Crisis leaves airlines flying in the dark

    "The airlines will adjust reasonably depending on market movement together with the purchasing power of passengers," says Vietnam Airlines General Director Pham Ngoc Minh
However, one airlines industry expert, who asks to remain anonymous, says that airlines needed a seat occupancy rate of 75-80 per cent just to break even, even at current fares. Some would-be passengers who are holding out, expecting lower fares to encourge tourism during the global economic downturn, may therefore find themselves in for a long wait.
Market watchers are also saying that domestic passengers are only likely to enjoy airfare discounts under the An tuong Viet Nam (Impressive Viet Nam) program, a major promotional campaign put on by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism under which 99 all-inclusive tours will be discounted between January and September to lure travelers.
The deputy head of Vietnam Airlines’ sales development division, Nguyen Minh Tam, says that besides the 30-50 per cent airfare reductions applied for clients of the program, the airline has been co-operating with travel firms to build up others on tour fee reductions for the firms’ clients.
Domestic travelers have already begun booking for the April 30-May 1 holiday, which will run for four days this year, but budget carrier Jetstar Pacific has affirmed that it still has a lot of tickets for flights during that period. Nevertheless, it has advised passengers to draw up travel plans right now, as they can get cheaper fares if they book soon.
Jetstar Pacific has announced that it will offer 50,000 low-priced tickets on domestic routes flying between March 3 and May 21. The tickets can be booked between February 18 and 22 through booking offices and agents nationwide, as well as the airline’s website.
Tickets for domestic flights connecting HCM City with Da Nang and Hue, and Ha Noi with Da Nang will be slashed to VND250,000 (US$15), while tickets for flights from HCM City to Ha Noi, Hai Phong and Vinh, and from Ha Noi to Can Tho will be available for just VND500,000 ($30).
Such airfare discounts normally occur in the low season, but the April 30 – May 1 holiday is a high season when airlines normally think of adding more flights to the schedule and granting airfare discounts only to travellers in tours.
Vietnam Airlines, for instance, will slash the airfare from Ha Noi to the Cuu Long (Mekong) River Delta from VND1.7million ($100) to VND1.4million ($82) for people who are members of tour groups.
It is currently selling a return ticket on the HCM City-Ha Noi route through Vietravel for only VND2.6million ($153), well below the maximum level of VND3.4million ($200).
And Vietravel general director Nguyen Quoc Ky and staff of Viet Nam Tourism have both noted that tour fees have been lowered since domestic airfares have eased.
Vietnamtourism in Ha Noi has revealed that the firm plans to sell tours from Ha Noi to Da Nang, Quy Nhon, Nha Trang and Quang Binh next week which are VND1-2million lower per tour than the normal levels.