SINGAPORE, 25 October 2018: Vietjet announced a two-day promotion that promises to off-load 2 million free tickets*.
For the bargain hunter, the challenge is like waiting for the starting pistol in a race; every second counts.
In its publicity, the airline says the zero dollar fares, before tax and fees are calculated, are on offer 25 to 26 October between 1300 and 1500, Singapore time.
If you are fast on the uptake the free fares are available on all domestic routes in Vietnam for travel dates from 15 November to 30 March 2019.
Vietjet has 38 domestic routes to 17 destinations within Vietnam including popular destinations such as like Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Nha Trang, as well as places less travelled like Buon Ma Thuot, Hai Phong, Hue and Quy Nhon.
While the domestic tickets might be free you still have to get to one of the airline’s gateway airports, either Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi to take advantage of a so-called free domestic fare
One sector that was not mentioned in the airline’s promotion is the Ho Chi Minh City to Phu Quoc island route. That would make sense for travellers based in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur or Singapore. Fly Vietjet to Ho Chi Minh City, or use another airline, and take a free ride to Vietnam’s emerging holiday island destination courtesy of Vietjet.
Vietjet sells a roundtrip ticket to the island from Ho Chi Minh City at SGD175, with a departure time in the early afternoon. Flight time is 55 minutes.
If you can grab a seat under the zero dollar promotion you would pay just SGD53.62 in charges and taxes. You save around SGD120 by snaring the free offer. It’s a good enough saving, but a far cry from free.
We are not at all sure if the 2 million free tickets* will materialise over the two days. We have to take it at face value that the airline is being fair and square on the deal and actually dumps 2 million free fares into the system.
What we do know is that when checking offers in the past we encountered the message “sold out” over the “promo” offer within hours of the launch. Usually, the airline will offer the next best offer and by then you are drawn into the frame and are probably prepared to shell out those extra dollars to enjoy a holiday break.
That’s how it works, the big upsell.
The free tickets are available on www.vietjetait.com (also compatible with smartphones at https://m.vietjetair.com) or www.facebook.com/Vietjetglobal/ (just click on the ‘Booking’ tab).
Payment can be easily made with debit and credit cards of Visa/Mastercard/AMEX/JCB/KCP.
We would love to get some feedback from those who managed to grab the free fare.
* surcharges and tax are not included
