Check out flight tickets for the April 30th holiday.

Looking at the ticket prices, I've lost all desire to travel.

Phu Quoc is once again anxiously anticipating the peak tourist season due to sky-high airfare prices.

"As soon as the plane ticket prices were announced, several families started clamoring to 'change their plans.' They saw advertisements for the picturesque Kissing Bridge and Sunset Town, and while they were eager to go, the tickets were too expensive. The cheapest round-trip ticket to Phu Quoc was over 5.6 million VND. A family of four would spend over 22 million VND on plane tickets alone, leaving no money for comfortable food and accommodation," lamented Ms. Hai Phuong (from Hanoi ), even though her group had previously excitedly planned their upcoming April 30th - May 1st holiday.

Last year, this close-knit family also planned a trip to Nha Trang, but ultimately had to change plans and drive to Ba Vi for the holiday because the plane tickets were too expensive. This year, their dream of Phu Quoc didn't come true, so Ms. Phuong checked the prices for flights to Nha Trang and said: "It's not much better. Even if you take an early morning flight to Nha Trang, including the return trip, the cheapest is over 5.2 million VND. I remember in 2022, my family bought tickets to Nha Trang for just over 1.4 million VND/one way, now it's double. It's been several years since we've been to the beaches of the South and Central regions, all because of the high airfare."

Similarly, Ms. Ha Trang's family (residing in District 11, Ho Chi Minh City) also recently changed their holiday plans to visit their parents in Da Nang because airfares were as high as Tet holiday fares. If they take an additional day off on Monday (April 29th), Ms. Trang estimates she will have a total of 5 days off for the February 30th - May 1st holiday.

"My parents are getting old, so I try to go back to my hometown to visit them during every holiday. Knowing that tickets are expensive this year, I planned to buy them early, but when I checked with Vietnam Airlines, all the tickets were over 2.5 million VND/one-way. This price is as high as the peak Tet holiday tickets I bought to go home. We reconsidered and decided to wait until after the holidays to go," said Ms. Trang.

Surveys on several online ticketing websites show that most airfares to popular domestic tourist destinations have skyrocketed, lasting from the peak of the April 30th - May 1st holiday period to the peak of the summer season (June - August). Among these, Phu Quoc, a resort paradise, is at the biggest disadvantage, not only because of the excessively high airfares but also because of the very limited number of flights.

For example, on April 27th, there were only 6 flights from Hanoi to Phu Quoc, including 2 flights operated by Vietnam Airlines with ticket prices reaching nearly 4.5 million VND/one-way, and these weren't even business class tickets, just flexible economy class fares. Even Vietjet's cheapest tickets were nearly 2.8 million VND/one-way. The same applies to the return flight on May 1st. In total, a pair of tickets from Hanoi to Phu Quoc during the April 30th - May 1st holiday period will range from nearly 6 million to nearly 10 million VND.

Compared to peak prices during the Lunar New Year holiday, airfares for the Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi route during the upcoming holiday have cooled down somewhat, but remain quite high: If flying on Saturday (April 27th) and returning on May 1st, passengers will have to pay at least 4.3 million VND/round-trip ticket with Vietravel Airlines. Bamboo Airways round-trip tickets range from 5.7 to 7.5 million VND. Most Vietnam Airlines flights have ticket prices exceeding 5.3 million VND/round-trip. Meanwhile, some Vietjet flights have peak prices reaching nearly 3.8 million VND/one way, equivalent to about 7.6 million VND/round-trip.

The high price is not due to demand but because the company has not yet increased the load capacity.

Explaining the exorbitant airfare prices, a representative from an airline said that the current high prices are not necessarily due to a sudden surge in tourist demand, but largely because airlines have not yet increased their capacity to supply tickets during the peak season. At this time, some families have already planned their holidays and bought tickets, but the number of flights is limited, and the lower-priced tickets have already sold out, leaving only higher-priced tickets available.

In addition, the aviation market this year has been volatile. The increase in ticket price caps coincided with the period when A321 aircraft using Pratt & Whitney engines were grounded for maintenance, leading to a decrease in market supply.

However, flights departing from Ho Chi Minh City are larger routes with higher passenger volume, so ticket prices during the holiday season haven't "heated up" yet.

Rising airfare prices may dampen the enthusiasm for travel during the upcoming April 30th - May 1st holiday and the peak summer season.

To minimize the impact on the tourism market and encourage more people to travel during the holidays, airlines are also launching many attractive promotional programs during this period.

Specifically, Vietnam Airlines has just launched a promotional airfare program for domestic flights starting from only 69,000 VND (excluding taxes and fees), and for international round-trip flights from only 49 USD (excluding taxes and fees). Bamboo Airways has also updated its fares for many international routes with prices starting from 5 USD/one-way (excluding taxes and fees), and many domestic routes with prices starting from only 26,000 VND (excluding taxes and fees).

Vietjet Air has also reopened many international routes and is offering promotional fares starting from only 959,000 VND/segment (excluding taxes and fees), while domestic routes are priced from 49,000 VND/segment.

For Vietravel Airlines, the airline also offers passengers many choices for travel during the upcoming April 30th holiday, with many routes priced from only 58,000 VND (excluding taxes and fees). At the same time, they are increasing the frequency of some flights such as: Ho Chi Minh City - Da Nang (3 round-trip flights/day), Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi (5 round-trip flights/day), Hanoi - Da Nang (2 round-trip flights/day).

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/ngo-ve-may-bay-le-304-15-lai-sau-co-chang-gan-10-trieu-khu-hoi-185240311143100212.htm