Vietnam Airways will have competition this winter from upstart local airline Bamboo Airways.

Passengers across London and the South-East will benefit from a new connection from Gatwick to Asia this winter, with Bamboo Airways launching flights to the popular Vietnamese destination Ho Chi Minh City better known as Saigon.

From there, passengers will also be able to connect onwards with Bamboo Airways to destinations across Vietnam, as well as Australia, Singapore and Thailand.

The service will initially fly once per week from 7 December, complementing Bamboo’s upcoming inaugural route between Gatwick and Vietnam’s capital Hanoi, which launches on 30 October.

Passengers travelling on Bamboo’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft will have three classes of travel to choose from, including Economy, Premium Economy and Business Class featuring fully lie-flat beds.

Bamboo launched operations on 16 January 2019, and now has a fleet of 30 Airbus 320 series, Boeing Dreamliners and Embraer E series.