New regulations on domestic air transport service prices

Illustration photo.

This Circular stipulates the mechanism and policies for managing domestic air transport service prices and specialized aviation service prices; applicable to organizations and individuals doing business, using and managing domestic air transport service prices and specialized aviation service prices.

According to Circular No. 44, the basic economy class domestic air passenger transport service price is the service price that passengers must pay for the journey in the economy cabin of an aircraft for the service class that meets the basic requirements of the majority of passengers on domestic flights from ground services to in-flight services.

Additional service price is the price that passengers have to pay for additional services. Additional services are services that passengers have the right to choose to use or not to use, provided by the airline to meet the requirements of passengers on the flight from ground services to in-flight services.

Essential basic services at airports include services providing food and beverages that are domestic goods (instant pho, instant noodles, instant vermicelli, instant porridge, bread without added food; bottled water with a capacity of 500 ml or less; canned milk of all kinds with a capacity of 180 ml or less).

Prices of domestic air transport services and prices of specialized aviation services are determined according to the principles and bases prescribed in Article 22 of the Law on Prices.

The prices, price ranges, and maximum service prices determined by the Ministry of Transport do not include value added tax. The price ranges for basic essential services at airports determined by the Ministry of Transport include value added tax.

Circular No. 44 stipulates that the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam is responsible for appraising price plans and reporting to the Ministry of Transport to issue pricing documents for 4 types of services including:

Firstly, aviation services are specifically priced: aircraft take-off and landing services; flight management services for departure and arrival; passenger services at airports; aviation security services (security services for 5 passengers and luggage; security services for passengers denied entry and staying for 24 hours or more; security services for goods and postal items; security services for goods that have undergone security screening from air cargo warehouses with infrastructure located outside the boundaries of airports into restricted areas at airports; security services for means of transporting goods and equipment entering restricted areas at airports); flight management services through flight information regions managed by Vietnam.

Second, aviation services with set prices: aircraft parking lot rental services; passenger check-in counter rental services; baggage conveyor rental services; passenger boarding and disembarking bridge rental services; full package ground commercial technical services at airports (for airports that still apply the full package method); automatic sorting of departing baggage; aviation fuel filling services; underground fuel filling infrastructure services at airports; aviation service concessions at airports, including concession services: passenger terminals; cargo terminals and warehouses; ground commercial technical services; repair and maintenance of aviation vehicles and equipment; aviation engineering; provision of aviation meals; provision of aviation fuel.

Third, non-aviation services are priced: space rental services at passenger terminals; space rental services at cargo terminals; essential basic services at airports.

Fourth, basic economy class domestic air passenger transport services sold within Vietnam are priced at maximum.

Regarding the price of basic economy class domestic passenger transport services sold within Vietnam, Circular No. 44 stipulates that basic economy class domestic passenger transport services sold within Vietnam are priced according to distance and flight route groups, including 5 groups.

Group I - under 500 km ( socio -economic development flight routes and other flight routes; Group II - from 500 km to under 850 km; Group III - from 850 km to under 1,000 km; Group IV - from 1,000 km to under 1,280 km; Group V - from 1,280 km or more.

The maximum service price specified includes all costs that passengers must pay for 1 air ticket, excluding the following fees: value added tax; fees collected on behalf of enterprises providing passenger terminal services and security services, including: passenger service fees at airports; passenger and baggage security fees; additional service fees.