Domestic airfares have dropped by nearly 50% compared to the peak holiday season of April 30-May 1, giving consumers more options for their summer travel in 2024.
Both husband and wife are teachers, Mr. Dao Hong Tan (Hoang Mai, Hanoi ) said that the family rarely has trips during the school year, but can only arrange to go on holidays or summer vacation.
During the recent April 30 holiday, Mr. Tan's family looked at the schedule to go to Phu Quoc and then return to Vung Tau, but the ticket price was too expensive, at about 10 million VND/round trip. For 4 people, the cost of the plane ticket was about 40 million VND, not to mention other expenses such as hotel, food, and sightseeing tickets, which added up to nearly 30 million VND for the trip.
“Because the airfare is too high, accounting for 60% of the trip cost, the family could not balance it and had to switch to traveling by private car in Hoa Binh and Thanh Hoa to save money. The family's 4-day trip by private car only cost less than 20 million VND,” Mr. Tan said.
After researching airfare for his family's upcoming summer vacation, Mr. Tan said that ticket prices have dropped sharply compared to the period from April 30 to May 1.
“With the current ticket prices, my family booked a round-trip flight from Hanoi to Phu Quoc for only about 4.8 - 5.5 million VND, a reduction of nearly 50% compared to the period from April 30 to May 1. With the reduced airfare prices, my family booked tickets online and finalized a vacation in Phu Quoc at the end of July." Mr. Tan added.
Choosing a summer vacation for her family in 2024, Ms. Tran Mai Phuong (Thanh Xuan, Hanoi) said that her family is looking into vacationing in Nha Trang or Da Lat because airfares have dropped sharply.
“One-way airfares from Hanoi to Cam Ranh are only from 1.6 million VND/way; Hanoi to Da Nang from 1.3 million VND/way; Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang, Hue from 1.3 million VND/way; Ho Chi Minh City to Quy Nhon from 1.2 million VND/way; Ho Chi Minh City to Phu Quoc, Da Lat, Nha Trang all from 1.2 VND/way… including taxes and fees. This is a quite attractive fare compared to the peak period of April 30, so the family will choose the Hanoi - Nha Trang flight route,” Ms. Phuong said.
A survey by VTC News on the morning of May 26 showed that for the Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City flight from early June to September 2024, one-way economy class fares of airlines such as Bamboo Airways, Vietravel Airlines, Vietjet Air range from 1.4 million VND to more than 1.9 million VND/way, down from 800 - 1.5 million VND compared to the peak period of April 30 - May 1.
Another route with a sharp drop in ticket prices is Hanoi - Phu Quoc. Accordingly, one-way ticket prices, flight time from June to October 2024 of Bamboo Airways, Vietravel Airlines, Vietjet Air and Vietnam Airlines range from 2.6 - 3.5 million VND/way (including taxes and fees), a decrease of 3 - 5 million VND compared to the period from April 30 to May 1.
Why are ticket prices dropping so much?
To meet people's travel needs during the 2024 summer tourist season and the rest of the year, a representative of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam said that the Authority has asked airlines to come up with plans to increase the number of seats, flights, and flight hours to cool down ticket prices.
Airlines are increasing the frequency of night and early morning flights, and are developing plans, promotions, and discount fares.
Accordingly, airlines have also operated and opened additional flights in the late hours after 9 p.m. every day. The flight groups have increased flights focusing on some tourist destinations such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Quy Nhon, etc. to meet the needs of passengers.
People are also advised to proactively plan their trips early to have the opportunity to buy air tickets in the low and medium price range.
“Currently, Vietnam Airlines has increased its fleet operating time from 10 hours/day to 11 hours/day and will continue to increase to 12 hours/day during peak periods. Vietjet Air has increased from 12.8 hours/day to over 13.2 hours/day and will continue to increase to 14 hours/day after changing slots at airports.
Other airlines such as Bamboo Airway and Vietravel Airlines have also increased operations from 11-12 hours/day to 12.5 hours/day. Mr. Dinh Viet Thang, Director of the Civil Aviation Authority said.
Vietnam Airlines said it will provide nearly 1 million night seats on domestic routes in the three months of June, July, and August 2024 on the basis of fleet optimization.
Specifically, Vietnam Airlines increased the number of night and early morning flights during the peak summer season, from 2,200 to 5,200 flights, an increase of 134% compared to last year. At the same time, the airline also launched many promotional programs to stimulate demand and encourage customers to buy early (such as group promotions of 4 and 8 people traveling together with a discount of 10-15%, early purchase at good prices, night flight promotion programs...).
Vietjet Air increased the number of night flights by about 35% compared to usual, equivalent to 2,200 flights on routes from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Nha Trang to and from the provinces. The airline also opened sales of night flights with stimulus prices from Ho Chi Minh City to northern provinces and cities such as Hanoi, Hai Phong, Vinh, Thanh Hoa...
Vietjet Air also launched cheap fares and promotional programs during September to December, including 0 VND promotional programs (excluding taxes, fees and surcharges).
From October to December, this airline continues to launch many flights with 0 VND tickets on the Hanoi - Phu Quoc route with about 10 days with 0 VND tickets each month. On the Phu Quoc - Hanoi route, the peak is in December, with 15/31 days with 0 VND tickets. Cheap tickets also appear on some routes such as Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi - Da Lat.
Bamboo Airways also implements a discount policy with an 8% discount from 10pm the previous day to 2am the next day on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays every week until the end of 2024.
Vietravel Airlines is implementing a price program of 8,000 VND (excluding taxes, fees and surcharges) on domestic flights.
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