Summer flight camp

Although the summer holiday has just started, travel firms and agents have already completed 60-70 percent of their business plan while air carriers have also increased their flights to meet high travel demand. However, travel firms and agents are facing new difficulties: increasing tour prices because of rising fuel prices and a shortage of human resources. Millions of tourists ready for their trips Tran Quoc Bao, deputy director of Saigontourist Travel Company, said the company has expected to serve more than 280,000 tourists this summer. The number of tourists will be higher as tourist demand at home and abroad is surging. Three-to-eight-day domestic tours offered by Saigontourist are available nationwide. The most popular ones are tours of beaches, tours of northeastern and northwestern regions, 'green' tours, and community tours. “As summer is the peak season, we have prepared financial and human resources to diversify and better our services to meet market … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s travel firms see explosion of summer tours

Since Vietnam reopened its border for foreign tourists in March 2022, Emirates has gradually increased the weekly frequency on both routes from Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi, offering travellers from Vietnam more convenience as well as safe and seamless connection to Dubai and onward to Emirates’ global network of over 130 destinations. Starting from 24 June 2022, Emirates will boost its frequency from Hanoi to daily flights. From 24 to 30 June, Emirates flight EK394 will depart Dubai at 03:30hrs, arriving in Hanoi at 13:15hrs while on its return leg, Emirates flight EK395 will depart Hanoi at 00:25hrs, arriving in Dubai at 04:00hrs. From 5 July 2022, Emirates will make a small modification on the operation time of the return flight in which the flight EK395 will depart Hanoi at 01:30hrs and arrive in Dubai at 05:05hrs. Frequency to Ho Chi Minh City will also increase from 5 to 6 weekly flights from 1 July 2022. Emirates flight EK392 will depart Dubai International Airport at … [Read more...] about Emirates offers more choices for summer vacation

HCMC resident Hanh was trying to book round-trip tickets to Phu Quoc a month earlier, but the travel agent quoted new prices every time she called. She said airfares for three people and one child rise from VND11 million ($473) to VND12 million in 10 minutes, and to VND13 million a few hours later. Hoa of Da Nang City said the cost of a round-trip to HCMC tripled to VND2.3 trillion within two months. She said that the longer she waited for the price to drop, it did the opposite. The most expensive domestic route, Hanoi-Phu Quoc, has seen round-trip ticket prices rise 20-30 percent to VND5-7.5 million from last month. Airfares from Hanoi and HCMC to Da Nang, Nha Trang and Quy Nhon have risen by over 25 percent in the last several months. International airfares have also risen by 25-30 percent, with the HCMC-South Korea and HCMC-San Francisco route recording prices of VND10-13 million and VND41-45 million, respectively. Vietnam Airlines head of communications Dang Anh Tuan … [Read more...] about Hourly rise in airfares as summer demand surges

Once a cost-cutting and outsourcing target for aviation, ground handlers are now being offered raises, as frazzled passengers take to social media to complain about missing baggage. The hiring can't come fast enough as a rebound in travel and badly-needed airline revenue this summer is being weighed by congestion, rising costs and labor strife, after a two-year pandemic vacuum. Air Canada said late on Wednesday it would cut flights in July and August to reduce passenger flows to a level that the air transport system can accommodate. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), which represents ground handlers, including baggage and cargo handlers, for Air Canada among other carriers, said some Canadian workers are being offered raises and double pay to work beyond eight-hour shifts, a union official said. "It's created a bit of a bidding war," said Dave Flowers, an IAMAW national president in Canada specializing in air transportation. Flowers … [Read more...] about Luggage piles join long airport lines in fresh woes for summer travel

The figure was up 15.9 percent year-on-year and up 9.4 percent from last month, according to a report from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam. The delay fights accounted for 18.2 percent of total flights operated by the country's six carriers last month, it said. Low-cost carrier Vietjet Air has the industry's highest rate of flight delays at 24 percent, followed by Vietnam Airlines (20.1 percent). CAAV said late-arriving aircraft was the main cause of delays in addition to other excuses like poor management and bad weather. The Ministry of Transport said the increase in flight delays has triggered public outcry among passengers and damaged the industry's reputation. It ordered airlines to ensure flights are punctual, especially during the peak summer travel season. In the first half of this year, the number of passengers going through Vietnam's airports reached 43.35 million, a pickup of 65.5 percent from a year ago and equivalent to 76 percent of pre-pandemic levels, … [Read more...] about Thousands of Vietnamese flights delayed in June

