In the wake of the sudden departure of Bamboo Airways from Australian routes, the travel industry and stakeholders have expressed their sadness about the recent development.
The Vietnamese carrier Bamboo Airways announced its surprise withdrawal from its long-haul markets, including Australia, last week as it looks to restructure operations in late 2023 and early 2024.
Former National Sales Manager for Australia and New Zealand at Bamboo Airways, Brad Crawford told Karryon he was “very humbled by the quality and amount of comments I have received over the past week”.
“We did work very hard to put Bamboo Airways front of mind with travel agents, suppliers and their clients,” he said.
“They had so much potential and were growing so well – it is such a shame that they decided to withdraw all flights rather than reduce services in the short term.
On Karryon social media, the travel industry and consumers lamented the carrier’s exit from Australia.
Some commenters praised the carrier’s relationship with travel advisors, while others wrote of theirs and their clients’ fondness for Bamboo’s service. Others simply expressed dismay at the announcement.
Here’s just a sample of some of the comments from Karryon’s Facebook page:
- Never flew them but always great to deal with when I needed help with fare rule clarification. One of the few airlines left that had representation in Australia and a great rep that actually cared as well.
- What a pity losing an airline that actually cared about agents. Sad day for Aviation.
- What. One of the only airlines with a rep and a great one at that.
- That’s terrible my client just got back and loved them.
- Just had a pax get home from Europe J class they were great.
- Such a shame, always such good client feedback.
- Only ever heard great things about Bamboo & have enjoyed their service. Such a shame.
- I flew them in May and they were great. Such a shame.
- That went fast. Heard they were great.
- That’s a total shame.
On his LinkedIn page, Crawford received countless direct messages of support from within the travel industry – for the airline, its Australian team and himself. Comments included:
- You guys certainly spread the word with ‘Bamboo Airways’, receiving amazing brand exposure.
- What an amazing job you did of promoting the airline and working with the trade.
- You have done such an amazing job showcasing Bamboo Airways.
- You have done a great job promoting and filling these flights.
- So sorry to hear this Brad. Having local representation is invaluable to an agent.
- You and the team looked to be making great headway in the Australian market.
- Sad day for Australia. My heart goes to all staff.
Bamboo Airways flew from Melbourne to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, and Sydney to Ho Chi Minh City.