Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Bamboo Airways today announced a commitment for 20 787-9 Dreamliners in deal that would be worth $5.6B at current list prices, when finalized. The announcement was made during a signing ceremony at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce office, witnessed by Voung Dinh Hue, deputy prime minister of Vietnam, and Nazak Nikakhtar, Assistant Secretary for Industry and Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration.

As part of the agreement, Bamboo Airways completed the deposit requirement in mid-June to reserve the 20 airplanes, which are tentatively schedule to deliver from April 2020 through 2021.

"We are excited to introduce these new 787 Dreamliners into our fleet as we prepare to launch long-haul operations to international markets," said Mr Trinh Van Quyet, Chairman of FLC Group, 100% owner of Bamboo Airways. "Our long-term vision is to connect Vietnam to key markets within Asia, Europe and North America and the capabilities of these new state-of-the-art Dreamliners will help us achieve our goals. The 787's superior economics and efficiency, as well as the passenger pleasing interior of the Dreamliner will allow us to successfully grow our business while enabling us to better serve our customers."

Bamboo Airways is a startup airline that plans to begin commercial operations in 2019 out of the capital city of Hanoi. The carrier plans to offer flights within Vietnam before expanding into other Northeast Asian markets such as China, Korea and Japan. "We are delighted to welcome Bamboo Airways to the Boeing family and we look forward to Bamboo joining the growing group of global airlines that fly the 787 Dreamliner," said Mr Dinesh Keskar, senior vice president of Asia Pacific and India Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "We are confident that the 787 will help launch Bamboo's long-haul operations and serve as the foundation of their success for many years to come."

The 787 Dreamliner is an all-new, super-efficient family of commercial airplanes. Since 2011, more than 690 Dreamliners have been delivered to operators, flying over 255 million people on more than 680 unique routes around the world, saving an estimated 25 billion pounds of fuel.

At 20 feet (6 meters) longer than the 787-8, the 787-9 extends the family in capacity and range, flying more passengers and more cargo farther. The airplane can fly 290 passengers, in a typical two-class configuration, up to 7,635 nautical miles (14,140 km).

Bamboo Airways is wholly-owned by the FLC Group, a Vietnamese multi-industry company, focusing on aviation, real estate, resorts, farming, and golf.