Delegates attend to a ribbon-cutting ceremony to welcome the first wide-body aircraft at Tho Xuan airport. — Photo courtesy of FLC

The second Bamboo Airways Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft carrying passengers from HCM City landed at Tho Xuan airport in the central province of Thanh Hoa on Saturday, making it the first wide-body aircraft to arrive at the airport.

In his speech, Mai Xuan Lien, vice chairman of the provincial People's Committee, praised the efforts of FLC Group and Bamboo Airways in using the aircraft on the HCM City-Thanh Hoa route via Tho Xuan Airport.

That does not only affirm that Tho Xuan airport has the capacity to welcome large aircraft, but also helps speed up the province's air transport industry, creating more opportunities for passengers, Lien said.

The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner is reportedly the world’s most fuel-efficient aircraft, with advanced technologies applied to minimise weight and reduce the frequency of maintenance. It can carry about 294 passengers up to a distance of 13,950 km.

According to Bamboo Airways, this aircraft model plays a key role in the future operation of the airline’s medium and long-haul routes to Asia, Europe and America in 2020. The airline plans to receive 12 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft by the end of this year.

The first one used on the carrier's Ha Noi-HCM City route entered service in late December.

Currently, Bamboo Airways is the first private airline to operate wide-body aircraft. It is providing flights on 40 domestic and international routes.

The carrier has conducted more than 20,000 flights thus far, carrying three million passengers with an on-time performance rate (OTP) of 94 per cent. — VNS