From October 1, airfares will increase across the board.

Airfares will increase due to passenger service charges and passenger security, while transportation costs remain unchanged.

On September 13, Vietnam Airlines was the last Vietnamese airline to send a notice to apply passenger service fees and passenger and baggage security fees according to new regulations of the Ministry of Transport.

Accordingly, all three airlines will apply new fees for newly issued and changed tickets from October 1. These are fees collected on behalf of the previous regulations.

Of which, the aviation security fee for a domestic passenger will increase from VND9,090 to VND11,818; the passenger service fee will increase from an average of VND47,727 to VND68,181. The average total fee will increase by VND23,181 per passenger on a domestic flight.

For international flights, the increase varies depending on the airport. For example, the fee at Noi Bai airport increased by 6 USD, at Tan Son Nhat airport it is 5 USD per passenger. The aviation security fee is 2 USD, previously it was 1.5 USD. Thus, the total fee will increase by 5.5 - 6.5 USD per passenger on an international flight at the two airports above.

Airfares are adjusted in 3 phases, the first phase from October 1 to December 31.

However, in addition to the new fee for passengers, the Ministry of Transport also applies fees for airport services to airlines. This has many travelers worried that it will affect airfares.

Vietnam Airlines representative confirmed that in addition to adjusting the above fee, the airline will not increase transportation fares. Jetstar Pacific representative said that this fee increase will not have much impact on the airline's ticket prices.

"The airline is selling 12-13 prices, from low to high for each flight. The airline can calculate the direct costs related to the price of air tickets to have a suitable price, such as adjusting the average ticket price, including restructuring the ticket rate according to each price from low to high. However, passengers can still find cheap tickets for themselves," said the airline representative.

Vietjet Air representative also said that ticket prices are made up of taxes and fees. Therefore, when taxes and fees increase, ticket prices must increase accordingly. "However, depending on the time, the airline can reduce or increase ticket prices to meet the actual needs of the market," the airline representative said.

Sharing with the press, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vietnam Airports Corporation (ACV) Lai Xuan Thanh assessed that the possibility of increasing airfares after this adjustment is very low.

"It is estimated that airlines will have to increase spending by more than VND161.53 billion per year, equivalent to VND4,531 per passenger. The total additional cost that passengers have to pay for an air ticket is about VND30,300," said Mr. Thanh.

Airlines also recommend that all items of transportation fares, taxes, fees, and charges are detailed on the ticket. Passengers should carefully check this information when issuing tickets to ensure that they are not charged incorrectly or charged for fees other than those specified.

According to the decision of the Ministry of Transport, the price of aviation services at airports will increase to offset the cost of investing in the airport system and improve service quality. The adjusted fees will be applied in 3 phases: October 1, 2017 - December 31, 2017, January 1, 2018 - March 31, 2018, from April 1, 2018.

Previously, the three major domestic airlines all increased ticket prices or service fees in late March and early April. The increase ranged from 40,000 to 500,000 VND depending on the route and seat class.

According to VNE