Vietnam seat sale lists flights for $0 but NZ travellers will need to add a layover

Vietjet has announced a major sale for keen travellers – but there is a catch (or two).

The airline is offering travellers the opportunity to score ‘free’ flights to Vietnam this weekend, as a part of the VietJet 9.9 (September 9) sale, for both domestic and international flights. Passengers will be able to book these flights on Saturday.

However, there are a few key pieces of information for New Zealand travellers to know.

Firstly, the sale will see the airline tickets priced at zero dollars, but passengers-to-be will need to pay the attached surcharges and taxes.

Travellers can expect to cough up around $180 in airline tax on these ‘free flights’ from Melbourne and Sydney.

Secondly, travellers looking to leave from NZ will have to arrange their own layover.

The routes to Vietnam are only available through Australia, India, Kazakhstan, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. This isn’t too unusual – currently, there are no routes from New Zealand that take travellers directly to Vietnam, with layovers generally based in Australia (though some NZ flights do partner with overseas airlines to make the layover process easier).

Travellers looking to score those tickets won’t need to enter a discount code or voucher when purchasing their tickets. The sale prices will be applied automatically through the airline website or mobile app at checkout. Those cheaper fares will be subject to availability, with the flights scheduled between September 18 to March 31.

The sale will be open for 24 hours, beginning at 5am NZ time on September 9 and closes at 4:59am on September 10. For travellers looking to stay on top of similar offers, there are particular platforms, travel alerts and packages to consider – keeping up with the research before a trip can help travellers tighten their budget.

There are plenty of sights to enjoy in Vietnam. You might embark on a food tour, chasing down the tastiest plates, cruise the world-famous Halong Bay or explore the buzzy inner cities.