Exclusive-Vietnam’s Bamboo Airways struggling to pay pilot wages; some depart – sources

By Francesco Guarascio and Khanh Vu

HANOI (Reuters) – Some pilots have left Vietnam’s restructuring Bamboo Airways in the last two months after late salary payments, according to two people familiar with the matter.

About 30 foreign pilots departed in that time, or more than 10% of the airline’s total pilot staff in June, according to one of the people, who declined to be identified as the information was not public.

A second person said some pilots had recently quit and others were dismissed.

Embattled Bamboo, Vietnam’s No. 3 airline, said in a statement to Reuters it has undertaken a drastic restructuring encompassing its route network, fleet and human resources.

“Bamboo Airways has reduced a number of pilot personnel recently to serve this goal,” the statement said, denying that late payments of salaries were the reason behind the departures.

It did not respond to questions about how many pilots had left.

Many staff at Bamboo have at times had to face delays in salary payments, but this had not, until recently, affected foreign pilots who make up a large majority of the airline’s pilot staff, the sources said.

Messages seen by Reuters from an internal company chat forum that management uses to communicate with foreign pilots show some salary payments have been late.

An Aug. 21 message from a company representative in the forum told foreign pilots they would have received on that day 35% of their monthly salary that had been due a week earlier, and they would be informed about the remainder when there was more information.

A similar message was sent a month earlier.

The amounts were later paid in full but foreign pilots had not received their pay for August that had been due on Sept. 15, according to information from one of the people that was current as of Sept. 25.

TOUGH TIMES

Bamboo said in statements to Reuters that it is operating stably and is planning to raise capital from strategic shareholders. It said one of its major financial backers, Vietnam’s Sacombank, had expressed confidence in its long-term prospects and the desire to increase its investment in the airline.

Sacombank has not provided comment.

Bamboo’s new chief executive, Nguyen Ngoc Trong, said in a letter to staff last month seen by Reuters that the airline was facing “tough times”. Trong was appointed CEO in July when his predecessor resigned after less than two months in the job.

In a separate statement to Reuters on Wednesday, Bamboo said it would embark on restructuring its aircraft fleet from next month to increase efficiency and optimize operating costs.

“The restructuring process aims to stabilize Bamboo Airways’ operations and further growth opportunities,” the statement said, adding that it aims to “increase the uniformity of aircraft types in the long run”, without elaborating.

The prime minister earlier this month directed ministries and relevant authorities to work out measures to help the airline overcome difficulties, the statement added.

Vietnam’s Government Office did not reply to a request for comment.

Bamboo had in 2021 flagged plans to list in the United States but it has been struggling with rapid management changes and aggressive restructuring since a former chairman was arrested in March 2022 over allegations of stock market manipulation.

It was not immediately clear which companies have the biggest stakes in Bamboo. A spokesperson for Bamboo said details about its ownership would be disclosed at a later date.

Bamboo, which flies both internationally and domestically, has a share of around 17% in the Vietnamese market, its then CEO told local media in March.

It booked losses of 17.6 trillion dong ($722 million) last year, the government has said.

Bamboo’s flights continue to regularly depart, schedules at the country’s two main airports show. Seven of its 30 planes, including some of those recently acquired, are currently parked for maintenance, according to tracking website Planespotters.net.