Globetrotters on a budget will soon be able to jet off from Vietnam to Japan via Jetstar Pacific's new direct routes.
Jetstar Pacific is starting service from Hanoi and Da Nang to Osaka from September this year, Tuoi Tre reports.
The flights are scheduled to take off four times a week, with one-way fares starting from as low as JPY8,800 (US$79) excluding taxes and airport surcharges. A fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft capable of carrying 180 passengers each will service the routes.
While the Vietnamese carrier is not the first to offer budget-friendly options between Japan and Vietnam – Vanilla Air launched a Tokyo - Saigon route via Taipei last year – these will be the first low-cost direct flights to connect the two countries.
Jetstar Pacific hopes that the new routes will increase the number of visitors from Vietnam and Japan to promote bilateral exchanges, the company wrote in a press release.
The year 2016 saw 740,000 Japanese visitors land in Vietnam, a 10% increase from the previous year's figure, according to statistics from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism cited by Tuoi Tre. Likewise, 233,000 Vietnamese traveled to Japan in the same period, a number that is expected to rise to as high as 500,000 in 2018.
