Pacific Airlines to offer US$ 1.00 fare starting as of February 15 2007

February 11th, 2007

VietNamNet Bridge – Pacific Airlines will become a low-cost carrier on February 15 2007 when it begins selling 50,000 tickets at low fares of as little as VND15,000 (under US$ 1.00), said Pacific Airlines director Luong Hoai Nam Round-trip air fares on Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City routes would be set at 11 price levels including nine non-refundable levels and two refundable ceiling level fares. 

According to Nam, passengers on one-dollar flights would be responsible for additional fees and taxes, bringing total fares to about VND45,000 (US$ 2.80). No meal service would be offered on these budget flights, Nam added.Nguyen Kim Thanh, a manager of Pacific Airlines e-ticketing system, said the airline maintained both traditional ticketing and e-ticketing systems. According to Nam, Pacific Airlines is operating 20 aircrafts and plans to increase its number of flight from 10 to 12 per day. 

Pacific Airlines began following a model to become a low-cost carrier three years ago, after the success of foreign budget carrier in Vietnam. The airline projects a drop of 30-40% in costs over the next 3-5 years with the aim of increasing its current annual number of passengers of 750,000 to 5mil passengers in 2011, Nam said. 

Statistics have shown that only about half a million Vietnamese fly frequently, out of a population of 85mil people, while in Indonesia the figure was 30mil out of 230mil.

For further information, we suggest you check out the airline’s website on:

http://www.pacificairlines.com.vn/  

Source: VNA