HANOI: A modest hike in the price ceiling for air tickets would not have a significant impact on the consumer price index in 2022 and hurt customers, according to the director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) Dinh Viet Thang.

       Earlier, the CAAV proposed raising the price ceiling for airfares, citing a surge in petrol prices as a reason.

       It noted geopolitical tensions, especially the Russia-Ukraine conflict, have pushed the jet fuel price of Jet A1 to a new height since the beginning of 2022.

       “The jet fuel price of Jet A1 has risen to US$130 (RM553) per barrel, nearly double that of 2021, so the CAAV’s proposal was made to partially remove difficulties for Vietnamese airlines that had been suffering huge losses,” Thang said during a conference late last week.The proposed price, which would see an average increase of 3.7%, would equal the ceiling price applied in 2015, Thang said, adding that the CAAV had also calculated the ceiling price to protect the interests of passengers while ensuring the state’s policies to combat inflation and increase prices.

       On the possibility that airlines would increase ticket prices during the upcoming peak season from April 30 to May 1, Thang said during the peak season, the average ticket price could not reach the ceiling, and would be only equivalent to 60% of this figure.

       Meanwhile, airlines had many ranges of fares, no airline only sold tickets at a ceiling price. Therefore, in order to access affordable air tickets, passengers should purchase early instead of booking close to the departure date, resulting in higher ticket prices, he added.

       Under its proposal, the ceiling prices of tickets would be increased to 2.25 million dong (US$97 or RM412) from the current 2.2 million dong (RM408) for flight distances between 500km and 850km, up 2.2%, while that for flight distances between 850km and 1,000km would be raised to 2.89 million dong (RM563) from the current 2.79 million dong (RM518), up 3.5%.

       For flights between 1,000km and 1,280km and above, passengers were expected to pay up to 3.4 million dong (RM631), up 6.2%, and four million dong (RM742), up 6.6%, respectively. — Viet Nam News/ANN

       Air ticket prices for flights below 500km would stay the same.

       The overall punctuality of the local aviation industry was 95.5% in the first quarter of this year, the latest statistics from the CAAV showed.

       In the period, Vi？t Nam’s six airlines operated 58,302 flights, a reduction of nearly 25% compared to last year’s figure.

       Bamboo Airways took the lead with 96.6% of its flights on time; Vietnam Airlines and Pacific Airlines ranked second and third with on-time performance (OTP) of 96% and 95.7%, respectively; and the OTP rate of Vietjet was 94.4%.

       According to CAAV, Bamboo Airways is also the carrier with the lowest rate of flight delays among Vi？t Nam’s three big airlines with 3.4%, a year-on-year decrease of 1.2%, while that of Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet was 4% and 5.6%, respectively.

       The overall rate of flight delays in the sector was 4.5% in the first three months of 2021, a decline of 7.3% compared with the same period. Meanwhile, the cancellation rate of the domestic aviation industry in the period was 1.3%, a year-on-year increase of 1.1%. Vietnam Airlines led the industry with 2.7% of the flights cancelled.

       The main reasons leading to flight delays of airlines include late return flights, poor management as well as equipment and services at the airport.

       In the first quarter of this year, domestic and international routes have been gradually restored to meet the increasing travel demand. Since regular international flights were resumed and the country was opened to international tourists in mid-March, airlines have raised the frequency of their operation on many routes.

       From the end of March, Vietnam Airlines plans to increase international flights every week and expand its exploitation to markets such as Singapore, mainland China, Japan, South Korea as well as domestic routes to meet market demand.

       Vietjet is striving to increase the frequency of many international routes connecting Vi？t Nam with South Korea, Taipei (China), Japan, Singapore, and Thailand.

       A representative of Bamboo Airways said that in order to meet the increasing travel needs of customers in the new normal, the airline is developing a network of flights to many countries in the world. — VNS/ANN