Jetstar Pacific offers airfares for Tet flights

Vietnam’s low-cost carrier Jetstar Pacific on Thursday began a sale of airfares for its flights during the Lunar New Year holiday, also known as Tet in the country.
The nation’s second biggest airline said passengers were able to purchase tickets for their Tet travel from HCMC to Hanoi, Danang, Vinh, Haiphong and from Hanoi to Danang and vice versa on www.jetstar.com, or at its ticketing offices and authorized agents nationwide.
Jetstar Pacific encourages passengers to buy tickets at its authorized agents to avoid fraud or troubles that may arise in the online booking process. The carrier’s chief commercial officer Ta Huu Thanh said the airline would protect customers’ interests if they had any booking problems with its official agents.
Those passengers who live far from Jetstar Pacific’s offices and agents are allowed to reserve seats for their preferred flights on the website and pay in cash later at one of the more than 1,100 offices of Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) across the country. They can also pay at transaction points of the carrier’s partner banks including Techcombank, BIDV and HDBank, and automated tellers machines of BIDV.
Jetstar forecast demand for air travel would surge during the Tet holiday from January 8 to February 11, or 15 days ahead of Tet for its flights from the south to the north and 20 days after the holiday for its flights southward.
On this Friday afternoon, the airline will sell discount fares from VND350,000 for a single trip between HCMC and Danang, and from VND700,000 for the HCMC-Vinh flights departing from October 4 to 25.
Jetstar Pacific now operates seven Airbus A320 and Boeing B737-400 aircraft for some 40 daily domestic flights. The carrier reported a year-on-year increase of 14% in passengers in the first seven months of this year.
Two weeks ago, Vietnam Airlines started to accept seat bookings for its Tet flights. The national flag air carrier said it would continue to offer more tickets during Tet in the fourth quarter of this year, and announce more flights for the country’s biggest holiday.
Vietnam Airlines said on Thursday the list of hotels included in its free & easy packages for 2011 had been expanded, providing passengers with more hotel options.
Passengers now can select hotels of three- to five-star ratings in Hanoi, Dalat, HCMC and other parts of Vietnam, instead of those in Central Vietnam as previously. Vietnam Airlines’ free & easy packages are also available at its ticketing offices and major agents.
The carrier’s domestic free & easy packages consist of return airfares, two-night accommodation, breakfast and hotel-airport transfers, and usually cost from VND3.9 million for a trip from either HCMC or Hanoi to HCMC.