Vietnamese airlines have announced their plans to increase airfares to resellers after an airport service price increase, which is set to come into effect from Oct. 1, following the Ministry of Transport (MOT)'s approval. However, the margin is negligible and airlines are still offering cheap tickets, at various rates.

Airfare increase will start to take effect as of Oct. 1.

Vietjet Air has officially informed its agents to adjust their passenger service fee (airport charge) and security fee for screening in the time ahead. 

The changes will be applied for passenger bookings and changes from September 10 and those that have their day of departure from the beginning next month.

Representatives from the low-cost carrier Jetstar Pacific said that the airline will officially adjust its airfare in early October after receiving the MOT’s approval.

According to Jetstar, airlines are collecting fees from passengers for aviation authorities, such as airport charges and security screening fees. 

These fees are separate from the ticket prices, but are included in the total cost that passengers must pay.

In particular, these fees are displayed in the fare, which can be updated on the ticketing system of each airline. 

Therefore, Jetstar Pacific recommends that passengers buy their tickets directly from the genuine website or authorised agents in order to avoid buying "ghost tickets" at higher prices than prescribed.

According to calculations, if new rates are applied due to the recent MOT’s decision to make an increase of approximately VND161.53 billion in additional cost for airlines, the cost of each ticket will increase by VND4,531/passenger. 

Meanwhile, the average price of passenger services and passenger security will increase by VND25,854 per passenger. 

Generally speaking, the total extra cost each passenger should pay for an air ticket will stand at VND30,385.

A leader of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAA) said that after the MOT decision to issue price increases for several specialised aviation services at airports, airlines must suitably recalculate and restructure their airfares.

"The State increases the cost of airport services but does not loosen the airfare ceiling. Therefore, it will have less impact on passengers," said the CAA official.

In the MOT decision to issue price adjustments for a number specialised aviation services at airports and airfields, for domestic flights, passenger service prices will be adjusted towards increasing in four phases.

In Phase 1 (from October 1 to December 31, 2017), the charge applicable to Group A airports (24-hour operation) is VND75,000 per passenger, Group B (airports not belonging to those in Group A and C) is VND70,000 per passenger, and Group C (airports serving socio-economic development) are to remain unchanged as at present the fee stands at VND60,000 per guest. Thus, at airports Group A and B, prices will increase by approximately 7% compared to the current level.

In Phase 2 (from January 1 to March 31, 2018), the applicable rates of Groups A, B, C will be at VND80,000, VND75,000 and VND60,000 per passenger, respectively.

Phase 3 (from April 1 to June 30, 2018), domestic passengers at airports Groups A, B and C will have to pay VND85,000, VND75,000 and VND60,000 per pax, respectively.

In the last stage, the highest price applied at Group A airports will be VND100,000/ pax, Group B VND80,000 and Group C VND60,000.

In addition, from October 1, 2017, the price of aviation security services will be charged at US$2 per passenger for international flights compared to US$1.5 currently.

For domestic passengers, the increase in the price of aviation security services will be imposed through a three-stage roadmap. 

From October 1 to December 31, 2017, the new price will be VND11,818 per visitor compared to the current price of VND9,090. 

The next period (from January 1 to March 31, 2018), the level will be at VND13,636/person and from April 1 onwards, the applied price will be VND18,181/pax.

Particularly, security screening fees are applied at airports, with adults increasing from VND10,000/visitor to VND13,000 from October 1, 2017 and VND20,000 from July 1, 2018. 

For children, the fee will also increase from VND5,000 per turn to VND10,000 from July 1, 2018.

With international passengers, airport fees at Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat airports will not be changed, but only at certain newly upgraded airports such as Da Nang, from US$16 to US$20 per passenger, and Cat Bi and Vinh from US$8 to US$14 per guest. 

Security rates for international visitors will also increase by VND10,000-12,000 per compared to the old level.

Nhan Dan