The service marks the first-ever direct connection between Melbourne and Hanoi by a Vietnamese carrier.

Bamboo intends to initially operate one return flight per week on the route, and increase the frequency depending on market demands.

Flights will depart from Hanoi at 6:30 p.m. (local time) on Wednesdays and Melbourne at 10:00 a.m. (local time) on Thursdays, using modern wide-body Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The nonstop route will help shorten travel time between the two cities to only over nine hours, less than 21 hours compared to current transit flights.

Tickets cost from AUD99 (VND2,319,000) and are available via Bamboo Airways's website, mobile app, ticket offices, and agents from March 5, 2022.

The Hanoi route follows the launch of the airline's service between Melbourne and HCMC in February this year, when Australia lifted international restrictions.

Melbourne Airport Chief of Aviation Lorie Argus (L) and Bamboo Airways’s Deputy General Director Truong Phuong Thanh at the announcement ceremony for the Melbourne-Hanoi non-stop flight. Photo courtesy of Bamboo Airways

Truong Phuong Thanh, Deputy General Director of Bamboo Airways, said: "The regular non-stop Hanoi-Melbourne route is a testament to Bamboo Airways’s resilience and strategic vision in connecting Vietnam and the world despite the unexpected pandemic."

"With the expansive network of Melbourne Airport and precious support from authorities of two countries, we believe our new non-stop service will create favorable conditions for travelers, thus contributing to ties between Vietnam and Australia in various aspects such as trade, commerce, investment, culture, and tourism."

Melbourne Airport Chief of Aviation Lorie Argus said that she was thrilled that Bamboo Airways had expanded its services.

"Bamboo Airways was the first new international airline we welcomed to Melbourne since the start of the pandemic, so to be expanding into an additional service so quickly after the initial announcement is great news for Melbourne Airport."

"It's also great news for Australians, who we know love visiting Vietnam. This service will also help connect the Vietnamese community in Australia to friends and family back home, as well as enable us to welcome Vietnamese visitors and international students to Melbourne," she added.

Exploring potential market

Australia is one of thriving markets that Bamboo Airways has soon realized since its earliest days. In 2021, the total two-way trade between Vietnam and Australia reached a record of $14 billion.

Vietnam and Australia continue to uphold considerable trade potentials in 2022 as both countries have entered the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement.

Australia is also among countries with the largest Vietnamese community in the world, with more than 300,000 people, mainly in Sydney (New South Wales) and Melbourne (Victoria).

Natalie Suleyman, Member of Victoria Parliament, said that Bamboo Airways’s new services deliver multiple opportunities for local communities.

"Just as important as these reunions is the fact that as international tourism reopens, it creates new jobs and new opportunities for people who live in the area, and we are so excited about this," she said.

The Melbourne-Hanoi service is subject to regulatory approval. The announcement follows a Letter of Support between Melbourne Airport, Victoria Government and Bamboo Airways inked in 2021.