VNA Tet tickets selling slow due to high prices TUOITRENEWS       A man books air ticket at the VietJet Air office in Ho Chi Minh City January 23, 2013. Photo: Tuoi Tre While many budget carriers have nearly sold out their tickets for the upcoming Tet holiday, national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines (VNA) is experiencing an unprecedented high rate of unsold tickets thanks to what passengers say are costly airfares. There are some 125,000 unsold tickets for before and during the Lunar New Year remaining, the airliner told Tuoi Tre. Lunar New Year’s Eve falls on February 9, but the holidays normally start six days earlier. VNA has had to adjust its business plan three times this year as consumption has fallen short of expectations, it said. There are still as many as 13,200 tickets left for the Ho Chi Minh City – Hanoi route between February 3 and 9; while the HCMC – Da Nang route has 1,500 seats left, said an employee at VNA’s southern branch in HCMC. All of the Hanoi – HCMC flights cost the same airfare of VND2.99 million, plus a VND50,000 fee, regardless of departure time, the employee said. Ticket agents have even contacted frequent customers on their own, inviting them to buy tickets, but most have been rejected, said Vu Hoai Nam, director of Sky World Co Ltd. “Passengers say the airfares are too high while their holiday bonuses have dropped,” he explained. A round ticket from HCMC to Hanoi cost some VND4 million last year, but has since risen to VND6 million. “Many customers have thus switched to buses or trains,” he said. Truong Son, a white-collar worker in the city, said he has decided that his four-member family will travel to Hanoi by train this year, since his bonus cannot cover the VND24 million needed for air tickets. “It cost me only VND16 million for four tickets last year,” he lamented. Frequent flyers are switching to low-cost carriers amid these hard economic times, some ticket agents remarked. VietJet Air (VJA) released 200,000 budget tickets for domestic services before and during Tet, and there are no available seats left on flights from HCMC to Hai Phong, Vinh, Hue, or Phu Quoc, the budget carrier said. The vacancy rate for flights between HCMC and Hanoi is now only 5 to 10 percent, it added. Jetstar Pacific Airlines (JPA) also said there are very few tickets available for the HCMC and Hanoi, Hai Phong routes. Flying less In 2012 Vietnamese flew far less than in previous years, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV). The aviation market only recorded a 1.8 percent growth last year, while the figure was once in double digits. VNA saw a 2 percent decline in number of passengers for domestic services, the CAAV said. JPA planned to have seven aircraft in service this year, but has since decided to use five to save cost, CEO Le Hong Ha said. “It’s one step back but it’s necessary for us to stay balanced during a difficult period for the market,” he said. Slowed consumption has created fierce competition amid the airliners, who have repeatedly released promotional campaign to encourage air travel, said a CAAV employee. VJA often receives 150,000 visitors to its website shortly after each promotional program is announced, while the figure is 120,000 for JPA. The national airliner, meanwhile, has lost considerable market share on major routes such as Hanoi – Da Nang – HCMC, thanks to the presence of the low-cost carriers, the CAAV said. “We are seeking ways to solve the conflicts between the airliners, helping all to remain operational during these tough times,” CAAV chief Lai Xuan Thanh said.