Carriers knock off fares for int’l flights

Vietnam Airlines on Tuesday started to sell fares with discounts of at least 20% for certain international routes, as the regional leading low-cost carrier AirAsia has kicked off a Big Sale campaign of one million seats on its network that also covers Vietnam.
Vietnam Airlines sells return air tickets starting from US$150 for its flights from Vietnam to Myanmar’s Yangon City until March 31, or 50% lower than normal fares. Every week, the national flag carrier operates five flights from Hanoi and three from HCMC.
Guangzhou is also outlined in Vietnam Airlines’ fare promotion program throughout March, with two-way tickets starting from US$188, or 30% off normal rates. This is one of the three cities of China that the carrier currently flies direct to.
As for China’s capital city of Beijing, Vietnam Airlines also discounts return fares by 20% compared to a normal basis to US$350. This promotional rate applies to the flights between now and May 20 except the periods from April 8 to 13 and from April 28 to May 2 because of high demand for air travel.
Vietnam Airlines also provides fares from over US$80 for its services from HCMC to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore or Bangkok.
The carrier said all the discount fares were exclusive of surcharges and airport taxes, which vary depending on the charges applicable at departure airports.
To encourage passengers to make plans for their holidays in advance, the Kuala Lumpur-based carrier AirAsia is also selling one million Big Sale seats on the flights to various destinations including HCMC and Hanoi.
Kathleen Tan, AirAsia’s regional head of commercial, said one million seats were allocated for this occasion in response to a big response from the public for the carrier’s previous promotions.
“Hence, based on the numerous feedbacks that we garnered from our guests wanting more of such promotions, we are confident to receive the same overwhelming response this time around, if not more,” he said.
AirAsia’s Big Sale one-way fares are from US$30 for the flights departing from Hanoi and HCMC to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur from September 13 to February 29, and can be purchased at www.airasia.com to make bookings until February 27. The fare excludes airport tax and other applicable fees.
Also on Tuesday, AirAsia started to promote its all-in fare of US$45 for the HCMC/Hanoi-Kuala Lumpur-Jakarta services for travel from March 1 to April 27.
On Wednesday and Thursday, passengers in Vietnam can also book a single fare from US$35 to fly with another foreign budget carrier, Cebu Pacific from HCMC to Manila in the Philippines from April 1 to June 30.