From October 1: Airlines increase ticket prices

Airlines have announced plans to increase airfares to sales agents after the airport service price hike takes effect from October 1.

Security screening fees are applied at all airports, with adults increasing from 10,000 VND/time to 13,000 VND/time from October 1, 2017 and to 20,000 VND/time from July 1, 2018.

However, the increase is not significant and airlines still have cheap tickets at different prices.

Vietjet Air has officially announced to agents about adjusting passenger service fees (airport fees) and security screening fees in the coming time. The time applies to passengers booking and changing from September 10 with departure date from October 1, 2017.

A representative of low-cost airline Jetstar said that the airline will officially increase airfares in early October after the Ministry of Transport "nodded" to the decision and the price increase will directly "hit" passengers' pockets.

According to Jetstar representative, in reality, airlines are currently collecting fees from passengers on behalf of aviation authorities such as airport service fees, security screening fees, etc. These fees are separate from the airfare, but will be included in the total cost that passengers have to pay.

“In particular, these collection fees are displayed right in the ticket price, and passengers can update them on each airline's ticketing system. Therefore, passengers should buy tickets directly on the airline's official website or official agents to avoid buying from "ghost ticket" agents to avoid buying tickets at prices higher than the regulations," Jetstar representative advised.

According to calculations, if the new collection rates according to the recent decision of the Ministry of Transport are applied, the input costs of airlines will increase by VND161.53 billion, the cost of a flight ticket will increase by VND4,531/passenger. Meanwhile, the average price for passenger services and domestic passenger security will increase by VND25,854/passenger. In total, the total additional cost that passengers have to pay for a flight ticket is VND30,385.

The leader of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam said that after the Ministry of Transport recently decided to issue an adjustment to increase the price and price range of some specialized aviation services at airports, airlines must recalculate and restructure the airfare range appropriately.

“The government increases the price of airport services but does not loosen the ceiling on airfares. Therefore, it will have little impact on passengers,” the leader of the Civil Aviation Authority emphasized.

The total additional cost passengers have to pay for a plane ticket is 30,385 VND.

In the decision to issue an adjustment to increase prices and price frames for some specialized aviation services at airports, for domestic flights, passenger service prices will be adjusted to increase in 4 stages.

Specifically, in phase 1 (from October 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017), the fee applicable to Group A airports is 75,000 VND/passenger, Group B is 70,000 VND/passenger and Group C remains the same as present at 60,000 VND/passenger. Thus, at Group A and B airports, this fee has increased by about 7% compared to the current rate.

In phase 2 (from January 1, 2018 to March 31, 2018), the corresponding prices for airports in groups A, B, C are 80,000, 75,000 and 60,000 VND/passenger.

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

In the final stage, the highest price applied at group A airports is 100,000 VND/passenger, group B is 80,000 VND/passenger and group C is 60,000 VND/passenger.

In addition, from October 1, 2017, the price of aviation security services will be applied at 2 USD/passenger for international passengers compared to the current 1.5 USD.

For domestic passengers, the increase will be applied in 3 phases. From October 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017, the new price will be 11,818 VND/passenger compared to the current price of 9,090 VND. In the next phase (from January 1, 2018 to March 31, 2018), the price will be 13,636 VND/passenger and from April 1 onwards, the applicable price will be 18,181 VND/passenger.

Security screening fees are applied at all airports, increasing from VND10,000/trip for adults to VND13,000/trip from October 1, 2017 and to VND20,000/trip from July 1, 2018. For children, the fee will also increase from VND5,000/trip to VND10,000/trip from July 1, 2018.

For international passengers, the airport fees at Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat airports remain unchanged, but Da Nang airport has increased from VND360,000 to VND454,000/adult, from VND180,000 to VND227,000/child, Cat Bi airport has increased from VND180,000 to VND318,000/adult, from VND90,000 to VND159,000/child. Security screening for international passengers has also increased at the airports by VND10,000-12,000/trip compared to the old level...

According to VNA