Tet tickets sell

Airlines sell tickets cautiously, passengers buy hesitantly

VietNamNet Bridge – Air carriers have begun selling air tickets for Tet flights, a bit later than usual. Meanwhile, passengers still keep listening to the news, not hurrying to book tickets right now.
 

The significant fall in the number of passengers has forced domestic airlines to be very cautious when drawing up their business plans. All of them launch Tet sale season later than usual, offering air ticket sales in different stages, exploring the situation while selling.

NHP, an office worker in HCM City, began searching for the information about air ticket sales for Tet flights in August. Since there were not many choices, P had to book business-class return tickets to Hanoi with the state owned Vietnam Airlines at the sky high airfare of over 5 million dong per person, totaling 20 million dong.

By that time, Vietnam Airlines had not launched the Tet sale season yet.

One month later, P successfully booked tickets with a budget airline at 2.4 million dong per person only. Finally, she decided to cancel the flights with Vietnam Airlines, accepting the fine of 1.2 million dong. However, the decision to fly with the budget airline would help her save nearly 10 million dong.

Air Mekong was the first airline that launched Tet sale season. Its first sale campaign, lasting 20 days, began on September 20. Twenty days later, the two budget airlines VietJet Air (VJA) and Jetstar Pacific Airlines (JPA) also launched the Tet sale season.

JPA announced the sale of 110,000 tickets for Tet flights since October 11. It also launched the sale of 24,000 seats for the HCM City – Hanoi flights to take off within 15 days before Tet and the Hanoi – HCM City flights within 15 days after Tet.

It is expected that the travel demand would be 10 percent higher for the flights between Hanoi and HCM City on Tet days in comparison with the same period of the last year, and 13 percent higher on the HCM City – Da Nang route.

In the latest statement, Vietnam Airlines said it would run two Tet sale campaigns. In the first one, commencing from November 1, it would provide 75 percent of the total seats for the peak season, while in the second one, slated for mid December 2012, it would provide the remaining 25 percent.

The national air flag carrier has also informed that from January 25 to March 2, 2013, it would provide 1000 more flights, or 174,500 seats on the 10 air routes with high travel demand. Of these, 82,600 seats would be reserved for the HCM City – Hanoi flights.

It’s still unclear about the airfares. However, the passengers who want to fly on the days between February 5 and February 15, or the peak days, would have to bear high airfares.

As for budget airlines like JPA or VJA, the average level is 2.6 million dong for a seat on HCM City – Hanoi flights, not including VAT and airport fee.

Airlines keep cautious with their Tet sale campaigns, because they need to consider the expected profits thoroughly in Tet conditions. In general, the flights from HCM City to Hanoi are always overloaded on Tet days with the higher number of people flying to the north to celebrate Tet holiday with their families, while there are few passengers on the Hanoi – HCM City flights.

The sharp fall of the domestic aviation market in the first seven months of the year has also forced airlines to think carefully when setting up their business plan. Vietnam Airlines, the “eldest brother”, has reported the decrease of 7.5 percent of the domestic carriage output.

Ngoc Ha

 

Transsexual Flight Attendants Take Off on Thailand's P.C. Air | NewsFeed | TIME.com

Ladyboy’ Flight Attendants Begin Their Ascent with Thailand’s P.C. Air

By William Lee Adams | @willyleeadams | December 16, 2011 | 1

inShare3

REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom

Transgender flight attendants pose for photographers at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

