VietNamNet Bridge – The prices of goods and services at the airports have been lowered after the Civil Aviation Authorities of Vietnam’s (CAAV) inspection tours. However, the prices are still three or four times higher than the average market prices.
The food shops and restaurants at Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat airports have always been full of people these days. They wait for their flights to different destinations throughout the country for the Tet reunion parties.
However, a lot of them come in and then come out just after several minutes.
Nguyen Thi Lien, who was waiting at the Tan Son Nhat airport for her flight from HCM City to Hanoi last Friday, said: “Everything is too expensive here. I would rather fast for some hours than buying such things with sky high prices.”
Lien booked a ticket to fly with a budget airline which does not serve meals on the plane. Therefore, she thought of having lunch before taking onboard. However, she finally decided to change her mind, when she was told that she would have to pay VND62,000 for just a bowl of rice with some slices of pork.
The same situation can be seen at the Noi Bai airport in the north. A bowl of pho (noodles served with beef or chicken) is priced at VND65,000, while a loaf of bread with sausage VND50,000, and a can of Pepsi soft drink at VND25,000.
While the prices are exorbitant, the service quality is terrible. Vu Thi Nhu Anh, a resident in Thu Duc district, HCM City, noted that no one would waste his money on such bad products. At Thai airports, the services are also expensive, but the quality is “impeccable.”
Spring water proves to be the only product which has been cut down most sharply to the reasonable price level. A bottle of spring water is selling at VND12,000-17,000.
Replying to the criticism about the overly high prices of services, enterprises argue that they have to pay high for the retail premises at the airports. The rents here are as high as that at high end shopping malls.
An executive of a land-service firm revealed that some enterprises had to give back the premises in the international terminal area because of the overly high rents and unsalability.
However, Dang Tuan Tu, Director of the Tan Son Nhat International Airport, denied this.
“No one has given back the retail premises. The rent of some hundreds of thousands of dong per square meter must not be considered high,” Tu said.
Pham Xuan The, Head of the Finance Division of CAAV, said the service fees at the airports are automatically higher than the market prices because of the differences in the business environment and retail premises.
The infrastructure items at the airports have been well equipped with heavy investments, while the premises at the airport can be compared with 5-star hotels.
In general, airports are located far from the central areas of the cities; therefore, the transportation cost is always higher, thus leading to higher service fees.
“We have requested port authorities to report to CAAV about the retail premises rents. If the rents are much higher than the allowed levels, the involved parties need to negotiate about the prices again and report to CAAV,” The said.
Ngoc Ha
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