In a press release dated March 20th, Vietnamese budget airline Vietjet announced a new product for its passengers - one that reflects the strange times that we all currently find ourselves in. The product goes by the name of "SKY COVID CARE" and is an insurance product that provides coverage between 20 million and 200 million Vietnamese Dong. This is the rough equivalent of US$850-$8500. So what is this insurance product all about?

SKY COVID CARE

According to the airline, this insurance is being offered to all passengers flying on domestic Vietjet services between March 23 and June 30 this year. This insurance gives passengers coverage and benefits from Vietjet "within 30 days starting at 00:01 of the flight date, regardless of how passengers are infected with the disease".

"Tens of billion dong paying for the insurance premiums are covered entirely by Vietjet with the purpose to bring passengers assurance when flying on modern and comfortable aircraft with young and professional cabin crews. The health safety of passengers and cabin crews are protected at the highest level against all risks of disease." - VietJet

The airline goes on to say that eligibility for this insurance coverage requires passengers to do the following:

• Provide all information in accordance with Vietjet’s “terms and conditions” when purchasing tickets and using aviation services;
• Comply with all regulations on disease prevention and control of Vietjet,
• Comply with regulations set by the Vietnamese Ministry of Health and authorities.

Peace of mind for travelers amidst new research

This product is meant to offer VietJet's passengers some peace of mind when traveling on the carrier's aircraft or transiting through the airport. In the last week or so, new studies have shown the increased risks that come with travel, due to the properties of the virus.

This is because the virus that causes COVID-19 is found to remain stable for several hours to days in aerosols and on surfaces, according to a new study from various US National Institutes of Health.

In fact, scientists found that the virus was "detectable in aerosols for up to three hours, up to four hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard and up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel".

Given that passengers are in contact with plastic surfaces constantly throughout a flight, there is good reason to be cautious when traveling.

It is quite interesting to read that the policy covers passengers for 30 days past the first day of the flight. In theory, this means that transmission can occur weeks after traveling with VietJet and coverage is still applicable.

Conclusion

"The difficulties and the pandemic will soon be over. In a world full of uncertainties, Vietjet desires to bring humane values, assurance to passengers and to the community." the airline adds.

For the sake of the greater global population, we can only hope that no customers holding this policy will need to use it. It should be quite interesting to see just how popular SKY COVID CARE will be with VietJet's passengers.

If you were flying on VietJet would you be interested in this insurance product? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments!

Simple Flying reached out to VietJet in order to obtain a price estimate for the insurance product. At the time of publishing, we have yet to receive a response from the airline.