Vietnam Airlines to introduce e-tickets

Hanoi - Following the lead of a new low-cost competitor, state-owned carrier Vietnam Airlines will offer electronic tickets on domestic flights, an airline official said Tuesday. Starting in mid-April, domestic travelers can make reservations with Vietnam Airlines or through travel agents without being issued a paper ticket, according to marketing director Trinh Hong Quang. However, the trial programme will not extend to online purchases - which Vietnam Airlines does not yet offer - and will not be available for flights that don't originate in Vietnam. The state-owned airline saw revenue of 1.1 billion dollars last year, but is facing new competition from Pacific Airlines, a private carrier that has rebranded itself as a budget airline offering online ticketing and promotional flights as cheap as one dollar. Vietnam Airlines had a turbulent year in 2006, with a series of scandals, including allegations that it paid millions of dollars for the wrong kind of engines for its jets and that some of its staff have been involved in drug and cigarette smuggling operations. The state carrier removed its director, Nguyen Xuan Hien, in January, replacing him with new director Nguyen Sy Hung. Vietnam Airlines has also had a string of technical problems this year, including three emergency landings in February during the heavy lunar new year travel season. © 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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