Bamboo Airways ordered dozens of jets, then shrank to a single plane
Vietnam's Bamboo Airways launched in 2019 with talk of five-star service and multibillion-dollar orders from Airbus and Boeing. Three years later its founder was arrested, owners came and went, and by August 2026 restructuring had cut the operating fleet to just one aircraft.
The carrier was set up in 2017 by FLC Group, a conglomerate whose interests ran from property to finance and mining. Ambition came early. In March 2018 it signed a memorandum with Airbus for up to 24 A321neos worth as much as 3.1 billion US dollars, a ceremony attended by the Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong. That June, FLC agreed to buy 20 Boeing 787-9s valued at 5.6 billion dollars, and a further deal in March 2019 would have taken its A321neo tally to 50. It planned to hire up to 600 staff and described itself as a hybrid airline aiming for five-star standards.
Regulators moved quickly through 2018: the prime minister approved the venture in July, the transport ministry issued a licence in November, and the first aircraft, an A319, arrived in December. Flights began on 16 January 2019 with a leased A320 between Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, and its first Boeing 787-9 was delivered that December. Hubs were set up at Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat, with Phu Cat as the registered base.
The turning point came in March 2022, when FLC's founder and chairman Trinh Van Quyet and other senior figures were arrested over alleged stock manipulation and fraud. Vietnam's aviation authority put the airline under close watch, though the company insisted business was running normally. FLC's stake dropped to just over 21 percent, its name vanished from the airline's website, and in June 2023 Him Lam Group, a large property investor, was announced as the new owner alongside a group of investors with Japanese links. Rumours of bankruptcy followed, which the carrier denied.
Leadership turned over repeatedly, with Luong Hoai Nam named chief executive in October 2023 amid hints that the widebody jets would go. Head office moved to Ho Chi Minh City in March 2024. Then, in 2025, the airline passed back to FLC, and in 2026 it said it would keep its Dreamliner order while studying the Boeing 737 MAX.
Source: Bamboo Airways
