Published:  00:00 Monday - April 04, 2011

Travelers complain that it is nearly impossible to book tickets for flights to famous tourism sites like Nha Trang, Da Nang and Phu Quoc on April 30-May 1 holiday these days. 

Meanwhile, Jetstar Pacific has not released their plan on increasing the number of flights on the holiday. Air Mekong has revealed it may provide more flights from Hanoi to Phu Quoc island in order to meet the demand which has increased by 30 percent in comparison with ordinary days.

Booking agents in Hanoi said the shortage of air tickets on holidays is no longer a surprise. It is because the demand for traveling to places like Nha Trang, Da Nang, Da Lat and Con Dao is very high. Especially, it is expected that the demand this year is higher than in previous years because this year’s holiday will last four days.

The most serious air ticket shortage is with the flights from Hanoi or HCM City to Da Nang. Not only economy class tickets, but C class tickets have also run out. People are flocking to Da Nang this year because the city has been selected as the place that will let off international fireworks.

On March 18, the website of the national flag air carrier, Vietnam Airlines, announced that flights from HCM City and Hanoi to Da Nang on April 28, 29 and 30 are fully booked. Every day, the air carrier provides 19 flights from HCM City and Hanoi to Da Nang. Now passengers only have one choice of taking the late flight from Hanoi to Da Nang with business class ticket priced at 2.1 million dong. Meanwhile, the flights on April 29 and 30 of the air carrier are completely booked.

In order to serve the increasingly high demand, Vietnam Airlines has decided to provide 48 more domestic flights from April 28 to May 3. The air carrier will provide an additional eight flights on the Hanoi - Nha Trang route, eight Hanoi – Da Nang flights , eight Hanoi – HCM City flights, 10 HCM City – Phu Quoc Island flights, eight HCM City - Nha Trang flights and six HCM City – Da Nang flights.

Besides, Vietnam Airlines will also provide 15 more flights on international air routes, including the ones from Hanoi to Bangkok, Siem Reap, and from HCM City to Bangkok, Siem Reap and Kuala Lumpur.

Other two air carriers, Jetstar Pacific and Air Mekong, have also reported that air tickets for some air routes are running out. The passengers who book tickets for flights prior to April 28 or after April 30 will still be able to get some seats on the flights from HCM City and Hanoi to Da Nang with Jetstar Pacific if they book the most expensive air tickets at 1.1 million dong. Meanwhile, the flights on peak days from April 28 to April 30 are fully occupied.

Being a new air carrier on the market, but Air Mekong’s flights on domestic routes have always been full. Doan Quoc Viet, Chair of Air Mekong said that the number of air tickets for flights from Hanoi and HCM City to cities such as Da Lat or Con Dao have always been short of the demand. He said that in many cases, tickets were sold out just overnight.

“Especially, the demand for flying from Hanoi to Phu Quoc island is very high. Our flights have always been full, even on ordinary days,” Viet said. Air Mekong has four flights to Phu Quoc every day, but it plans to increase the flight frequency to six flights a day on April 30 holiday.

As for other air routes, such as the ones from Hanoi and HCM City to Da Nang and Cam Ranh, Viet said Air Mekong cannot provide additional flights because of the lack of aircrafts. “We are planning to equip more aircrafts for our fleet in order to raise flight frequency during the peak summer season,” he said.

Source: VietNamNet