Bamboo Airways: Fifth management chaos since 2022 - What happens now?

Bamboo Airways: Fifth management chaos since 2022 - What happens now?

Bamboo Airways has been characterized by numerous management changes that have affected the company's stability since 2022. The airline, founded by FLC Group on May 31, 2017, saw its first flight on January 16, 2019. Since then, it has established itself as Vietnam's first private airline to offer high-quality full-service services and have a high average on-time performance rate (OTP), such as vietnam.vn reported.

Founder Trinh Van Quyet invested significantly in Bamboo Airways and planned an initial public offering (IPO) at a price of at least VND60,000. After his arrest at the end of March 2022, he temporarily transferred responsibility to Vu Dang Hai Yen, deputy general manager of FLC Group. She was appointed chairman of the airline. But the personnel changes continued. Dang Tat Thang, who was appointed chairman of the board on March 31, 2022, resigned just four months later.

Frequent leadership changes

Nguyen Ngoc Trong was elected as the new CEO in August 2022, but announced his resignation in June 2023 for personal reasons. It can be observed that the difficulties in corporate management are reflected in frequent changes of leadership. Oshima Hideki, the former Japan Airlines executive, was appointed chairman during the 2023 annual general meeting, but resigned shortly afterwards and now advises as a senior advisor. Le Thai Sam took over as chairman of the board in July 2023, while Phan Dinh Tue was appointed chairman for the 2023-2028 term in February 2024, but resigned on July 5, 2024 after the general meeting of shareholders approved his dismissal, as vietnamnet.vn reported.

Bamboo Airways recently called an extraordinary general meeting for July 5, where shareholders will vote on Tue's dismissal and elect a new board member for the 2023-2028 term.

Financial goals and fleet planning

Financially, Bamboo Airways has ambitious plans to reduce its losses and build a profitable business. For 2024, the airline plans total revenue of VND4.857 billion and aims to reduce losses to VND1.387 billion. The fleet is expected to shrink by 19% while net revenue is expected to rise to over VND12,300 billion. In 2023, the company made a profit after corporate tax of VND236.8 billion, compared to a loss of VND19,798 billion in the previous year. Total liabilities are expected to decrease by about VND2,000 billion in 2023.

To ensure its market relevance and growth, Bamboo Airways plans to significantly expand its fleet by 2025, from the current 30 aircraft to 50 between 2026 and 2028. This is with the aim of serving domestic and international routes. The airline has also leased Boeing 737-900ER aircraft from BBN Airlines and is looking for other possible leasing partners worldwide.

Strategic adjustments for the future

Dr. Nguyen Thien Tong, an aviation technology expert, highlights that strategic adjustments are necessary to achieve sustainable profits. He suggests employing younger employees and exploiting niche markets to improve Bamboo Airways' efficiency and performance. The company is relying on a combination of increased fleet planning, the latest leasing agreements and adjusted personnel policies in order to overcome the challenges of recent years and shape a successful future.