Agoda announces top in-flight frustrations. — Photo Courtesy Agoda Vietnam

Việt Nam’s cheapest flight ranked seventh among 10 Asia-Pacific markets for the lowest domestic rate, digital travel platform Agoda reported.

Agoda said that, as inflation bites, travellers globally are on the lookout for the best deals.

With thousands of flights from Việt Nam to choose, they had access to fares starting as low as US$23, it said.

The cheapest domestic flight booked in Việt Nam departed from Đà Nẵng and landed in Hà Nội recently and cost only $23.

Regionally, Việt Nam ranked fifth with a $36 flight, three times the most affordable from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore.

Flights to Melbourne in Australia, the cheapest intercontinental flight from Việt Nam and fifth in the ranking, cost $194.

A trip from HCM City to Singapore was booked for a mere $36.

Agoda looked at the total fare per passenger, including taxes and surcharges, in 10 markets across the Asia-Pacific.

The fares are the cheapest from actual bookings made on Agoda between 1 and 14 August and for travel in September and October this year.

In-flight frustrations

Agoda also did a candid exploration of the less glamorous side of air travel.

From overly chatty neighbors to lavatory hoggers, Agoda’s 2023 Travel Bugbears Survey delved into in-flight annoyances.

“For many of us, the holiday fun starts the moment we board a plane,” Liyana Jamil, its vice president of global partner services, said.

“But while flying is generally an enjoyable experience, it sometimes comes with minor grievances. There are over a 130,000 bookable flight routes on Agoda, and I hope that the findings of this survey create awareness, increase consideration and make the in-flight experience on any of these routes even more enjoyable.”

It found discourteous invasion of personal space as the number one pet peeve for flyers, though for travellers in Việt Nam flight delays took top spot.

But discourteous and noisy fellow passengers also ranked highly among Vietnamese passengers.

Regional irritants varied.

Flight delays ranked high in other nations as well, coming in second on the list of passengers’ grievances across the region.

In the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, flight delays was the top bugbear.

People from South Korea, Thailand and Taiwan were most offended by personal space invasion, be it the war on arm-rest territory or the production of bodily noises and unpleasant smells from uncovered feet.

The third biggest annoyance across the region was the presence of loud passengers, like overly chatty seatmates, couples airing out their dirty laundry in public and raucous groups broadcasting their music or games across the entire flight.

Australians and Malaysians were least sensitive to noise while Taiwanese and South Koreans appreciated peaceful flying experiences.

Japanese too appreciated peace and quiet, and were also the only market to express intolerance for disruptive passengers, who were rude to cabin crew, as their top grievance. — VNS