VietNamNet Bridge - The Cebu Pacific, a budget air carrier of the Philippines, will open its routes to Vietnam as from April 10, according to the Vietnam Civil Aviation Administration.

The airline will have four flights per week on a route linking Manila and Ho Chi Minh City and three flights per week on another route connecting Manila and Hanoi.

The Cebu Pacific will use Airbus 319, 320, 321 planes, which have less than 200 seats, for the routes.

So far, several low-cost foreign air carriers have entered the Vietnamese market, including the Thai AirAsia that has three flights per day on its Hanoi-Bangkok route and two flights per day on its Hanoi-Kuala Lumpur route. The Thai AirAsia is preparing to launch another route from Kuala Lumpur to Ho Chi Minh City.

Another Thai budget air carrier, Nok Air, which holds a 39 percent stake of the Thai Airways, also has two flights a day on the Hanoi-Bangkok route, using two 190-seat B737-800 planes as from November 2007.

Tiger Airways of Singapore was the first airline to offer low-cost flights to Vietnam.

(Source: VOV)