At Thailand’s P.C. Air, transsexual flight attendants are taking to the skies—and boosting acceptance of the country’s “third sex” while they’re at it.
Four transsexual flight attendants completed their inaugural flight over Thailand earlier today, serving drinks and snacks en route from Bangkok to Surat Thani province. That comes ten months after the recently-launched P.C. Air announced it would consider applications it had received from more than 100 transvestites and transsexuals. Four made the cut and joined a cabin crew that also includes 19 female and seven male flight attendants.
(MORE: Thailand Elects its First Female Prime Minister)
Peter Chan, the airline’s president, told Reuters that the new recruits faced the same stringent application process as applicants who were born female. Bosses judged them on criteria that included femininity, attractiveness and proficiency with English and Mandarin. They also had to demonstrate feminine posture and vocals. He believes that transgender flight attendants will prove more versatile than the airline’s more traditional recruits. “They might provide better services because they understand both males and females. And they’re well-trained according to the aviation standard,” he said. “I’m a pioneer, and I’m sure there will be [other] organizations following my idea.” (The airline doesn’t draw its name from its politically correct approach to recruitment: P.C. refers to Chan’s initials.)
Known locally as ladyboys or katoeys, Thailand’s transsexuals enjoy greater acceptance and visibility than their counterparts anywhere else in the world. Skilled surgeons have turned Bangkok into a capital for gender reassignment, and relatively low costs make procuring a sex change more realistic than in the United States, where fees can easily run into the six figures. The Miss Tiffany pageant—Thailand’s most prestigious beauty contest for male-to-female transsexuals—is broadcast nationally every year. And millions of tourists flock to transgender musical shows, like the Simon Cabaret in Phuket.
P.C. Air’s newest trolley dollies hope their work will allow other katoeys to explore careers off the stage and away from the beauty counter. “This is the beginning of the acceptance of transsexuals in Thailand, giving the opportunity for us to work in various fields,” 22-year old Tanyarat Jirapatpakorn told Reuters. “Maybe in the future we can get any job that transsexuals never did before, such as police, soldiers or even pilots.”
For now, though, they’re content to scratch flight attendant off the list. Twenty-three-year old Dissanai Chitpraphachin, a former winner of the Miss Tiffany pageant, told the Associated Press her new gig was a dream come true. “When I was young, I couldn’t take my eyes off those nicely dressed ladies in the airline commercials every time they came on the screen,” she said before starting her new career. Now, as you can see in the commercial below, Thailand has its eyes on her.

Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/12/16/ladyboy-flight-attendants-begin-their-ascent-with-thailands-p-c-air/#ixzz1h5n2qfcb

Transsexual Flight Attendants Take Off on Thailand's P.C. Air | NewsFeed | TIME.com

Google starts adding flight schedules in search results | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

Google starts adding flight schedules in search results | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update: "Google starts adding flight schedules in search results

May 29, 2011 about Uncategorized

Google on Friday started integrating flight schedules and airline routes into its search results.



According to Google’s official blog, when users search for a destination on Google, they will see airlines serving that specific route and flight schedules.



For example, if users search for “flights from San Francisco to New York,” they will see a selection of non-stop flights and the airlines that offer them. A full timetable will be seen after clicking on “schedule of non-stop flights.”



Users can also see all the destinations with non-stop flights from a particular airport. If “flights from San Francisco” is searched, Google will show a number of routes from the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and airlines flying from the airport. Similar to the schedule feature, users can also click to get more flight details.



The new search feature is currently available in 10 languages.



“With the close of our ITA acquisition last month, we’re eager to begin developing new flight search tools to make it easier for you to plan a trip,” Google said in the blog post.



On April 8, Google got approved by the U.S. Department of Justice for the 700-million-U.S. dollar acquisition of flight-data company ITA Software with commitments to preserve competition in on-line airfare search.



ITA’s airfare search and pricing system powered many popular airline ticket search and booking sites, as well as airlines. Microsoft and several major on-line travel companies had argued that the acquisition would lessen competition in the industry.



Xinhuanet

- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Chartered flights to central Vietnam on the rise | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

Chartered flights to central Vietnam on the rise | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update: "VietNamNet Bridge
- The number of chartered flights to central Vietnam is jumping between now and
the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday compared to a year ago, according to the
Danang-based tour operator Vi-tours and the aviation authority.



Vitours director Cao Tri Dung estimated local and foreign
airlines had 12 to 15 charter flights from China,
Hong Kong, Taiwan,
Korea and elsewhere in Asia
to Danang International Airport
alone in the period, with more than half of them catered to by Vitours.



Dung told the Daily on the phone on Monday that the number
of chartered flights to the region in the period would triple or quadruple that
in the year-ago period. This substantial increase is attributable to the fact
that more foreign travel agencies are choosing central Vietnam as a new destination for
their guests, coupled with a recovery of global travel demand.



“They (foreign travel agencies) charter flights for their
customers to Phuket and Bali in previous years and now is the time for them to
visit central Vietnam,”
Dung said. He added this region was able to meet requirements for accommodation
and entertainment, as it was now home to many luxury properties and
UNESCO-listed heritage sites, including the former imperial capital of Hue and the Phong
Nha-Ke Bang
Caves in Quang Binh Province.



Dung said over half of the chartered flights to central
Vietnam were operated by Vietnam Airlines from such markets as Korea, Hong Kong
and Japan, and the rest by TransAsia Airways of Taiwan and other foreign
carriers.



The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) said
Shanghai Airlines had suspended services to Danang
International Airport,
but this did not result in a reduction in frequencies of chartered flights to one
of the four international airports in central Vietnam. The others in the region
are Phu Bai, Cam Ranh and Chu Lai airports.



