www.365TravelVietnam.com

The national flag carrier, Vietnam Airlines, will operate 11 direct flights from Can Tho to Taiwan (China) and vice versa during the 2012 lunar New Year.

The information was announced by the Director of the Vietnam Airlines Office in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on December 15.

A wrangle has grounded the equitisation of national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines.

The list of possible equitisation advisers put forward by Vietnam Airlines has ruffled feathers, as there were several candidates not on the Ministry of Finance’s (MoF) approved list. The airline had also failed to fix costs for the service.

The national flag carrier, Vietnam Airlines, will temporarily cancel flights to and from Rach Gia Airport in the southern Province of Kien Giang for during the airport is under renovation.

Accordingly, Vietnam Airlines will reduce flights at the Ho Chi Minh City–Rach Gia–Phu Quoc route from April 4th to 23rd.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV)has announced it will conduct surprise inspections on old but operational aircrafts in Vietnam. The decision has been made after holes appeared in the top and fuselage of a series of Boeing 737-300 in the US.

CAAV said it has sent documents to notify personnel about the inspections of all domestic airlines and asking the airlines to follow all necessary procedures relating to the maintenance. The inspectors will focus on checking old aircrafts which have taken off and landed more than 35,000 times.

Vietnam Airlines, on March 31st, announced to increase 48 domestic flights from April 28th to May 3rd to meet the customers’ growing demands.

Accordingly, the increased flights include Ha Noi to Nha Trang (8 flights), Ha Noi to Da Nang (8 flights), Ha Noi to Ho Chi Minh city (8 flights), Ho Chi Minh city to Phu Quoc (10 flights), Ho Chi Minh city to Da Nang (6 flights), Ho Chi Minh city to Nha Trang (8 flights). All these routines will use A380 aircraft, and the increase is estimated at 70%.

The national flag carrier, Vietnam Airlines, will add an additional flight on the Hanoi – Tuy Hoa route each day between March 31st and April 2nd, using a Fokker aircraft with 79 seats.

These additional flights aim to meet the demands of passengers during the 400th Founding Anniversary of Phu Yen Province, said Nguyen Thanh Tri, Deputy-Director of the Phu Yen Provincial Department of Transportation.

Many domestic airlines have begun to offer attractive promotions to lure customers for the coming summer season.

During the promotional period, passengers will be able to buy tickets from VND1, 024,000 (US$49) to VND10, 425,000 ($499) on all international routes run by Vietnam Airlines.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Viet Nam has recommended a 20 per cent increase in ceiling fares on domestic routes, citing the depreciation of the dong and fuel price hikes.

Lao Dong (Labour) newspaper said Vietnam Airlines was the first carrier to ask for a hike after the State Bank of Viet Nam's decision to allow the greenback to appreciate by 9 per cent last month.

Booking agents have reported that the number of passengers booking tickets for the flights from Japan to Vietnam has increased sharply. Vietnamese people are trying to return to Vietnam to avoid the disasters.

The owner of Vietnam Airlines booking agency on Tran Hung Dao street, in Hanoi, said that “the number of passengers who booked tickets for the flights from Osaka to Vietnam increased sharply on March 16.”

As of March 27, Vietnam Airlines will drop off its passengers at Terminal 3 instead of Terminal 1 at Singapore’s Changi International Airport, the airliner has announced.

Pham Viet Thanh, Vietnam Airlines’ vice director said the new terminal, which has better infrastructure compared to others at Changi, would be more convenient for passengers.