High Tet flight prices still difficult to buy

Although more than 7 million seats have been provided for Tet 2025, high ticket prices and scarcity have made it difficult for many passengers to find their way home.

Travel demand increases during Tet, airlines add flights but airfares remain quite high - Photo: QUANG DINH

Notably, ticket prices between flights do not seem to differ much, regardless of distance.

Peak season, short and long distance flights have the same ticket price

According to Tuoi Tre, ticket prices for domestic flights such as Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City - Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City - Vinh or Ho Chi Minh City - Dong Hoi all fluctuate "equally" from 2.5 - 3.7 million VND/ticket/way (including taxes and fees), which is at the ceiling price. This makes many passengers surprised and upset.

Ms. Le Thu Hang (HCMC) said that although she only flew the HCMC - Da Nang route, which took just over an hour, the ticket price was 2.5 million VND, equal to the price of longer routes such as HCMC - Hanoi during normal times. Even if she chose to buy an early flight ticket to Hanoi during Tet, the price would be around 2.4 - 2.5 million VND/ticket/way.

"I don't understand why there are such unreasonable ticket prices," said Ms. Hang. During Tet, many domestic flights have different distances but the ticket prices are quite high, and the difference between airlines is not significant despite different segments and services.

Mr. Nguyen Tung Lam (HCMC) said that even though he booked his tickets very early, he still could not avoid buying expensive tickets. As a barber with an unstable income, he had saved up all year just to return to his hometown in Quang Ngai to celebrate Tet with his family after three years away.

"At first, I saw that Vietnam Airlines tickets from Ho Chi Minh City - Chu Lai on December 29 were 2.5 million VND/ticket/way. I thought I should check Vietjet to be sure, but after only 30 minutes of hesitation, the ticket price jumped to 2.9 million VND/ticket/way. In the end, I had to accept to buy Vietjet tickets," Mr. Lam shared.

According to many customers, the problem is not only the rapid increase in ticket prices but also the insignificant difference between flights. Short flights such as Ho Chi Minh City - Da Nang or Ho Chi Minh City - Chu Lai, with a flight time of just over an hour, have prices equivalent to longer flights such as Ho Chi Minh City - Vinh or Ho Chi Minh City - Dong Hoi.

If flying round trip, the cost of buying a ticket is up to 5-7 million VND/person, which has become a big burden for many working families when returning home for Tet. Many people are upset that airlines are taking advantage of the peak season to maximize profits.

More flights, no reduction in ticket prices

Passengers check in at the airport - Illustration photo: QUANG DINH

According to statistics from airlines, during the period from January 14 to February 12, 2025 (ie from December 15 to January 15 of the lunar calendar), the number of seats provided on domestic flights increased by 4.8% compared to the same period last year, reaching more than 4.9 million seats. On average, about 165,000 seats are operated each day.

However, the huge demand for travel during Tet has caused many key routes to be sold out. Specifically, flights from Ho Chi Minh City to the North and Central regions are often fully booked before Tet, while the opposite direction has many empty seats. This "head-to-head mismatch" increases operating costs, preventing ticket prices from falling.

An airline representative said that airfares are seasonal and depend on market demand. Flights at prime times are often significantly more expensive than flights at night.

During Tet season, operating flights at different times, with many passengers on one way and few on the other, forces airlines to adjust prices to cover costs.

In addition, fuel costs, which account for 45% of total operating costs, are also on the rise. This further increases ticket prices, especially on peak days such as December 27 to 29, when the price of a regular ticket can reach VND3.7 million/ticket/way, close to the ceiling price of VND4 million/ticket set by the State.

Mr. Nguyen Dang Minh, head of the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) port operations department, said that travel demand during Tet 2025 could reach 10.5 million passengers, an increase of about 5% compared to last year. However, high ticket prices are still causing additional financial burdens for passengers.

Some economists also say that high ticket prices cannot be explained solely by operating costs or the mismatch between flights. The number of seats supplied has increased by 4.8% compared to last year but ticket prices have not decreased, indicating that more appropriate adjustments are needed from the airlines.

"Airlines need to increase night flights and reduce prices for less popular flight times to reduce pressure on ticket prices and optimize aviation infrastructure during peak periods," an expert suggested.

Need to build flexible pricing policy

According to experts, to reduce cost pressure on people during peak season, airlines should increase the frequency of night flights and encourage passengers to be flexible in their schedules to reduce operational burden. In addition, it is necessary to invest in aviation infrastructure to optimize the number of flights and reduce passenger discrepancies. In addition, authorities should also require airlines to develop more transparent and flexible pricing policies to avoid simultaneous price increases and difficulties for workers during Tet.

Bus tickets for Tet holiday increase by up to 60%

Information from the new Eastern Bus Station (Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City) said that during the Lunar New Year, from January 19, 2025 to February 7, 2025, there will be 140,000 passengers passing through the station, a slight increase compared to last year. From January 24 to 26, 2025 is the peak with 11,300 - 13,000 passengers/day.

According to the representative of this bus station, transport businesses are allowed to adjust Tet ticket prices but not more than 40 - 60% compared to normal days to compensate for empty buses, applied according to route and time, and businesses must post specific information for the station to control.

At the old Mien Dong bus station (Binh Thanh), the total number of passengers traveling during the peak Tet holiday this year is expected to reach over 180,000, a slight increase compared to the same period last year. This bus station has planned to arrange over 9,300 trips, and ticket prices must not increase by more than 60%.

Meanwhile, a representative of Mien Tay bus station said that he has requested units not to increase ticket prices by more than 40%. It is expected that from January 19 to February 7, 2025, this bus station will serve more than 437,000 passengers, equivalent to 16,400 trips.

Train tickets for Tet 2025 "sold out" on peak days

On the afternoon of December 17, the Railway Transport Joint Stock Company announced that after more than two months of selling train tickets for Tet, the unit has sold more than 183,000 tickets. Due to the increased demand for railway passengers returning home to celebrate Tet At Ty 2025, the railway industry previously organized 11 additional trains from Ho Chi Minh City to Quang Ngai, Hanoi and vice versa, providing 5,000 more seats.

According to records, in the period before Tet from January 21 and before and January 27 and 28, 2025 (ie December 22 and before and December 28 and 29), there are still tickets to all stations. In the period after Tet, from January 29 to February 16, 2025 (January 1 to 19), there are still many tickets to all days and stations.

Long routes such as Ho Chi Minh City to Vinh and Hanoi from January 19 (December 20) and earlier also have many tickets left. Meanwhile, trains traveling on peak days (from 23 to 27 of Tet) are almost fully booked.

The railway industry is applying many preferential policies for train passengers such as discounts for social policy beneficiaries, union members, and customers with customer cards. Passengers taking trains departing from Saigon station on January 27, 2025 (ie December 28) and traveling 1,000km or more will receive a 3% discount on ticket prices.

Passengers buying round-trip tickets will receive a 5% discount on the return trip, especially students will receive a 10 - 20% discount on the ticket price depending on the date of travel.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/gia-ve-bay-tet-cao-van-kho-mua-20241218082812636.htm