Railways and airlines 'sold out' during holidays

The Southern Liberation and International Labor Day holidays will last for 5 consecutive days, so it is forecasted that people's travel needs will increase very high...

Noi Bai International Airport is expected to receive 100,000 passengers per day at peak times.

Airfares increase sharply

Based on the forecast, transport units from road, rail to air all plan to increase capacity. At present, with only a few days left until the long holiday, the railways are almost "sold out" on routes to the South. Although there are still flights, airfares to Ho Chi Minh City and other tourist destinations are sky-high.

Vietnam Airlines Group (including Vietnam Airlines, Pacific Airlines and VASCO) said that it will provide more than 610,000 seats, equivalent to more than 3,200 domestic flights, up 35% and 29% respectively over the same period last year. The increase in capacity is concentrated on key routes and tourism routes such as between Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and prominent destinations including Da Nang, Can Tho, Phu Quoc, Hue, Hai Phong, Thanh Hoa, Quy Nhon, Pleiku, Chu Lai, Dong Hoi... which are increasing day by day during the big holidays. The flight occupancy rate on some routes by mid-April has reached 70 - 80%.

According to survey data from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, during the first period of the April 30 and May 1 holidays, one-way economy class tickets for the Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City route, including taxes and fees, are being listed by airlines at VND3.4 - 3.74 million/ticket. Of which, Vietnam Airlines and Bamboo Airways listed the highest ticket prices at around VND3.6 - 3.7 million/ticket; Vietjet 's ticket prices ranged from VND2.9 - 3.68 million/ticket; and Vietravel Airlines's were at VND3.41 million/ticket. These prices are equivalent to the airfares during the recent Lunar New Year.

On the Ho Chi Minh City - Da Nang route, the ticket price for the April 29th flight of Vietnam Airlines is 2.5 million VND/ticket, while Bamboo Airways and Vietjet have prices ranging from 1.5 - 2.2 million VND/ticket. On the Hanoi - Da Nang route, the ticket price ranges from 2.3 - 3.5 million VND/ticket for Vietnam Airlines, the remaining airlines are at 1.9 - 2.4 million VND/ticket. The Hanoi - Phu Quoc route is currently listed by Vietnam Airlines at 4.5 million VND/ticket, Vietjet Air ranges from 2.7 - 4.3 million VND/ticket. In addition, some routes such as Ho Chi Minh City - Phu Quoc have ticket prices ranging from 1.6 - 2.7 million VND/ticket. The Hanoi - Cam Ranh route recorded prices from 3.3 - 3.7 million VND/ticket, depending on the airline. On the contrary, ticket prices from tourist destinations back to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City during the last days of the holiday tend to increase gradually.

It is worth mentioning that by mid-April, many "hot" routes were almost fully booked, such as Hanoi - Dong Hoi, Ho Chi Minh City - Tuy Hoa, Hanoi - Chu Lai, Ho Chi Minh City - Con Dao... At the end of the holiday from May 3 to 4, the booking rate increased on flights from the locality back to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, typically the routes Dong Hoi - Hanoi (103%), Phu Quoc - Hanoi (100%), Tuy Hoa - Hanoi (99%), Nha Trang - Ho Chi Minh City (98%), Tuy Hoa - Ho Chi Minh City (97%)...

Due to high travel demand, the aviation industry advises that passengers during peak periods may experience congestion, leading to longer check-in, security screening and baggage check-in times than usual. Therefore, passengers should check-in online before their flight via the website, mobile application, call center within 24 hours before departure or at the automated kiosks located at the airport. For passengers who have completed check-in and do not have checked baggage, they can go directly to the security screening area to save waiting time.

Passengers departing from Tan Son Nhat Airport should take note, carefully check the terminal information printed on the ticket, study the airport map and plan their travel accordingly to arrive at the airport at least 2 hours before the flight. The distance between terminals T1, T2 and T3 is quite far, the travel time can take an average of about 20 minutes depending on the traffic situation. For passengers who need to travel between terminals, especially connecting passengers, they can use the free shuttle bus arranged by Tan Son Nhat International Airport with a frequency of 10-20 minutes per trip or choose other means of transportation such as taxis and technology cars.

