From March 1st, Circular No. 34/2023 amends and supplements some provisions of Circular No. 17/2019 of the Ministry of Transport promulgating the price framework for passenger transportation services on domestic routes, officially taking effect. Flights over 500km will have an increased price ranging from 50,000 – 250,000 VND/one-way ticket compared to the previous regulations, depending on the length of each flight.
According to the new regulations, the upper limit price on domestic flights is adjusted to increase by 5% compared to the previous level. Accordingly, flights with a distance below 500km have a ceiling price of 1,600,000 VND/ticket/one-way for economically and socially developed routes and 1,700,000 VND/ticket/one-way for other routes.
The remaining group of flights will have an increased price ranging from 50,000 – 250,000 VND/ticket/one-way compared to the previous regulations, depending on the length of each flight.
For flights from 500km to under 850km, the ceiling price is 2,250,000 VND/ticket/one-way; Flights with a distance from 850km to under 1,000km have a maximum ticket price of 2,890,000 VND/ticket/one-way. Flights from 1,000km to under 1,280km have a ceiling price of 3,400,000 VND/ticket/one-way and flights with a distance of 1,280km or more have a ceiling price of 4,000,000 VND/ticket/one-way.
The maximum price already includes all passenger costs for a flight ticket, excluding value-added tax and collection charges for airports (including passenger service charges and passenger security charges, baggage fees; service charges for additional items).
Starting from March 1st, domestic flight tickets have a new ceiling price 3.75% higher than before. Illustrative photo: Dy Khoa.
Domestic flight ticket prices will change in March 2024
In an exchange with the press, Mr. Le Hong Ha – CEO of Vietnam Airlines – believes that raising the ceiling price of domestic flight tickets from March 1st will help the company offset costs and adjust ticket prices to suit each customer segment.
The new ceiling price is an average increase of 3.75% compared to the ceiling price applied since 2015.
According to Mr. Ha, adjusting the ceiling price is a condition for airlines to offset the input costs of aviation, especially the sharp increase in fuel prices and exchange rates over the past decade.
A representative of Vietravel Airlines told reporters: “Based on the revenue data of 2022, the operation on domestic flights with the current price framework does not guarantee operating costs as well as the long-term profitability of the airline”.
In specific, “the cost index/passenger.km has exceeded 150% with the revenue index on all domestic flights”.
Thus, raising the ceiling price ensures that airlines can balance direct and indirect costs, ensuring long-term operation, in addition to expanding ticket price ranges.
“It is estimated that (ticket prices – PV) will increase in March but there is no specific date“, a representative of Vietravel Airlines said.
