The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam assessed that although airlines had prepared very early and received many planes to serve the peak period of the Lunar New Year, many domestic routes, especially routes from Ho Chi Minh City to the central and northern regions, were "sold out" in the days before Tet and similarly in the opposite direction in the period after Tet.
Civil Aviation Authority Vietnam and other airlines are continuing to research and add more flights to routes with high booking rates.
Many flights are fully booked.
Preliminary statistics show that as of January 10, compared to a week ago (January 3), Vietnamese airlines have added 522 flights on domestic routes during the Lunar New Year, equivalent to an increase of about 133,000 seats. The increased flights are mainly concentrated on routes from Ho Chi Minh City to the central provinces during the period from January 22 to February 8, such as the route from Ho Chi Minh City to Buon Ma Thuot (Dak Lak) with 26 more flights, to Quy Nhon (Binh Dinh) with 37 more flights, to Chu Lai (Quang Nam) with 34 more flights, to Thanh Hoa with 32 flights, etc.
However, at present, many flights are fully booked, such as from Ho Chi Minh City to Pleiku, Quy Nhon, Nha Trang, Hue, Quang Binh, Vinh (Nghe An), Thanh Hoa, etc. The main routes from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang, Hanoi and vice versa, the booking rate in the period from January 25 to February 2 (ie December 26 to the 5th day of Tet) is showing a strong upward trend. The Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi and Da Nang routes near Tet have had a booking rate of more than 90%.
In response to the high demand for travel during the Lunar New Year, Vietnam Airlines has planned to lease three more Airbus A320 aircraft on a “wet lease” basis (including flight crew) from January 13 to February 12; two of which landed at Tan Son Nhat Airport on the afternoon of January 10 and one will arrive on January 13. The additional aircraft have a capacity of 180 passengers and will operate on routes from Ho Chi Minh City to the central and northern provinces, providing about 75,000 seats, equivalent to more than 400 flights during the Tet holiday.
Mr. Dang Anh Tuan, Deputy General Director of Vietnam Airlines said: “The aircraft leasing is part of Vietnam Airlines’ plan to provide more than 2.15 million seats on domestic flights, equivalent to more than 11,000 flights to serve people returning home for Tet and spring travel. Vietnam Airlines’ additional aircraft at the end of the year not only meets the increasing travel demand of passengers, but also contributes to improving service quality, bringing a comfortable and modern experience to passengers.”
Currently, many flights are fully booked, such as from Ho Chi Minh City to Pleiku, Quy Nhon, Nha Trang, Hue, Quang Binh, Vinh (Nghe An), Thanh Hoa, etc. The main routes from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang, Hanoi and vice versa, the booking rate in the period from January 25 to February 2 (ie December 26 to the 5th day of Tet) is showing a strong upward trend. The Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi and Da Nang routes near Tet have had a booking rate of more than 90%. |
Previously, in December 2024, Vietnam Airlines received three new aircraft, including two Airbus A320neo aircraft and a Boeing 787-10 wide-body aircraft. Along with the wet leasing of additional A320 aircraft, the airline has prepared a fleet of more than 100 aircraft to serve passengers during the 2025 Lunar New Year. In early December 2024, Vietjet's A321neo ACF aircraft landed at Tan Son Nhat Airport, becoming the 111th member to join Vietjet's world-leading modern fleet. During the peak of the Lunar New Year, Vietjet also received three new aircraft and planned to "wet lease" an additional six to 10 aircraft in the short term to serve the travel needs of people and tourists.
“Airlines are encouraged to operate night flights, on the basis of ensuring absolute safety and security during operations and in accordance with the capacity of the airlines and the conditions of airport infrastructure. The Authority will continue to support airlines in management and coordinate with units in the industry to add more flights on domestic routes,” the leader of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam affirmed.
“Reverse” fares
The latest data on airfares during the Lunar New Year, released by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, clearly reflects the market rules, when supply and demand directly affect prices. “During times when travel demand spikes, especially during holidays and Tet, ticket prices tend to escalate. On the contrary, during off-peak periods or on flights with off-peak times, prices often drop sharply to attract passengers, creating a balance in operations,” the leader of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam analyzed.
Accordingly, some flights from Ho Chi Minh City to other localities (before Tet) are currently "sold out" of economy class tickets, although airlines have balanced resources, rented more aircraft, increased flight frequencies and added capacity. On the other hand, due to low demand, ticket prices have dropped very low, even from 0 VND (excluding taxes and fees) for some routes, but few people buy them. Airlines will have to operate many empty flights during this period.
Surveying ticket prices of airlines, on January 22 (23rd of the 12th lunar month), flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Vinh, Hai Phong, Thanh Hoa and key routes such as Ho Chi Minh City-Hanoi are being listed by airlines at around 2.9 million VND for basic economy class (excluding taxes and fees). On January 25 (the first day of Tet holiday), flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang, Hue, Nha Trang, Thanh Hoa,... recorded all economy class tickets sold out, even some days there were no business class tickets left.
On the other hand, flights returning to Ho Chi Minh City are full of empty seats, and ticket prices have dropped to very low levels. Therefore, airlines have implemented preferential fare policies to optimize operating efficiency. Specifically, on January 22, 25 and 27, ticket prices from Buon Ma Thuot, Hue, Thanh Hoa, Chu Lai, etc. to Ho Chi Minh City are listed at low levels by airlines, with Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet offering prices from VND90,000; Vietjet also offers promotions for flights from Hai Phong, Vinh, Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City at VND0; Bamboo Airways and Vietravel Airlines sell tickets from VND25,000 on routes from Da Nang, Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City.
For tourist routes such as Hanoi-Da Nang, Hanoi-Quy Nhon, Hanoi-Phu Quoc, the round-trip fares during Tet are relatively stable at around 1-3 million VND. However, on January 25, the Hanoi-Quy Nhon and Hanoi-Phu Quoc routes were sold out of economy class tickets. On the last day of the holiday (February 2), ticket prices from the northern and central provinces to Ho Chi Minh City increased sharply, with many flights sold out of economy class tickets. After the holiday, on February 8, the trend of two-way fare differences was still clear. Routes from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang, Pleiku (Gia Lai), Vinh, and Hanoi were priced from 0 VND, while the return fares remained very high.
The leader of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam said that, following the direction of the Ministry of Transport on the plan to serve the travel needs of the people, ensuring order and traffic safety during the Lunar New Year and the Spring Festival season, the Authority is working with airlines to research and plan to add more flights for routes with high booking rates (over 90%). At the same time, continue to monitor the situation of seat reservations and airfares on domestic routes to promptly direct airlines to add capacity to meet the needs of passengers during the peak of the Lunar New Year.
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