Railways thank passengers on April 30 with deep discount policy

Train tickets are sold out on many routes

Meanwhile, despite the railway industry increasing its transport capacity, many train routes have been "sold out". Especially during this year's holiday, the railway industry has launched many new products to serve the people, such as the special Thong Nhat train running on the evening of April 29 from both Hanoi and Saigon and meeting in Da Nang at noon on April 30. However, this special train was "sold out" by mid-April. Many passengers who wanted to experience the special Thong Nhat train to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the country's reunification were no longer able to buy tickets. In addition, the railway also operated the Song Lam train on the evening of April 22. The train has 10 carriages, of which 5 carriages on the Vinh - Hanoi route connect with the NA2 train and 5 carriages on the Hanoi - Vinh route connect with the NA1 train. The carriages are newly built according to 5-star standards and are constantly upgraded to bring customers the most classy service.

Vietnam Railways Corporation said that passengers will mainly take regular trains from April 29 to 30 from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to tourist destinations and from May 3 to 4 from tourist destinations back to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. In addition to the first and last days of the holiday with a large number of ticket bookings, there are still many empty seats on other train travel days during the holiday. As of April 25, the railway industry has sold 110,000 train tickets for the April 30 holiday, many "hot" routes such as Hanoi - Vinh, Hanoi - Dong Hoi have sold out.

To meet the needs of passengers traveling by rail, on the Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City route, there will be 5 pairs of Thong Nhat trains operating every day: SE1/2, SE3/4, SE5/6, SE7/8 and SE11/12. In addition, regional train pairs such as SE19/20 (Hanoi - Da Nang), SE22/21 (Saigon - Da Nang), SNT2/1 (Saigon - Nha Trang), SPT2/1 (Saigon - Phan Thiet), Central Heritage Connection trains HD1/2/3/4 (Hue - Da Nang) and NA1/2 (Hanoi - Vinh) are also regularly operated.

For the Hanoi - Hai Phong route, there will be 5 more trips in addition to the daily fixed trips. With 6 pairs of trains in the section such as Hanoi - Vinh, Hanoi - Da Nang, Saigon - Nha Trang... there will be a total of 32 more trips to serve the people. In particular, on the occasion of April 30, the railway industry will pay tribute to those who have contributed to the revolution such as war invalids, sick soldiers, veterans, relatives of those who have contributed to the revolution... by reducing ticket prices by 40% from April 24 to May 9. Tickets will be sold directly at railway stations, passengers in the above cases must bring confirmation documents when buying tickets and when boarding the train.

10% discount on buses for students

While traveling by plane and train is quite stressful when the holiday is near, passenger cars in Hanoi are quite easy. A representative of Hanoi Bus Station Joint Stock Company predicts that the number of passengers and vehicles will increase during peak times at the beginning of the holiday, expected on the afternoons of April 29 and 30, then the number of passengers will gradually decrease in the following days, equivalent to normal days and will not exceed the capacity of vehicles operating according to the schedule on the route. In particular, Giap Bat bus station is expected to receive the highest number of passengers during peak days on the afternoons of April 29 and 30, about 20,000 trips/day, an increase of 350% compared to normal days with about 900 trips. At this bus station, the routes are often short distances, so passengers travel mainly during the day, increasing mainly on routes from Hanoi to Nam Dinh, Thai Binh, Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa.

At Gia Lam bus station, the highest number of passengers during peak days is about 8,000 passengers/day, an increase of about 300% compared to normal days, the expected number of buses is 400 buses/day, mainly concentrated on routes to Hai Phong and Quang Ninh. At My Dinh bus station, the number of passengers during peak days is about 22,000 passengers/day, an increase of more than 350% compared to normal days, the expected number of buses is more than 950 buses/day. The number of buses serving mainly increases on routes to Lao Cai, Ha Giang, Phu Tho, Yen Bai, Dien Bien, Son La, Lai Chau, Quang Ninh, Cao Bang... This is a long-distance route, passengers will concentrate in the afternoon and night of April 29 and 30.

Hanoi Bus Station Joint Stock Company said that based on the actual situation, the unit has developed a plan to increase 625 buses for the stations. Specifically, Giap Bat bus station will increase 262 buses, Gia Lam bus station will increase 83 buses and My Dinh bus station will increase 280 buses. The number of buses will be allocated by day and route depending on the increase in passenger traffic. Notably, not only do inter-provincial passenger transport businesses not increase ticket prices during this time, but students are also given discounts. Due to propaganda and mobilization, more than 40 transport businesses operating at bus stations managed by the company have issued 6,000 vouchers with a 10% discount on tickets for students traveling during the April 30 holiday.

PV (synthesis)

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/duong-sat-hang-khong-chay-ve-dip-nghi-le-410376.html