Flight ticket prices for Lunar New Year 2026 have dropped sharply

It is worth mentioning that most airline tickets, from From Vietnam Airlines , to Bamboo Airways, Vietjet Air to Vietravel Airlines, there are still many empty seats.

A survey conducted on the morning of September 27 by VTC News Electronic Newspaper reporters on online ticket sales websites and airline websites showed that round-trip tickets for the hottest route, Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi, still had many empty seats, from economy class to premium economy and business class.

Ticket prices for this route also decreased by 1-3 million VND/round trip ticket compared to the first week of sale, starting from September 3.

Specifically, the survey of round-trip ticket prices for the Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi route departing on February 5, 2026, returning on February 22, 2026 (December 18 - January 6 of the Lunar calendar) of Vietnam Airlines ranges from 6,255 million VND, a decrease of 1.82 - 2.25 million VND/round-trip ticket compared to the first week of sale. This price is equivalent to the ticket price at the same time of Lunar New Year 2025.

After more than 3 weeks of being on sale, Lunar New Year flight ticket prices on many routes have dropped sharply. (Photo: Civil Aviation Authority).

Bamboo Airways' Ho Chi Minh City-Hanoi route costs from 6.5 to 7.7 million VND, a decrease of 1 to 1.5 million VND compared to the first days the airline opened ticket sales for Tet, and 500,000 to 800,000 VND lower than the same time of Tet 2025.

Vietravel Airlines prices range from 6.5 to 7.6 million VND, a decrease of about 600,000 VND compared to the first days. Tet ticket sales open, equivalent to Tet ticket prices at the same time last year.

Vietjet Air alone has the "softest" price, ranging from 4.1 - 5.6 million VND, a decrease of 200,000 - 400,000 VND compared to the initial opening time, equivalent to the same price during Tet 2025.

Other flight routes also have lower prices compared to the first days of sale such as: Ho Chi Minh City - Cat Bi (Hai Phong), Ho Chi Minh City - Vinh (Nghe An), Ho Chi Minh City - Tho Xuan (Thanh Hoa).

Specifically, the ticket price for the Ho Chi Minh City - Hai Phong route departing from February 1-12 (December 14-25, Lunar calendar) from Ho Chi Minh City - Hai Phong and returning from Hai Phong - Ho Chi Minh City from February 20-28 (January 4-12, Lunar calendar) of Vietjet Air ranges from 5.8 - 6.9 million VND, equivalent to the ticket price for Lunar New Year last year and a decrease of 300-500 VND compared to the first day of ticket sales for Tet this year.

Also on this route, during this period of Vietnam Airlines, ticket prices range from 6.1 to 7.1 million VND, a decrease of about 400,000 VND/round-trip ticket compared to the first days of sale, equivalent to the ticket price during Tet last year.

The same flight of Bamboo Airways has prices ranging from 6.5 to 7.7 million VND, a decrease of about 300 thousand VND compared to the initial opening time.

Another flight route is the Ho Chi Minh City - Nghe An route, the ticket price also decreased compared to the first time of sale. Accordingly, Vietjet Air's ticket price ranges from 5.5 - 6.1 million VND/round trip ticket, about 1 million VND lower than the first days of sale, about 400 thousand VND lower than the same time of Lunar New Year last year.

Why are airfares falling?

Explaining why airfares suddenly dropped compared to the initial sale period, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thien Tong, an aviation expert, said that normally, Tet ticket prices are 30-40% higher than normal day tickets and are all within the regulated ceiling price.

The reason is that one-way flights are full, while the return flights are often empty. Therefore, airlines have to increase one-way ticket prices to cover the cost of the empty flights.

However, the ticket prices at this time are lower than the first days of sale for many reasons, including people's wait-and-see mentality, watching ticket prices in the coming time, because normally in previous years, ticket prices at the end of the year have dropped sharply because airlines want to sell out all the empty seats.

Airfares on many routes are reduced. (Photo: Pham Duy).

Second, consumers have not yet arranged a specific travel time so they have not booked tickets, leading to a large number of empty seats.

Third, it is possible that due to the economic situation and limited income, people limit travel and spending.

Fourth, in addition to air travel, people have many other options, including traveling by train, by personal vehicle or renting a car, or instead of going home to celebrate Tet, many people have sent gifts home to wish their families a happy New Year.

“To avoid the situation of having many empty seats on each flight, airlines should consider selling tickets at an appropriate price to encourage people to return to their hometowns and travel. When there are no more empty seats, it means that airlines have increased their revenue more than by increasing ticket prices,” expert Nguyen Thien Tong said.

Vietnam Airlines Group announced that it has officially opened early ticket sales for the Lunar New Year 2026 from September 3 with a total of more than 3.5 million seats from February 3, 2026 to March 2, 2026 (ie December 16, 2025 to January 13). The number of seats supplied increased by nearly 20% compared to the same period last year. From September 3, passengers can buy tickets for the Lunar New Year 2026.

Vietjet Air also opened early sale of 2.5 million flight tickets in the period from February 3, 2026 to March 2, 2026, i.e. December 16, year of the Dragon, to January 13, year of the Horse.

Accordingly, ticket prices from Ho Chi Minh City to Phu Quoc are only from 610,000 VND (excluding taxes and fees). Flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang, Nha Trang, Buon Ma Thuot... are priced from 1 million VND (excluding taxes and fees).

“Tickets on flights to Hanoi, Vinh, Thanh Hoa, Hai Phong... cost from 1,610,000 VND (excluding taxes and fees). In the opposite direction, ticket prices start from only 0 VND (excluding taxes and fees), meeting the needs of spring travelers to travel and explore new lands and new experiences during the spring days,” Vietjet Air said.

A representative of Vietnam Airlines Group said that they will continue to monitor market demand, balance aircraft resources and allocate slots to open sales in the next rounds, helping people more conveniently plan their travel during Tet.

Peak flight routes will be concentrated between the three major cities of Hanoi, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City and key provinces such as Hai Phong, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Hue, Gia Lai, Ninh Thuan, Kien Giang...

Airlines recommend that, to ensure schedules and appropriate prices, passengers should proactively plan their ticket bookings to avoid shortages and price hikes near Tet; and should only buy tickets through ticket offices, official agents or on the airline's application to avoid the risk of fake tickets.

Source: https://baolangson.vn/gia-ve-bay-tet-nguyen-dan-2026-giam-manh-5060165.html