VietJet Air has reportedly notified Korean travel agencies that it will impose additional fees on already-sold tickets based on the timing of ticket issuance. The move is causing significant confusion in the travel industry as even package tours with confirmed prices are affected.
According to travel industry sources on January 10, VietJet announced it would apply existing prices only to tickets issued by December 30, while charging an additional 130,000 to 150,000 won per seat for tickets issued afterward. The policy applies to major Vietnamese routes including Da Nang, Nha Trang, Phu Quoc, and Hanoi, as well as all Cambodia routes.
The impact is directly hitting consumers' wallets. For instance, if a family of three booked a Nha Trang package at roughly 500,000 won per person, the additional fees would increase their total travel costs by several hundred thousand won at once—effectively adding nearly the price of one person's airfare.
The core issue is that this measure retroactively changes the terms of already-sold products. VietJet products had been sold at fixed prices that included fuel surcharges, but this time the airline set a new ticketing deadline and applied additional charges for tickets issued beyond that date.
The confusion was compounded by the fact that the policy was communicated only on December 27—just three days before the ticketing deadline. Travel agencies found themselves having to re-inform customers about changed prices on products already sold, leading to a string of cancellations on some offerings.
Korean travel agencies immediately protested, and VietJet has reportedly withdrawn some of the conditions. However, the fare increase still applies to some small and mid-sized agencies, forcing them to scramble for alternative flights or restructure their packages.
Industry observers view this case as an example of a foreign carrier unilaterally changing terms. "Altering the price structure of already-sold products after the fact undermines market trust," one industry official said. "If similar cases continue to occur, it could lead to consumer harm."
