When Vietnam's Bamboo Airways burst onto the scene and took off in 2019, it had sky-high ambitions to expand internationally and take on regional giants.

But in recent months, the airline has faced mounting financial losses, axed routes and made redundancies, leaving some Australian holidaymakers in very awkward positions.


One Melbourne family, for example, had booked $10,000 business class tickets to Ho Chi Minh City with Bamboo Airways for a post-Christmas getaway. But their dream holiday was thrown into disarray when the airline announced it was axing its Sydney and Melbourne services to Vietnam starting November.


News of the airline abandoning most of its overseas routes and doing major workforce cuts as part of its strategy was described by its newly appointed CEO Luong Hoai Nam—former CEO of Jetstar Pacific—as the 'most extensive, strategic, and far-reaching restructuring project ever undertaken' in Vietnam’s aviation history.

The decision meant an end to flights from Sydney and Melbourne to Ho Chi Minh, Melbourne to Hanoi, and long-haul flights to London and Frankfurt.

This also triggered redundancies for Bamboo Airways staff in Australia.


In a statement, the struggling airline said that affected passengers would be 'promptly notified and assisted'.

However, this was not the case for the aforementioned Melbourne family.

Kelli, whose surname was withheld, said that 'there was no warning for customers, aside from an automated email with no reply option'.

She has desperately tried contacting the airline by phone and email about recouping the cost of her family-of-four's now useless tickets but has hit nothing but roadblocks in her attempt to refund the costs.

'We have contacted the refund email option for Bamboo Airways only to have our emails bounce back,' Kelli shared.

'We have called the customer care line only to have every call disconnected after a lengthy wait period.'

'It’s not looking great. Every which way you turn, it’s an automated message.'

Their tickets were also reportedly not covered by their insurance.

Kelli had no choice but to purchase new flights with Vietnam Airlines at an 'absolute premium' given the busy travel period.


On social media, many other Australian holidaymakers are similarly venting fury at the lack of communication from Bamboo and the inability to get their money back after the route cuts.

'Do not book with Bamboo Airways,' one shared on a travel group on social media.

'I booked our direct flights from Melbourne to Hanoi back in April. I called last week to confirm our special meals and was informed that our direct flights had been cancelled and that our flights would now be via Ho Chi Min City.'

'Just received a phone call advising that our flights have been cancelled altogether. We were supposed to fly in 28 days.'


The airline said that passengers may reschedule their flights free of charge but subject to seat availability, or request for full ticket refund 'in compliance with prevailing regulations'.

'To ensure that all customer requests are addressed in a timely and efficient manner, Bamboo Airways has deployed all available resources across customer care touchpoints, including our hotline, social media, email, online request form, etc, to facilitate flight rescheduling and or full refunds at the soonest,' a spokesperson from the airline said.

'We remain fully committed to ensuring the benefits of our valued customers, and we appreciate their support and understanding during this transitional period.'

It is understood that Catherine King, Minister of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, was only informed of the airline’s decision to end flights to Australia on Monday, October 23.

'The announcement by Bamboo Airways to suspend services to Australia and a number of other destinations around the world is a commercial matter for the airline,' the minister’s spokesperson said.

'However, it is disappointing to see the lack of responsiveness by the airline to its customers.'

The spokesperson encouraged affected travellers to contact the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) as they require businesses withdrawing from Australian shores to 'ensure appropriate remedies are provided to customers'.

This includes refunds for services that can no longer be provided due to the business' decision to withdraw.

'Businesses should also make sure their communications to customers about their entitlements are clear and accurate,' an ACCC spokesperson said.
Members, what are your thoughts on this latest news? Have you travelled with Bamboo Airways before? Let us know in the comments below!