Budget airline Jetstar Pacific and private carrier Air Mekong raised their prices on Saturday, half of month after the Finance Ministry approved a 22.7 percent increase in domestic airfares.

 

Ta Huu Thanh, deputy general director of Jetstar Pacific, said the highest fare his carrier now charges is on the Hanoi-HCMC route, with a one-way ticket costing from VND850,000 (US$41) to VND2.5 million ($121).

 

“Basically, our airfare levels have not changed so much. High prices will be applied only during peak seasons. Currently, we still offer ‘suitable’ fares and often introduce promotions so that passengers can travel easily,” Thanh told theVnExpress newswire.

 

Meanwhile, Doan Quoc Viet, chairman of Air Mekong, said the significant increase in fares this time have only been applied to the route between Hanoi and the southern island of Phu Quoc, the longest domestic route Air Mekong operates.

 

A one-way ticket on this route now costs VND2.7 million, excluding taxes and surcharges.

 

“For other domestic flights, fares have not been increased by much,” he said.

 

As of Saturday afternoon, national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines had not announced their new prices.

 

In the middle of last month, the Ministry of Finance announced new ceiling prices on domestic routes, capping flights shorter than 300 kilometers at VND863,000 per ticket.

 

The airfare cap on flights from 300 to less than 500 kilometers is VND1.1 million.

 

The caps are set at VND1.48 million on flights of 500 to less than 850 kilometers, VND1.91 million from 850 to less than 1,000 kilometers, VND2.23 million from 1,000 to less than 1,280 kilometers, and VND2.73 million on routes more than 1,280 kilometers.

 

The longest domestic air-route in Vietnam is currently from Hanoi to Phu Quoc, a distance of 1,575 kilometers.