Aviation Week
• Chen Chuanren
Bamboo Airways has effectively stopped selling individual domestic tickets, with its website showing no flights on major Vietnam routes including Ho Chi Minh City–Hanoi, Hanoi–Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City–Da Nang. The move intensifies questions about the carrier’s viability as its operating fleet contracts to three aircraft.
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Bamboo Airways has effectively stopped selling individual domestic tickets, with its website showing no flights on major Vietnam routes including Ho Chi Minh City–Hanoi, Hanoi–Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City–Da Nang. The move intensifies questions about the carrier’s viability as its operating fleet contracts to three aircraft.
Thai Airways International plans to sign a 50-year lease on Aug. 4, 2026, for a 210-rai, or 336,000-square-meter, site at Thailand’s Utapao airport. The lease will take effect Sept. 1, establishing the contractual basis for the airline’s planned MRO presence at the facility.
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Willie Walsh officially became IndiGo’s chief executive on Aug. 3, succeeding Pieter Elbers as the Indian carrier enters a new phase. Walsh, the former leader of IAG, takes charge as IndiGo pursues international growth while navigating the strategic demands of building out its long-haul ambitions.
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Air India is introducing its new Boeing 787-9 cabin on Delhi–Toronto flights, adding Mumbai–Toronto service and 4,400 monthly Canada seats while accelerating 787-8 retrofits through Shanghai MRO. Separately, United will deploy its 222-seat “Elevated” 787-9 on Houston long-haul routes from October 2026.
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Indonesian authorities detained a Malaysia Airlines first officer after allegedly finding 70,114 ecstasy pills and methamphetamine in his bags following a flight from Kuala Lumpur. The pilot reportedly tested positive for methamphetamine, prompting Malaysia’s aviation regulator to launch a security review; Indonesian prosecutors could seek the death penalty.
Air China will begin operating a three-times-weekly fifth-freedom service between Beijing Capital, Copenhagen Kastrup and Reykjavik Keflavik on October 26, 2026. The routing will provide an additional transatlantic connection linking China, Denmark and Iceland through Air China’s network.
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Vietnam’s Bamboo Airways has halted scheduled flights after years of restructuring, with its fleet reduced to just three aircraft and an unpaid tax debt of approximately $16.8 million. The suspension underscores the carrier’s continuing financial and operational deterioration despite repeated efforts to stabilize the business.
China’s People’s Liberation Army Southern Theater Command conducted joint air and naval combat drills around Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, describing the exercises as a response to regional instability. The patrols were intended to test combat readiness and reinforce China’s territorial defense capabilities.
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