Children from across Ho Chi Minh City have spent their first few weeks of summer visiting the children’s section of the General Sciences Library, located in downtown District 1, to read in a comfortable environment and participate in a variety of clubs and activities. Nguyen Ngoc Lan, a fifth grader from District 3, has spent nearly the entire week at the library eagerly reading books and participating in the dozens of activities hosted by staff and guests there, including storytelling sessions and advice on choosing new books to read. New books, new activities Lan did not have much love for reading when her mother first brought her to the library, but the time the young girl has spent making new friends and enjoying the library’s activities has turned her into a true bookworm with a particular interest in outer space and comics. Fourth grader Viet Quan and his sister, first grader Huong Thanh, have also been spending their mornings at the library. The siblings are … [Read more...] about A summer of fun and learning for Ho Chi Minh City children

Emirates is now increasing its frequency daily from Ha Noi and six times weekly from HCM City to Dubai and beyond. — Photo courtesy of Emirates Travellers from Viet Nam headed to Europe and the US this summer can enjoy more connectivity, flexibility and choices as Emirates is adding more frequency from both Ha Noi (HAN) and HCM City (SGN) starting from June 24, 2022. Since Viet Nam reopened its border for foreign tourists in March 2022, Emirates has gradually increased the weekly frequency on both routes from HCM City and Ha Noi, offering travellers from Viet Nam more convenience as well as a safe and seamless connection to Dubai and onward to Emirates’ global network of over 130 destinations. Starting from June 24, Emirates will boost its frequency from Ha Noi to daily flights. From June 24 to 30, Emirates flight EK394 will depart Dubai at 3:30am, arriving in Ha Noi at 1:15pm, while on its return leg, Emirates flight EK395 will depart Ha Noi at 12:25am, arriving in Dubai at 4 … [Read more...] about Emirates adds more flights from Viet Nam

A view of the world’s tallest building Burj Khalifa in Dubai. — Photo courtesy of Emirates Emirates offers customers free entry to some of the UAE’s most popular attractions plus many more exciting offers this summer, while the city’s marquee event - The Dubai Summer Surprises - returns with a full calendar of entertainment, culture and family activities. Whether returning to Dubai or visiting for the first time, Emirates customers can enjoy free entry to these top-rated UAE attractions, including the world’s tallest buildings, Burj Khalifa, Dubai Fountains Boardwalk, and Louvre Abu Dhabi. These summer specials are valid for travellers who book a return trip to Dubai in any cabin class between June 27 and July 10, 2022, for travel from July 1, 2022, to September 30, 2022. The Emirates boarding pass also doubles up as a discount card for the summer until September 30 2022. Members of Emirates’ award-winning loyalty programme, Skywards, can earn Miles on everyday … [Read more...] about Emirates offers summer special promotion in Dubai

Many Vietnamese airlines have proposed that the ceiling prices of domestic air tickets be further increased or removed as they have suffered heavy losses due to wildly soaring fuel costs. Even though air tickets have been rising, even higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic, carriers argued that they have to make up for relentlessly rising fuel expenses. Round-trip airfares of economy class for the Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City route are fluctuating around VND3-5 million (US$129-214) per ticket and those for business class are VND8-17 million ($343-729), an increase of 20-50 percent compared to periods with passenger shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Airfares to famous tourist destinations, such as Da Nang and Phu Quoc, have even changed hourly, and customers can hardly find cheap tickets even though for early morning or late-night flights. Many customers commented that many airlines might have taken unfair advantage of higher fuel prices, triggered by rising world oil … [Read more...] about Vietnamese airlines want domestic airfare caps raised, even removed, amid fuel cost hikes

Illustrative photo (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The operation of the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi has remained in full swing in recent days, with transport volume at the domestic passenger terminal exceeding its designed capacity. According to operators of the airport, its passenger throughput has made new records almost every single day. The figure was 102,000, including 91,000 domestic passengers, on June 24; and more than 104,000, including nearly 93,000 domestic clients, on the next day. It is projected to increase to 110,000 in early July. On average, the airport’s domestic flight volume has been growing spectacularly, soaring by more than 40% compared to the peak of summer 2019, the time of high growth before the COVID-19 epidemic appeared. In addition, the number of passengers using personal vehicles for pickups also increased sharply, at three times that before the pandemic./. VNA … [Read more...] about Continuous passenger throughput records at Hanoi’s airport