The Ministry of Finance has requested the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) tell Vietnam Airlines to reregister its economy-class domestic fares and clarify fare structure and service charges.

The request comes after it found that Vietnam Airlines’ two latest reports on its air-tickets were the same except the new fares for its Buon Ma Thuot-Thanh Hoa/Haiphong flights with distances of 850-1,000 kilometers. The maximum fares are equal to 90% of the ceiling levels set by the ministry.

Vietnam Airlines noted that the one-way fares exclude taxes, fees and surcharges and can be adjusted up by 15% based on the market situation but will not be higher than the highest permissible levels.

However, the ministry questioned if Vietnam Airlines quoted its maximum fares at 90% of the ceiling levels, its fares could exceed the ceilings if the national flag carrier revises them up by 15%.

Vietnam Airlines is also required to make clear service charges for its tickets sold to passengers.

Many passengers have complained that local low-cost carriers increased fees and charges from early May but they did not tell passengers about this.

For instance, VietJetAir and Jetstar Pacific increased the system operation fee from VND44,000 (US$2) to VND110,000 for domestic flights and from VND110,000 to VND160,000 for international flights.

VietJetAir revised up its administration fee to VND100,000 per passenger per one-way ticket for domestic flights.  

These additional fees and charges pushed prices of all-inclusive air-tickets up.

SGT