Thousands of additional flights, but Tet flight ticket prices are still sky-high on many routes

Informing VTC News, Mr. Dinh Viet Son, Deputy Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, said that up to this point, 15 aircraft leased with flight crews (wet lease) from airlines have been put into operation.

Vietjet Air has just received two more aircraft, bringing the number of additional aircraft serving the Lunar New Year peak to six (four previously leased aircraft). Last week, the airline also added nearly 750 flights, equivalent to 154,800 seats to serve the demand during the Tet holiday.

Vietnam Airlines also "wet leased" 4 Airbus A320 aircraft, adding nearly 1,000 flights.

Vietnam Airlines adds 4 planes to serve people's travel needs during Tet.

As of now, Vietnam Airlines Group will provide a total of 2.86 million seats during the Tet peak season. In particular, the number of early morning and night flights has increased sharply, with more than 1,300 flights.

In early January, Bamboo Airways also "wet leased" 2 planes to serve the sudden increase in travel demand of people during Tet.

Despite the high booking rate, many flights still had tickets available as of February 4.

Mr. Dinh Viet Son said that flights from Ho Chi Minh City to other localities have very high booking rates, spread evenly over the days from February 2 to February 9.

Specifically, the routes Ho Chi Minh City - Hai Phong (85-98%), Ho Chi Minh City - Hue (86-99%), Ho Chi Minh City - Pleiku (88-99%), Ho Chi Minh City - Thanh Hoa (85-96%), Ho Chi Minh City - Chu Lai (92-98%), Ho Chi Minh City - Quang Binh (89-103%), Ho Chi Minh City - Vinh (90-98%).

Some routes still have seats available, such as the Ho Chi Minh City - Buon Ma Thuot route, the booking rate for February 3-5 is at 76-83%; Ho Chi Minh City - Tuy Hoa on February 2 (70%), February 8 (85%) and February 9 (72%), passengers can still buy tickets.

Similarly, the Ho Chi Minh City - Quy Nhon route on February 3 and 9 has a booking rate of 76-78%. The Ho Chi Minh City - Vinh route on February 9 has a new booking rate of 67%.

"However, the fact that there are still seats available on February 9, which is the 30th of Tet, is too late for many people to return home. Therefore, the lower demand for tickets is understandable. For the days from February 4-8, basically, the "hot" routes such as from Ho Chi Minh City to Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Quang Binh, Pleiku... are still sold out," said Mr. Son.

It is worth mentioning that on a route with available seats, the price of economy class airfare is still very expensive, reaching more than 3.52-4.2 million VND/route/ticket (including taxes and fees), such as the flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Vinh or Thanh Hoa, Hai Phong... of Vietjet Air and Vietnam Airlines; to Chu Lai, the ticket price is 2.44 - 3.5 million VND of Vietravel Airlines and Vietjet; to Pleiku, the ticket price is 1.9 million VND/ticket (Vietjet)...

Vietnam Airlines increases more than 1,300 flights to serve people's travel needs during Tet.

According to the explanation of the Civil Aviation Authority and airlines, one of the reasons for the high ticket prices during Tet is that airlines are having to cover two-way costs according to market regulations.

" If Tet ticket prices do not increase to compensate for the empty seats, airlines will suffer losses, because all flights have to bear the same costs including parking, fuel, crew, and flight control... Even though prices increase, they are still within the regulations on ceiling and floor prices," said Mr. Dang Anh Tuan, Deputy General Director of Vietnam Airlines.

Meanwhile, answering VTC News, Mr. Dinh Viet Thang, Director of the Civil Aviation Authority, said that during the peak Tet holiday, all flights of airlines must accept one end being crowded with passengers, while the other end is empty or has very few passengers.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority, while regular flights or summer flights are fully booked in both directions, Tet flights are mostly at the wrong end, one way is full, the other way is empty, or the passenger rate is very low, only reaching 20-25% of the seats.

For example, before Tet, the rate of flights from Hanoi and northern airports to Ho Chi Minh City was quite low. The Thanh Hoa - Ho Chi Minh City flight on February 2 had 7.91% of seats filled, Vinh - Ho Chi Minh City: 11.98%; on February 3, the Vinh - Ho Chi Minh City route: 17.02%, Binh Dinh - Ho Chi Minh City: 16.62%...

Airlines increase flights but ticket prices remain sky-high.

Meanwhile, the route from Ho Chi Minh City to northern airports after Tet is also quite sluggish.

Specifically, on February 4, the flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Pleiku, the rate of passengers booking tickets was 16.61%, Ho Chi Minh City to Tuy Hoa: 16.87%; on February 8, the flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Buon Ma Thuot: 11.19%...

Other routes from Hanoi and other localities to Ho Chi Minh City before Tet are very low, averaging only 20-30% with many empty flights (ferries). Similarly, for routes from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi or the Central, Central Highlands, and Northern provinces, the average rate is only 30%. Meanwhile, airlines still have to pay for fuel, taxes, flight crews, etc., making Tet airfares expensive.

“Every year, before Tet, flights from the South to the Central and Northern regions are full, while the return flights are mostly empty. After Tet, flights from the North and Central regions to the South are also full, while the return flights are empty. Even if the planes have few passengers, or even no passengers, they still have to accept flights according to the registered slots.

In principle, when calculating ticket prices, airlines must calculate both output and input costs to cover costs. If only calculating one way, airlines cannot get the cost to cover costs,” Mr. Thang said.

According to Mr. Thang, during this period, all 15 leased aircraft with crews from Vietnamese airlines have been put into operation.

"The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam is continuing to direct and coordinate with airlines and airports to supplement capacity, with an expected 2-3 flights per day on some routes from Ho Chi Minh City to localities with high demand," Mr. Thang emphasized.

PHAM DUY

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