Tet flight tickets are expensive but still hard to buy

Airfare prices remain high, many families hesitate to travel during Tet holiday – Photo: CONG TRUNG

Although there have been many measures from airlines and authorities, due to the sharp increase in people's travel demand during the Lunar New Year, buying tickets to return home has become a big challenge for workers far from home.

“Sold out of economy class tickets, only business class tickets left”!

On December 2, sitting in a coffee shop, Ms. Thuy Tram (28 years old, living in Ho Chi Minh City) continuously searched the websites of airlines to find tickets to return to her hometown in Da Nang on January 26, 2025, the 27th day of the 12th lunar month.

Although she tried to search through many channels, it was still difficult to buy an economy class ticket when the airline announced on the website that there were no more economy class tickets, showing only business class tickets left.

“Business class, the price reaches 5-6 million VND per leg, too much for my family of four. If I choose to fly a day later, the economy ticket price drops to 2.6 million VND/person, but still double the normal price.

The total cost of round trip for the whole family is more than 35 million VND, almost equal to two months' salary for my husband and I," Ms. Tram shared.

Not only Ms. Tram's family, many other workers also had to give up their plans to return home because the ticket prices were too high. Mr. Nguyen Phuc Chau, a worker who has been unemployed for two years, said that he and his wife decided to stay in Ho Chi Minh City to celebrate Tet because the round-trip ticket cost more than 8 million VND for two people.

"We had to accept it because that amount of money was beyond our current financial capacity," said Mr. Chau.

According to a survey, the price of airfare from Ho Chi Minh City to northern provinces such as Hanoi, Hai Phong, Nghe An... during Tet fluctuates from 3.7 - 3.9 million VND/ticket before Tet. For the opposite direction, after Tet

During Tet, the price is only 1.1 - 1.2 million VND/ticket. This "head-to-head difference" causes the price of tickets to return home to skyrocket, creating great pressure on workers, especially those with low incomes.

Tuoi Tre reports that airlines are focusing resources and increasing staff to maintain a bustling Tet season. In addition to increasing capacity and adding more aircraft, new convenient services are being launched to facilitate passenger travel.

For example, passengers who buy Vietjet tickets on the website can choose taxi service with a significant discount.

The airline also launched the SM Green Taxi E-Voucher product integrated with airline tickets. Customers can pre-book taxi services with discounts of up to 20%.

Specifically, the 15km package is only from 200,000 VND, applicable at Ho Chi Minh City, Hue and Da Nang airports, while the 30km package is from 350,000 VND, applicable in Hanoi, Phu Quoc, Khanh Hoa and Quang Ninh.

Increase flight frequency, operate night flights...

Faced with great pressure from travel demand during Tet, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has asked airlines to increase their maximum capacity. Tan Son Nhat Airport, which has the largest number of passengers in the country during Tet, has increased its operating frequency to a maximum of 46 flights/hour during peak hours from 5am to 11:55pm during Tet.

In addition, airlines are encouraged to operate more night flights at local airports such as Tho Xuan, Chu Lai, and Tuy Hoa to reduce the load.

Airlines are also rushing to add to their fleets. Bamboo Airways has added eight Airbus A320s, while Vietnam Airlines and Vietravel Airlines have leased more planes to meet demand.

Hundreds of flights are expected to be added during the Tet peak period.

In addition to increasing the number of flights, the aviation industry also applies technological solutions to optimize operations. At major airports such as Tan Son Nhat, Noi Bai and Da Nang, the A-CDM (Airport Collaborative Decision Making) system has been deployed.

This process allows relevant units to share information and coordinate, helping to minimize flight delays, increase on-time flight rates and respond flexibly to unusual situations such as bad weather or late aircraft.

Major airports have also introduced cashless toll collection systems at their gates. RFID technology and license plate recognition cameras help reduce waiting times and congestion, especially during peak hours.

Despite efforts to implement many measures, the aviation industry still faces many challenges. According to Mr. Nguyen Dang Minh - Head of the Operation Department of the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), the number of aircraft this year is expected to decrease due to many technical problems.

Airlines such as Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet have leased more planes, the number of planes serving the 2025 Tet holiday is only equivalent to last year, while people's travel demand is forecast to increase more strongly.

In addition, the record high demand for travel during the 2025 Lunar New Year with a 9-day holiday is creating even more pressure. According to ACV, the number of passengers passing through airports nationwide during the peak Tet holiday is expected to reach more than 10.5 million, a slight increase compared to 10 million last year.

At Tan Son Nhat airport alone, the number of passengers is expected to exceed 4 million, operating at a maximum of 46 flights/hour.

People buy plane tickets at Tan Son Nhat airport, Ho Chi Minh City – Photo: TTD

7 million Tet tickets, how will ticket prices increase or decrease?

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has just surveyed the prices of economy class airfares at the end of November 2024, on domestic flights during the Lunar New Year 2025. The results show that some routes have achieved a booking rate of more than 100% on the outbound flight, while the return flight rate is low, even below 10%.

Before Tet, the demand for flights from Ho Chi Minh City to the Central and Northern provinces increased sharply. Flights such as Ho Chi Minh City - Hue, Ho Chi Minh City - Quy Nhon and Ho Chi Minh City - Tuy Hoa recorded booking rates of 90 - 100%. In contrast, the return flights from these localities to Ho Chi Minh City only reached 5 - 15%.

To meet the increased travel demand, airlines are expected to provide a total of 6.9 million seats during Tet, up 4% compared to 2024, of which 4.8 million seats will be on domestic routes. Vietjet and Vietnam Airlines have planned to add more aircraft to meet the sudden increase in passenger demand.

Ticket prices on popular routes during the days leading up to the Lunar New Year holiday (January 25, 2025, or December 26) have increased significantly. On the Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi route, Vietnam Airlines and Bamboo Airways maintain ticket prices at around VND3.6 million/way.

Vietjet recorded similar prices, up 20% compared to before the holiday, while Vietravel Airlines had prices of 3.4 million VND/way, up 17%.

At the end of the Tet holiday (February 2, 2025, the 5th day of the first lunar month), the seat occupancy situation reversed. Flights from localities such as Tuy Hoa, Quy Nhon, Dong Hoi to Ho Chi Minh City achieved an average occupancy rate of 75%, even exceeding 100% on some routes.

In contrast, flights from Ho Chi Minh City to the provinces only reached 10-20%. For major routes such as Ho Chi Minh City - Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi and Hanoi - Da Nang, the occupancy rate during the Tet holiday (from January 25 to February 2, 2025) is still not high, only reaching an average of 15-20%.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/gia-ve-may-bay-tet-dat-van-kho-mua-20241203081128316.htm