Econ
Passengers fret over airfares during peak travel seasons in Vietnam
As for airfare, an airline’s representative said it is common for an air carrier to have 12 bands of prices and the closer to the departure date, the more expensive the airfare is.
Summer and year-end holidays in Vietnam are the peak travel season and, as a result, air fares are on the rise, despite the take-off of Vietnam's fifth airline, Bamboo Airways. Airfares are high taking into consideration the average income of Vietnamese people, Tuoi Tre News reported.
Regarding the busy seasons, an owner of a travel agency in Ho Chi Minh City said that the airfares during both Tet holiday and summer will cost several millions Vietnam dongs more.
For instance, an air ticket from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi normally costs between VND1.2 million (US$51.7) -VND2.4 million (US$103.4) from March to June annually. However, the price may jump by a half or double to VND2.2 million (US$95) - VND4.2 million (US$181) due to “high season.”
Airfares to airports including Cat Bi (Hai Phong city), Dong Hoi (Quang Binh province), Con Dao (Ba Ria – Vung Tau province) are also on the rise these days. Tickets for some air routes have even been sold out.
As for airfare, an airline’s representative said it is common for an air carrier to have 12 bands of prices and the closer to the departure date, the more expensive the airfare is, however, the prices are not allowed to exceed the ceiling of VND3.7 million (US$159.5) per one way for a domestic flight (excluding taxes and fees) as regulated by law.
The growth of the middle-class and the deep international integration leading to growing outbound trips are driving up air-travel demand of Vietnamese people, requiring more air carriers to join in the market.
In fact, the current number of carriers in Vietnam is considerably fewer than those of other Southeast Asian countries.
Vietnam currently has only 1.9 aircraft/one million people while the figure in Malaysia is 9.5 aircraft/million people. In terms of air carrier number, Thailand currently has 30 airlines and Indonesia 27-28, according to Vietjet Director of Project Development Vu Pham Nguyen Tung.
Additionally, experts agreed that the domestic carriers need to compete fairly, and it is necessary to have more airlines. However, airport infrastructure has failed to handle air travel capacity.
An aviation expert said that the combined capacity of Vietnam’s 22 civil airports of 75 million passengers per year is even inferior than that of around 100 million passengers per year of some ASEAN’s airports such as the ones in Bangkok (Thailand), Singapore and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).
Passengers are waiting for their departure at Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by Q.The/Tuoi Tre News.
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For instance, an air ticket from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi normally costs between VND1.2 million (US$51.7) -VND2.4 million (US$103.4) from March to June annually. However, the price may jump by a half or double to VND2.2 million (US$95) - VND4.2 million (US$181) due to “high season.”
Airfares to airports including Cat Bi (Hai Phong city), Dong Hoi (Quang Binh province), Con Dao (Ba Ria – Vung Tau province) are also on the rise these days. Tickets for some air routes have even been sold out.
As for airfare, an airline’s representative said it is common for an air carrier to have 12 bands of prices and the closer to the departure date, the more expensive the airfare is, however, the prices are not allowed to exceed the ceiling of VND3.7 million (US$159.5) per one way for a domestic flight (excluding taxes and fees) as regulated by law.
The growth of the middle-class and the deep international integration leading to growing outbound trips are driving up air-travel demand of Vietnamese people, requiring more air carriers to join in the market.
In fact, the current number of carriers in Vietnam is considerably fewer than those of other Southeast Asian countries.
Vietnam currently has only 1.9 aircraft/one million people while the figure in Malaysia is 9.5 aircraft/million people. In terms of air carrier number, Thailand currently has 30 airlines and Indonesia 27-28, according to Vietjet Director of Project Development Vu Pham Nguyen Tung.
Additionally, experts agreed that the domestic carriers need to compete fairly, and it is necessary to have more airlines. However, airport infrastructure has failed to handle air travel capacity.
An aviation expert said that the combined capacity of Vietnam’s 22 civil airports of 75 million passengers per year is even inferior than that of around 100 million passengers per year of some ASEAN’s airports such as the ones in Bangkok (Thailand), Singapore and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).