CAAV demonstrated that Russia’s
Vladivostok Air had kicked off their chartered flights from Vladivostok
and Khabarovsk to Cam
Ranh International
Airport in Khanh Hoa Province.



About one month ago, Vietnam Airlines started a series of
more than 40 flights chartered by the international travel firm Vietlink from Hong Kong and Danang until early May next year, using the
184-seat Airbus A321 aircraft.



Dung of Vitours said over the past years, Vietnam Airlines
and other carriers had operated their medium-sized aircraft with 160 to 180
seats for the chartered flights to and from Danang with an average load factor
of 70%.



Dung said the visitors using chartered flights often stayed
four to five days exploring services and destinations in central Vietnam,
and spent much money on services and products there.



Attracting visitors to central Vietnam on chartered flights
promises a bright future because the number of scheduled flights to the region
remains limited. Singapore’s
SilkAir now has four weekly flights to Danang while Vietnam Airlines has
launched its daily HCMC-Tokyo service with a stopover in the central city.



Dung said Vitours had invested US$40,000-50,000 this year on
promotion and support programs in order to bring more chartered flights to
Danang, or double the amount the company spent last year.



- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Airlines pull 14m flights in next six months-24 June, 2009

The level of cutbacks by airlines between July and the winter has been identified as equating to more than 14 million flights.

This represents the lowest level of flights since the second half of 2005, according to aviation data firm OAG.

The world’s airlines will offer 3.67% fewer flights and 2.76% fewer seats than they did a year ago, according to the company’s calculations.

“The numbers reflect the airline industry’s attempts to adjust to a weak economic climate, but capacity nevertheless remains almost 20% higher than the levels of the early 2000s,” OAG said.

The OAG analysis covers all future schedules filed by airlines to date, to provide a snapshot of planned airline activity for July to December 2009.

Jetstar Pacific cancels Hanoi-Can Tho flights

The low-cost airline Jetstar Pacific on May 26 announced it would stop offering Hanoi-Can Tho flights as of June 1.

The airline said it will close this air route to focus on more lucrative routes, for example Hanoi-Da Nang, Hanoi-HCM City, HCM City-Da Nang. The firm will add one more flight per week on these routes.

Other routes, HCM City to Hue, Vinh and Hai Phong and Hanoi-Nha Trang, will still have one flight per day.

Meanwhile, Vietnam Airlines offers two Hanoi-Can Tho flights a day.

VietNamNet/TP

Shanghai airlines starts direct route to Hanoi

Shanghai Airlines launched its first direct flight from Shanghai to Hanoi on March 27 and took the return flight the following morning.

This carrier is offering a promotional campaign from now until the end of April with a 35 percent discount on return tickets, normally priced at US$280.

The Hanoi-Shanghai flights will depart on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday and the return flights on Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday every week.



VietNamNet/VOV

Asia-Pacific see internation traffic fall in Q3

Asia-Pacific airlines see international traffic fall in Q3; Taipei has highest seats per movement ratio; Bangkok disruption will impact Q412th December 2008 Market Trends No Comments »
Cathay Pacific celebrated the expansion of services to India in August, with 20 more flights added to make the total 28 per week. It now operates 14 flights per week to Delhi, 10 to Mumbai and four to Chennai.
The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines currently consists of 17 members - Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, China Airlines, Dragonair, EVA Airways, Garuda Indonesia, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Qantas Airways, Royal Brunei Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways International and Vietnam Airlines. Each month the association reports provisional international traffic figures for all its members combined. Analysis of year-on-year data reveals that growth has been positive for most of the last three years until July of this year.
Source: AAPA
In the third quarter of 2008 international passenger numbers fell by 3.6% to 35.9 million. Average load factors fell around 3% as capacity remained broadly unchanged. This compares with the second quarter of 2008 when international passenger numbers were still increasing by 2.6%.
The disruption caused by recent events in Thailand will do doubt have some effect on the figures for November and December as Bangkok is the region’s fourth busiest airport.
Taipei has most seats per aircraft movement
An analysis of the top 15 Asian airports reveals that for this winter at three of the top 15 airports the average aircraft size exceeds 250 seats. Taipei leads the way with 269 followed by Tokyo Narita (with 265) and Hong Kong (with 260).
Source: OAG Max Online for w/c 1 December 2008
For comparison, the average aircraft movement at London Heathrow this winter has 193 seats. At Amsterdam the average aircraft movement has 140 seats while at Frankfurt it has 161.