People flying with Vietnam Airlines will be able to select their seats over the phone from later this week, when a subsidiary of the national carrier puts into use the country’s first and only phone check-in service.

Vietnam Airport Ground Services Co., Ltd. (VIAGS) on Tuesday announced that it will launch the telephone check-in service on April 26 in a bid to help customers select their seats in advance in an easy and quick manner.

Vietnam Airlines will be the first and only provider of this service in the Southeast Asian country.

The service, however, is only available for domestic flights departing from Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, according to VIAGS.

Customers can call the hotline 19006265 from 12 to two hours prior to departure time for the check-in process. The hotline is not toll-free and callers are charged VND5,000 (US$0.21) per minute.

After checking in over the phone, passengers can pick up their boarding passes at the D1 check-in counter at Tan Son Nhat.

The aviation ground service company also said that it is studying ways to expand the service to other airports across the country.

According to Vietnam Airlines deputy general director Trinh Ngoc Thanh, the service is expected to create convenience for customers and to help reduce pressure on such busy airports as Tan Son Nhat.

With the introduction of this new service, passengers departing from Tan Son Nhat can either check in online via the Vietnam Airlines website and mobile app or visit the in-town check-in sites, instead of doing so at the busy airport.

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