-star service for the route.
Photo courtersy of the airline.

Launched in January 2019, Bamboo Airways now operates flights on 34 domestic and international routes. It has conducted more than 20,000 flights to date with over 3 million passengers. In just one year, the airline reported pre-tax profits of VND303 billion ($13 million).

A recent report by Mastercard said Vietnam has the second fastest growing outbound market in the Asia Pacific region after Myanmar, with projected annual growth of 9.5 percent between 2016 and 2021. The firm also forecast that 7.5 million Vietnamese will travel outside the country in 2021.