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Vietnam Airlines 5 day sale International Routes Dec 22-26

Vietnam Airlines, a SkyTeam partner airline, has a 5 day sale for international routes for bookings made December 22-26 over super sale travel dates through June 2015. The sale started today, for us in the USA, since it is already December 22 in Vietnam.

Vietnam Airlines international sale dec 22-26

I looked at the airfare rates and thought wow, those are low.

Vietnam sale fare

Vietnam Airlines Ho Chi Minh City SGN to Singapore for $29 USD. Sounds great.

Until I saw the taxes.

Vietnam SGN-SIN

Taxes are more than 5x the base airfare.

What’s up with all the zeros?

1 US Dollar = 21,376 Vietnamese Dong

536,000 VND = $25.07 USD for the base fare SGN-SIN round trip ticket.

2,924,000  VND = $136.79 USD in taxes and fees.

$162 round trip from Vietnam to Singapore is still a decent fare.

There have been fares to Vietnam for under $800 from around the USA lately. Vietnam Airlines international fares are competitively priced from Vietnam for some destinations. But forget the teaser rates. Of the five destinations I checked, taxes ranged from 50% of the advertised ticket price to more than 5x times the sale ticket price advertised.

Ho Chi Minh City to London advertised at $299USD and after taxes was slightly over $1000 round trip in February.

There are some good Vietnam Airlines deals if you want to visit Vietnam on the way to somewhere else.

Seattle and YVR to Hong Kong under $500 round trip February through April 2015.

Air Canada Seattle-Hong Kong $479 to $509 Jan-April 2015 (Dec 20, 2014)

YVR-HKG $487 on Delta and impact of 2015 revenue-based SkyMiles (Dec 21, 2014)

Of course the Hong Kong deal out of Seattle or Vancouver puts you in Hong Kong for under $500 all-in. From Hong Kong, United has a nonstop Hong Kong to Singapore for $193 round trip during much of the January to April 2015 discount airfare dates for SEA/YVR to Hong Kong.

Singapore offers British Airways flights to Sydney, Australia for under $600 USD round trip during some of these dates in the first months of 2015. For example, $538 all-in British Airways SIN-SYD March 10-18, 2015.

Skipping around Asia Pacific region looks like a discount airfare adventure ripe with opportunities to visit exotic places over the next few months if you have the time to travel slowly and hopscotch around on cheap flights.

 

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