HCMC - Vietnam’s low-cost Jetstar Pacific Airlines has been named as operator of the cheapest short-haul flights in the world, according to a study of Spain-headquartered e-commerce travel company eDreams.
The second largest airline of Vietnam after Vietnam Airlines ranked first in terms of average ticket price in the study in 2011, followed by Monarch Airlines of the United Kingdom and Blue Air of Romania.
“Congratulations to Vietnamese airline Jetstar Pacific (BL) who offers the cheapest flights worldwide. UK contender Monarch (ZB) came in second and Romania’s Blue Air in third,” eDreams says on www.edreams.com/flights/cheap-flights.
The company says results from its study for the 50 airlines operating the cheapest short-haul flights in the world were based on the millions of eDreams bookings during 2011.
“We compiled data from several million flight bookings made through us in 2011. Focusing on short-haul flights, we only included bookings for flights of under 1,000 miles. To get the 50 rankings, we summed up the miles flown by all customers on a given airline, before adding up all the individual prices paid for the flights,” eDreams explains.
“The total amount paid (all inclusive) was then divided by the total distance flown to get a price per 100 miles,” eDreams says, adding that price per 100 miles is an alternative way to compare airlines by price.
“Consider that different airlines fly different routes, which make direct comparisons difficult. However, this is an indicator of the overall pricing policy of the airline and is an objective value that allows for comparison and ranking,” eDreams notes.
The study shows Jetstar Pacific sold the cheapest flights worldwide with 8.55 euros per 100 miles, followed by Monarch with 9.61 euros, and Blue Air with 10.43 euros.
The top 20 operators of cheap flights also include Jetstar Asia coming in fifth with 10.91 euros, Tiger Airways in eleventh with 12.02 euros and Jetstar Airways in seventeenth with 13.48 euros. These three low-cost carriers also perform daily flights to and from Vietnam.
The company eDreams says the list of airlines provides customers with a valuable tool in their flight search and helps them make an informed decision about which airline to book with.
Asked about the first ranking in eDreams’ list, Jetstar Pacific said it did not have any connection with the Spanish travel firm. The carrier told the Daily that it had just learned of the news on the Internet.
Jetstar Pacific now operates some 40 daily flights from HCMC to Hanoi, Danang, Haiphong and Vinh, and vice versa. In Vietnam, the airline has run a program in which it pledges to always offer lower fares than other airlines flying on domestic routes since it operated as a budget carrier in February 2007 before completing its transformation from Pacific Airlines in May 2008.
Currently, Australia’s Qantas Group owns a 27% stake in Jetstar Pacific and has the option to increase its ownership to 30% in this local airline in accordance with a strategic partnership deal the group clinched with State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) in Hanoi in 2007.
Earlier this year, the Prime Minister approved transfer of the majority state stake of nearly 70% at Jetstar Pacific Airlines held via SCIC to Vietnam Airlines Corporation.
Jetstar Pacific is Vietnam’s first low-cost carrier and the second is VietJet Air, which launched its HCMC-Hanoi flights late last year and plans to service Danang later this year.
