The flight path of the Boeing 787-9 named ‘Quy Nhơn City’ from Bamboo Airways, which took off from Hanoi to San Francisco, has sparked a lively debate online following a post by Trịnh Văn Quyết, Chairman of FLC Group.
The flight path of “Quy Nhơn City” shared by Chairman Trịnh Văn Quyết.
After 13 hours and 34 minutes of flying, the Boeing 787-9 named “Quy Nhơn City” from Bamboo Airways successfully landed at San Francisco, fulfilling its mission of a direct non-stop flight from Vietnam to the USA. Notably, the flight path images revealed that although it was a “direct” flight, the aircraft did not fly in a straight line across the Pacific Ocean, but rather followed a curved route, passing through several other countries. This immediately ignited a discussion on social media on September 24, the day Bamboo Airways successfully completed its first direct flight.
In fact, this is a question many passengers wonder about when they first learn that flights between Asia and America avoid a straight path over the Pacific. Even flights from the US to Japan or South Korea typically take a detour towards Alaska rather than following this route.
The answer provided by aviation experts is quite surprising: crossing the Pacific Ocean is not a straight line as we see on a map, because the Earth is a sphere, not a flat plane.
Flight planners choose the shortest and most economical routes based on various criteria.
In reality, crossing the Pacific Ocean is not a straight line as we perceive.
Additionally, flight paths must be designed to ensure that the aircraft can communicate with ground radio stations and be prepared for rescue possibilities in case of emergency.
In the event of an incident, if the aircraft is flying over the Pacific, there are no airports for an emergency landing. Moreover, weather conditions over the ocean are generally less stable compared to land.
On the other hand, if flying along a curved route, pilots can make emergency landings at the nearest airport in case of engine failure or adverse weather.
It is noted that before the Quy Nhơn City aircraft undertook the aforementioned flight, Bamboo Airways had signed a four-party cooperation agreement involving the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board (LATCB), Los Angeles International Airport, and Bamboo Airways, to develop a direct non-stop flight from Vietnam to Los Angeles. It is expected that in October 2021, Bamboo Airways will launch a direct non-stop flight connecting Ho Chi Minh City with Los Angeles, the capital of California, where many Vietnamese expatriates reside in the US.
On the day Bamboo Airways successfully completed its direct flight to the US (September 24), shares of FLC Group (the parent company of Bamboo Airways) rose by 1.3% to 11,450 VND per share. Shares of FLC Faros also increased by 2%, closing at 5,610 VND per share.
