Asia - Vietnam Airlines help

I am trying to go from HKG to Siem Riep Cambodia and then to Hanoi. The easiest way is on Vietnam Air. But I can't get anyone to sell me a ticket for the intra-Asia legs only. Anyone have any ideas on where to buy a ticket in the US or California in particular. Any other suggestions would be appreciated as well. BKK is an option but the routing doesn't appear to be good at all.

maybe buy the Asean air pass
3 coupons for $360..
i did a quick search for hong kong ta's online -
http://www.tiglion.com/airpass/asean.htm

but maybe there are others. people have actually used.

then pick up the ticket when you arrive.
also this site..
http://www.travel.com.hk/


[This message has been edited by ajinlondon (edited 10-31-2003).]

Just what I was looking for, Thanks AJ.

Vietnam Airlines (VN) tickets (validated on numeric code:738) cannot be issued in the USA.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Mr. Roboto:
Vietnam Airlines (VN) tickets (validated on numeric code:738) cannot be issued in the USA.

</font>

You can buy the tickets. STA issued them. Travelocity does too.

What is STA? I am flying singapore air over to HKG. I need the intra-asia legs on Vietnam. Travelocity can issue the legs I need, but the price coming up is over $1100.

[This message has been edited by ORDSteve (edited 11-05-2003).]

You might want to try American Airlines. The website is more than happy to quote from SGN-HAN return, and they've buddied up in general, too.

STA is the largest Student Travel Organization. You don't have to be a student, though, to buy the tickets - just to get the discounts they might have.

Vietnam airlines also has a U.S. office - in San Francisco.

One other thing - it's often cheaper to book and buy there then here in the U.S. Since you are going to Siem Reap, though, that can be risky.

and these website or STA is going to be cheaper than $360..?? hmmm

Note - the ASEAN air pass is only valid if sold at the same time as an intercontinental ticket to Asia on a specified list of (Asian) carriers.

So aj, whilst it might not be under $360, the overall costs are a different matter. hmmmmmm........ indeed!

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Swiss Tony:
Note - the ASEAN air pass is only valid if sold at the same time as an intercontinental ticket to Asia on a specified list of (Asian) carriers.

So aj, whilst it might not be under $360, the overall costs are a different matter. hmmmmmm........ indeed!</font>

The Air Pass, covering 29 ASEAN cities, must be issued in conjunction with an international air ticket issued by any of the following participating airlines: Royal Brunei Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, Malaysia Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, Thai Airways International and Vietnam Airlines. It is priced at US $120 per flight coupon (per sector) for travel on economy class. A minimum of 3 continuous sectors in ASEAN must be purchased.

i think you might want to re-read the thread.. before you start attacking me,
he IS FLYING SINGAPORE AIR.....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

.

[This message has been edited by Swiss Tony (edited 11-06-2003).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by ajinlondon:
and these website or STA is going to be cheaper than $360..?? hmmm</font>

As the other poster pointed out, the ASEAN airpass must be purchased at the time the international ticket is bought. Presumably, the OP has already bought his/her ticket with SQ.

NOTE: "Asean Air Pass ticket must be issued at the same time with the international ticket for travel into Asean countries on the services of BI/GA/MH/MI/PR/SQ/TG/VN/QV/UB"

And yes, STA may be cheaper. I haven't done the research but when I bought a 3 segment ticket HAN-SGN-REP-SGN with STA last March, it came to about $350. This was on a combo of Vietnam and Siem Riep Airlines.

BTW, STA www site is www.sta.com (http://www.sta.com) - I find it easier, though, just to call and work with the agents. They are very friendly and easy to work with.

Finally, just my .02, but I don't think the other poster was attacking you. After all, you were the one to use the "hmmmmm" in your response to my post.

Happy travels to the OP! Siem Riep is a wonderful place as is Vietnam.



[This message has been edited by StudentExplorer (edited 11-06-2003).]

woops. duplicate post.

[This message has been edited by StudentExplorer (edited 11-06-2003).]

Thanks for all the info. I called Vietnam in San Francisco and they put me in touch with a travel agent here in Los Angeles. They were pretty useless tho, as they couldn't book me the flights to Siem Reap. I have come to the conclusion that it is easier to wait till arrival in SGN to buy the tickets (and cheaper too) but I am travelling with the wife and we have a tight schedule. Hence my trepidation to show up over there empty handed.

Steve,
Was it a Vietnamese travel agency ? I can send info over for a few Vietnamese travel agencies if needed. They are familar as they do bookings via email/mail for the Vietnamese 'bumbs' that hang out in VN for months at a time.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by ORDSteve:
Thanks for all the info. I called Vietnam in San Francisco and they put me in touch with a travel agent here in Los Angeles. They were pretty useless tho, as they couldn't book me the flights to Siem Reap. I have come to the conclusion that it is easier to wait till arrival in SGN to buy the tickets (and cheaper too) but I am travelling with the wife and we have a tight schedule. Hence my trepidation to show up over there empty handed.</font>

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by StudentExplorer:

Finally, just my .02, but I don't think the other poster was attacking you. After all, you were the one to use the "hmmmmm" in your response to my post.

[This message has been edited by StudentExplorer (edited 11-06-2003).]</font>

i didn't ask for your F***in 2 cents, display your $350.00 ticket or P&$$ oFF


i'm sure if one asks nicely to the travel agent they booked the SQ tick with, they will include the Asean Pass
- or re-ticket it..


[This message has been edited by ajinlondon (edited 11-10-2003).]

I have recently been flying VN- I strongly suggest buying your tickets once in Asia. For example, domestic VN flights outside Vietnam are priced at twice the price than if you would just buy the ticket at the airport. VN now has direct service to LAX and SFO so you might try calling their offices, but again smartest is to wait until you are there. The walk-up fare is not necessarily more expensive the way it is here.

------------------
KLM PE,HHonors Diamond,SPG Plat,PC Plat,SAS Silver

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Elena:
I have recently been flying VN- I strongly suggest buying your tickets once in Asia. For example, domestic VN flights outside Vietnam are priced at twice the price than if you would just buy the ticket at the airport. VN now has direct service to LAX and SFO so you might try calling their offices, but again smartest is to wait until you are there. The walk-up fare is not necessarily more expensive the way it is here.

</font>

I agree with this. However, Siem Riep is a pretty popular destination and for peace of mind, you might want to buy that portion of the ticket ahead of time.

Just bumping this thread up since I also called the Vietnam Airlines office in SF the other day. I believe that domestic VN fares are actually (slightly) cheaper if purchased in the USA since they don't charge tax. At least that was what the agent told me, and it appears to be accurate based on some of the other research I have been doing. Also, I believe domestic fares have actually gone down recently, with HAN-SGN pricing out at only ~$100 these days, while regional ASEAN fares haven't.

FWIW, I haven't been able to find any discounted domestic fares on VN, even for roundtrip fares which essentially equal two one-ways. As a a result, the HAN-REP return (at ~$194 each way) that I have been looking at costs only slightly less than a HAN-SGN-REP-HAN fare (~$405).

Heck, if that is the case, I essentially get a free stopover in SGN, and get to see how things have changed in the past 10 years.