VietJet sells fares for maiden flights

VietJet Aviation Joint Stock Co., or VietJet, has loaded fares on its website for passengers to buy for HCMC-Hanoi flights scheduled to begin on December 25 before expanding ticketing channels.
The www.vietjetair.com shows Promo, Eco and Flexi fare categories for passengers, with the single Promo fare for the HCMC-Hanoi route starting from VND900,000 (less than US$43). The Eco and Flexi fares for flights from HCMC to Hanoi on December 25 cost from around VND1.11 million (less than US$53) and VND1.867 million (some US$88,8) respectively.
VietJet said changes to destinations and passenger names were not permitted for Promo and Eco fares but the carrier allowed changes to date and time certain days prior to departure for the three fare categories.
The private airline plans to operate two daily flights between HCMC and Hanoi. It looks set to bring a first Airbus A320 aircraft to Vietnam in preparation for the flights in the Christmas time, when demand for air travel within Vietnam picks up.
The carrier will commence services between HCMC and Danang from February 2012, which is a busy season for local airlines when a large number of international passengers travel to this city and other parts of central Vietnam.
VietJet said it had contracted to lease three new Airbus A320-200 airplanes from the foreign partner Alafco Aviation last month and planned to operate three to five aircraft more every year.
Earlier this month, the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) told the Daily that VietJet would operate as a budget carrier and would take off with some three aircraft.
Finally, VietJet will be able to commence flights four years after it was licensed as the first private airline in Vietnam. However, VietJet will be the second private operational carrier in the country after Air Mekong, which now conducts more than 30 domestic flights a day.
The other local players in Vietnam’s growing aviation market are national flagship Vietnam Airlines and its subsidiary Vietnam Air Services Co. (Vasco) and Jetstar Pacific.
Indochina Airlines was also a private carrier in Vietnam but this debt-laden airline has been grounded since November 2009 one year after it took off with two leased Boeing 737-800 aircraft.