When To Book Vietnam Airlines Domestic Flights?
Dec 23, 2013, 10:52 am
#1
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When To Book Vietnam Airlines Domestic Flights?
Hello there and I will be travelling through Vietnam and a couple months and was wondering when they offer the lowest domestic fares? I saw online that between 30-60 days out that they have a sale/promotion. However, when I looked online for other dates within that timeframe those promotion fares didnt show up at all. Anyone have experience at booking flights within Vietnam and at what point in advance is the ideal time to book seats at the lowest fare?
Dec 23, 2013, 11:42 am
#2
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If you are talking about VN domestic flights, the best is to book them from a local travel agent because they have access to much lower fares than when booked from abroad. There are tons of those local TA. You can book with them by e-mail and they will ask you to stop at their shop when you arrive in Vietnam to pay and issue the ticket.
Dec 25, 2013, 2:09 am
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I used Sinh Café but there are much more. I'm sure there are some specialist on this forum who can give you more up-to-date information or recommendation on this
I never said there were issues in or outside Vietnam to book on VN web site (or any 3rd party OLTA). I was talking about fares. Fares for VN domestic flights are cheaper when booked in Vietnam.
So, ASUDan130, I suggest you make some search on the internet and if you see that the fare difference do not worth the "hassle", don't bother and book on VN site.
So, ASUDan130, I suggest you make some search on the internet and if you see that the fare difference do not worth the "hassle", don't bother and book on VN site.
Dec 29, 2013, 4:21 am
#8
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I returned from Vietnam 2 months ago. My travel agent quoted me a price of AUD$500 per person business class for a trip from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. I got online to the Vietnam Airlines website (careful there are a few that look similar but charge you a surcharge) and got the same fare for $250 per person. It might of been cheaper had I been in Vietnam. The business class cabin was full. Might be hard getting a last minute premium seat.
Jan 5, 2014, 2:45 am
#10
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Vietnam Airlines website is "in Vietnam"
The websites of Vietnam Airlines, VietJet, or Jetstar all sell "in-Vietnam" domestic fares, regardless of where you may be located. In some cases, these fares may be lower than those offered by TAs, as the airlines only offer certain "hot deal" fares on their own sites.
Vietnam Airlines often lists only higher fare classes on GDSes used by Expedia, Orbitz, and so on, so these "international" sites typically will have higher prices than the domestic sites.
Try abay.vn for a quick comparison of airfares available domestically (Vietnamese-language only, but the interface is fairly obvious for a quick flight search.) However, sometimes the deals offered by the airlines' own sites don't show up here.
Vietnam Airlines often lists only higher fare classes on GDSes used by Expedia, Orbitz, and so on, so these "international" sites typically will have higher prices than the domestic sites.
Try abay.vn for a quick comparison of airfares available domestically (Vietnamese-language only, but the interface is fairly obvious for a quick flight search.) However, sometimes the deals offered by the airlines' own sites don't show up here.
Jan 6, 2014, 6:09 am
#11
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Agree with danang above, don't use an international aggregator - go direct to the airline websites.
I took three flights on VN in the last 10 days, thinking that as Skyteam Elite Plus I'd have lounge access for domestic flights. (FYI, may not be applicable) This wasn't the case, only business class tickets were eligible for access.
Also, keep hold of your baggage receipt as you'll need to show it when leaving the carousel area.
I took three flights on VN in the last 10 days, thinking that as Skyteam Elite Plus I'd have lounge access for domestic flights. (FYI, may not be applicable) This wasn't the case, only business class tickets were eligible for access.
Also, keep hold of your baggage receipt as you'll need to show it when leaving the carousel area.
Jan 16, 2014, 7:21 am
#12
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If it helps, I have just booked some flights for September direct with Vietnam Airlines on their website. (As above, be careful to select the right site if going via a search engine as other sites look similar but are not the same). I got SGN to CXR in J for GBP60 OW and CXR to HAN in Y OW for GBP52 including taxes. Efficient booking process and received confirmation emails within a few minutes.
I did some research online and found TAs to be vastly more expensive than booking direct.
I did some research online and found TAs to be vastly more expensive than booking direct.
Jan 19, 2014, 2:39 am
#13
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I actually find VN's website to be much cheaper, I was looking at a couple of J tickets for HAN-SGN v.v but couldn't book it because the website didn't accept my foreign credit card and for some reason the website just didnt function anymore, so I had to go to a TA down stairs (I was already in HAN!) and because it was kind of last minute, it turned out the TA was $50 AUD more expensive than VN's website.
But then again VN's domestic flights are not expensive so I don't really bother.
But then again VN's domestic flights are not expensive so I don't really bother.
Jan 19, 2014, 8:07 am
#14
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The cheapest fares are on the VN website, or if you like dealing with someone in person, visit a VN ticket office in-country.
Local TAs do have access to midrange fares, but can't access the super-low fares (and like to charge a booking fee on top of that, to boot).
(My US-based cc worked just fine)
The issue is that VN doesn't operate it's own lounges, they source it out to subcontractors, which means it's technically not a ST lounge that you can access by virtue of status. It's crap, but that's the reason (not that you missed out on much anyway, unless instant noodles is your thing).
Local TAs do have access to midrange fares, but can't access the super-low fares (and like to charge a booking fee on top of that, to boot).
(My US-based cc worked just fine)
The issue is that VN doesn't operate it's own lounges, they source it out to subcontractors, which means it's technically not a ST lounge that you can access by virtue of status. It's crap, but that's the reason (not that you missed out on much anyway, unless instant noodles is your thing).