Flight ticket prices during Lunar New Year are very high, many flights are fully booked.

Airlines are increasing flights and night flights during the peak period of Lunar New Year 2024. (Photo: PV/Vietnam+)

Although airlines have increased flights and opened more night flights, airfares during the peak season of the 2024 Lunar New Year are still very high, with many routes even sold out.

High ticket prices, many flights are fully booked early

According to a survey of the ticket sales pages of airlines from February 8-14 (ie December 29 to January 5 of the Lunar New Year 2024), the flight route Ho Chi Minh City - Hai Phong still has tickets with prices ranging from 6.8-7 million VND; Ho Chi Minh City - Tuy Hoa round-trip ticket prices range from 8.5-12 million VND.

Flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Thanh Hoa if passengers fly at night with Vietravel Airlines, Vietjet Air and Vietnam Airlines have prices from 6.3 to 7.3 million VND.

Round-trip tickets from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi departing on February 6 and returning on February 17 of Vietjet are nearly 7 million VND; Vietravel Airlines is over 6.5 to over 7.1 million VND depending on the flight; Bamboo Airways is 7.5 million VND; Vietnam Airlines has economy class tickets priced at over 7.3 million VND.

According to the report of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, from February 1 to February 9 (ie December 22 to December 30 of the lunar calendar), the booking rate of airlines is very high and almost full. For example, the flights from Hanoi to Vinh (99%), Ho Chi Minh City to Hue (92.44%), Ho Chi Minh City to Pleiku (90.82%), Ho Chi Minh City to Tuy Hoa (84.53%), Ho Chi Minh City to Thanh Hoa (93.08%), Ho Chi Minh City to Quy Nhon (92.39%), Ho Chi Minh City to Chu Lai (95.09%), Ho Chi Minh City to Quang Binh (88.96%), Ho Chi Minh City to Van Don (100%), Ho Chi Minh City to Vinh (89.03%).

During the period from the 4th to the 10th of the first lunar month, local flights will flock to Ho Chi Minh City and the booking rate is also very tense, almost full.

Specifically, the route from Ca Mau-Ho Chi Minh City (97%), Nha Trang-Ho Chi Minh City (79%), Da Nang-Ho Chi Minh City (83%), Dien Bien-Hanoi (81%), Hai Phong-Ho Chi Minh City (88%), Hue-Ho Chi Minh City (91%), Phu Quoc-Ho Chi Minh City (83%), Pleiku-Hanoi (110%), Pleiku-Ho Chi Minh City (89%), Tuy Hoa-Ho Chi Minh City (85%), Thanh Hoa-Ho Chi Minh City (93%), Quy Nhon-Ho Chi Minh City (94%), Chu Lai-Ho Chi Minh City (106%), Dong Hoi-Ho Chi Minh City (88%), Van Don-Ho Chi Minh City (80%), Vinh-Ho Chi Minh City (91%).

A representative of Bamboo Airways said that so far, most of the routes with high demand during Tet have been fully booked, typically the flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Thanh Hoa/Vinh/Hai Phong/Hue/Quy Nhon... of the airline have a booking rate of 98-100%. Other routes such as Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City/Da Nang... have recorded a booking rate of over 80% and are increasing rapidly.

With the addition of 2 aircraft, Bamboo Airways is expected to increase capacity by over 20% during peak periods.

The demand for air travel during the peak Tet holiday season is very high. (Photo: PV/Vietnam+)

Similarly, Vietravel Airlines recorded an average occupancy rate of one-way flights reaching over 89%, of which the Ho Chi Minh City-Quy Nhon/Da Nang route on days close to Tet had an occupancy rate of over 97%. Some routes with high bookings are Ho Chi Minh City-Hanoi/Quy Nhon/Da Nang, Hanoi-Da Nang.

Vietjet Air has also just received 4 additional "wet lease" aircraft to serve passengers on domestic and international flights during the Tet holiday.

According to the airlines' reports, the demand for night flights to serve people returning home for Tet via Dong Hoi, Phu Cat, Chu Lai, Tuy Hoa, Tho Xuan, Vinh, and Pleiku airports is quite high. It is expected that the demand for night flights during the Tet Giap Thin period (from January 21 to February 25, from 9:00 p.m. to 5:59 a.m.) will reach more than 1,800 flights, accounting for about 8% of the total number of domestic flights operated on the entire network.

Airlines all increase ticket sales at high prices

Regarding air transport during the Lunar New Year, according to calculations by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, from January 25 to February 24, 2024, it is expected that domestic airlines will operate and supply about 5.5 million tickets on the entire domestic flight network, an increase of 4% compared to the Lunar New Year.

In particular, during this period, the total number of flights is expected to reach approximately 33,800, an increase of 14% over the same period of Tet 2023 and an increase of 21% over the current regular flight schedule.

Explaining why airfares are too high and whether they will decrease, a representative of the Ministry of Transport said that airfares (both international and domestic) are currently implemented according to a flexible fare mechanism with many price ranges from low to high depending on the market situation (supply-demand), ticket conditions, ticket issuance time, service quality, etc.

“Currently, Vietnamese airlines all declare domestic air transport service prices with many price levels to meet passenger needs and ensure they are within the price range prescribed in the above Circulars,” said a representative of the Ministry of Transport.

Airlines comply with regulations on price declaration and price listing in accordance with regulations. (Photo: PV/Vietnam+)

Further analysis, according to the market mechanism, during peak periods (demand increases too much compared to supply), airlines all increase the rate of selling tickets at high prices. On the contrary, during low periods or flights at the beginning of the Tet holiday, the demand for passenger transportation is very low (demand decreases sharply compared to supply), airlines all lower ticket prices.

On that basis, the Ministry of Transport requested the Civil Aviation Authority to direct airports and airlines to properly implement regulations on price declaration, price posting, and price information disclosure, and to prevent illegal ticket price increases.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam requires airports to prepare resources to serve the night flight needs of airlines on domestic routes according to the airlines' plans./.

According to VNA

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/gia-ve-bay-dip-tet-nguyen-dan-muc-rat-cao-nhieu-duong-bay-da-kin-cho-post920427.vnp

Source: https://baolongan.vn/gia-ve-bay-dip-tet-nguyen-dan-muc-rat-cao-nhieu-duong-bay-da-kin-cho-a169542.html