The Hanoi Times - National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines announced Thursday it would add a further 136 flights on major domestic routes this month to meet the surge in demand during Tet (the lunar New Year) which falls on February 14 this year. There will be four daily additional flights in each direction on the Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh City route and two on the HCMC – Danang route. The total number of seats available on the Hanoi-HCMC route will go up by half to 8,200 in each direction. On the HCMC-Danang route, it will rise by 68 percent to 3,800. The additional flights are on top of 850 extra flights the carrier said it would operate to meet the demand that shoots up every year during Tet. The demand for seats is higher than ever this year after Indochina Airlines, the country’s first carrier, recently suspended operations after selling thousands of tickets during Tet. It was operating four flights a day on the Hanoi – HCMC sector. Vietnam Airlines has also begun to use larger aircraft like the Airbus A321 and A320 aircrafts on the two major routes. A321s are also operated between HCMC and some smaller central cities like Hue and Vinh. A320s have replaced the 65-seat ATR72 aircraft that normally operate from HCMC to Tuy Hoa and Dong Hoi. The carrier said it would continue to monitor demand and consider operating extra flights from HCMC next week. It urged passengers to arrive at the airport two and a half hours before departure during the peak period. It currently flies to 20 domestic and 24 international destinations. Last year it carried 9.3 million passengers, 6.64 percent up year on year. It hopes to carry 11 million this year.
BTA
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