Agents and passengers are upset when Bamboo Airways narrows flight routes and continuously changes schedules.

In recent days, many airline ticket agents and travel agencies have continuously received letters from Bamboo Airways leaders announcing changes to flight schedules and frequencies in August. In addition, many of the airline's flights have also been changed from a few hours to a few days. Previously, many Bamboo Airways flights were also unexpectedly canceled.

This situation makes agents worried, and passengers upset because of many problems.

Many Bamboo Airways flights have had their schedules changed continuously in recent days (illustrative photo)

Ms. Mai Anh, an airline ticket agent in Hanoi, said that for more than half a month now, Bamboo Airways' flight times have been continuously changed, due to technical reasons. The airline's constant changes in flight times, even cancellations, have made it very difficult for agents to convince passengers to take other flights, causing significant economic and reputational damage.

“On July 27, a group of 16 passengers on the Hanoi - Phu Quoc flight were split into two separate flights with the flight time changed from 5:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and 12:00 p.m. This change caused the passengers to not be able to meet the flight time. We had to work very hard to convince the passengers to use the service. The latest flight on this route is at 5:30 p.m., so there is no other option if the flight is canceled or the flight time is changed,” said Ms. Mai Anh.

Representatives of many other airline ticket agents said they did not dare to accept early ticket deposits from customers. “Many customers booked Bamboo Airways tickets for the end of August and beginning of September, we always have to warn them in advance about possible flight changes so that customers can be proactive. Many large groups of customers booked tickets at this time, we still do not dare to accept and are always monitoring the situation,” said a ticket agent in Ho Chi Minh City.

Similarly, Ms. Nguyen Thi Dao, General Director of Hung Chien Aviation and Tourism Joint Stock Company, reported that in recent days, Bamboo Airways has changed flight times by 3-4 hours, or even changed them to another day, more commonly than before. Although the airline has actively supported affected passengers and agents, this situation has also caused a lot of trouble for customers and businesses.

“I have had to directly handle and support 3-4 customer cases in the past few days when some of this airline's flights changed their flight times 3 to 4 hours earlier or later. However, fortunately, these were passengers using the service for the Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City route. This is a route with many flights, so we can easily change it for customers. With other routes such as Hanoi - Ca Mau, which is an exclusive route operated by only Bamboo Airways, when the airline cancels or changes the flight time, we have no other choice but to refund the tickets to customers or change the flight schedule to Hanoi - Can Tho,” Ms. Dao informed.

Meanwhile, with many international tourist groups using Bamboo Airways' services, Mr. Pham Duy Nghia, CEO of Vietfoot Travel, said that he and the company are very worried when recently, the airline has continuously recorded delays and cancellations.

“In the coming time, we have many groups of tourists who have booked Bamboo flights both domestically and internationally, so we are very worried. If the flights are not carried out as planned, the tourism business will face the risk of tour cancellation. However, in the past few days, we have been continuously monitoring and have also received letters from this airline, confirming that the above flights will still take place as scheduled,” said Mr. Nghia.

Also according to CEO Vietfoot Travel, recently, Bamboo Airways changed its flight schedule to 4 days earlier and 7 days later than the original schedule. That situation happened on the Hanoi - Melbourne (Australia) route, causing many tourism businesses to suffer economic losses when they had to compensate customers. "That has a significant impact on the reputation of the business," Mr. Nghia complained.

A representative of Bamboo Airways said that the cancellation of some Bamboo Airways flights is aimed at restructuring, optimizing resources and improving the airline's operational efficiency, aiming for sustainable development.

"The above temporary adjustments are part of the overall restructuring process that Bamboo Airways has been vigorously implementing, aiming to optimize resources and improve operational efficiency, thereby better serving and caring for passengers and the partner network.

Bamboo Airways would like to send our sincere apologies to passengers whose flights were affected and pledge to provide maximum support to ensure passengers' rights according to regulations," said a representative of Bamboo Airways.

This person added that the new flight schedule and updated policies will be directly and specifically communicated to partners and passengers by the airline as soon as possible.

Bamboo Airways has also sent a dispatch to aviation authorities regarding the adjustment of the airline's flight schedule in August, and has committed to the authorities, passengers, and agents who have booked canceled flight tickets to fully refund the ticket price.

In the coming time, Bamboo Airways will continue to operate a fleet of all types of wide-body aircraft Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, narrow-body aircraft Airbus A320/321 and regional jets Embraer.

Up to now, in the list registered with the authorities, Bamboo Airways' fleet still has 30 aircraft.

According to VTC News