Airfares increase again - Lang Son Electronic Newspaper

On March 17, Mr. Thai Son, living in Hoang Mai district, Hanoi, went online to find plane tickets to take his family on vacation for April 30. He planned to leave on the morning of April 27 (Saturday) and return on the afternoon of May 1. However, the cheapest ticket, now "not so good", was more than 5 million VND round trip. Mr. Son was surprised because people often shared that booking tickets a month in advance would be cheaper.

"About 3.5 million VND might be reasonable, but 5 million VND for a plane ticket with a bad departure time makes me have to consider. The whole family will probably choose a short trip within a radius where we can drive a car, that way it will be more economical," said Mr. Son.

Airfares have been rising recently, causing many people to reconsider their plans for the upcoming holiday.

On March 18, according to a survey by CAND Newspaper reporters, if choosing the Hanoi-Phu Quoc route departing on April 27 and returning on May 1, with Vietnam Airlines, the lowest ticket price is 4,389,000 VND/ticket/way, the highest is 13,005,000 VND/ticket/way. Despite the high price, if you do not pay attention to the flight time, it is easy for customers to choose a connecting flight (the flight takes about 7 hours). On the same route, if flying with Vietjet Air, customers will have to pay from 2,500,000 VND/ticket/way (excluding taxes and fees) to 4,500,000 VND/ticket/way (excluding taxes and fees). Also during this time, if customers in Hanoi travel to Da Nang, the ticket price is somewhat "softer". Specifically, if customers choose to fly with Vietnam Airlines, the ticket price will range from 2,500,000 VND - 4,700,000 VND / ticket / way. With Vietjet Air, the lowest ticket price is 1,590,000 VND - 3,090,000 VND / ticket / way (excluding taxes and fees). The Hanoi - Quy Nhon route is one of the routes with the highest increase among the main tourist routes. The round-trip airfare surveyed during the period of April 27 - April 30 is 5,000,000 VND. Meanwhile, the Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi route connecting tourist destinations in the North costs about 4,300,000 VND round-trip - about 1 million VND higher than the average price of this route on normal days.

Explaining the high airfares, a travel company leader said that it could be because many people buy tickets early to visit relatives or travel. On a flight, the airline will offer ticket ranges from low to high. If the low-priced ticket range is full, customers will have to buy high-priced tickets if they need them. However, according to this person, it is difficult to know when there will be low-priced tickets and when there will be high-priced tickets. Currently, demand is not assessed to be too high and airlines have not increased capacity to supply peak season tickets. However, even if the capacity is increased in the near future, it is predicted that airfares will be difficult to cool down because airlines such as Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air are affected by problems related to Pratt & Whitney engines used on A321/A320neo aircraft. The disruption in the supply chain has caused 12 A321 aircraft, or 20% of Vietnam Airlines' main fleet for domestic flights, to stop flying.

Regarding train ticket prices, on the afternoon of March 18, in a quick exchange with reporters, the Hanoi Railway Transport Joint Stock Company said that the unit has opened ticket sales for trains running on northern routes during the April 30 and May 1 holidays. Accordingly, on the Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City route, there are four pairs of Thong Nhat passenger trains: SE1/SE2, SE3/SE4, SE5/SE6, SE7/SE8; one pair of Hanoi - Da Nang trains SE19/SE20. The Hanoi - Vinh route opens ticket sales for the NA1/NA2 pair; the Hanoi - Hai Phong route opens ticket sales for four pairs of trains HP1/HP2, LP2/LP3, LP5/LP6, LP7/LP8. In particular, the railway organizes regular regional trains between Hue - Da Nang with two pairs of trains HD1/HD2, HD3/HD4. The ticket price for the entire route of these two pairs of trains is 150,000 VND/seat ticket. On the Hanoi - Lao Cai route, in addition to the SP3/SP4 train pair that runs daily, the SP1/SP10 train pair will run regularly. The ticket price for this pair of trains is only 120,000-220,000 VND/ticket, while the VIP sleeper ticket for the 2-berth compartment of the SP10 train is only 370,000 VND/ticket. In addition, to serve the travel needs of passengers during peak days on the Hanoi - Vinh route, the railway will operate an additional SE35/SE36 train pair between Hanoi and Vinh from April 25 to May 1; train NA3 departs from Hanoi station on April 26 and 27; train NA4 departs from Vinh station on April 30 and May 1. On this occasion, the railway continues to apply many preferential policies and discounts such as: Discounts for social policy beneficiaries, union members, passengers with customer cards, and return ticket discounts for passengers buying round-trip tickets...

In order to serve the travel needs of passengers on the occasion of April 30 and May 1, Saigon Railway Transport Joint Stock Company has also opened ticket sales for trains running regularly every day during the April 30 - May 1, 2024 holiday and will continue to open ticket sales until May 14. In addition, Saigon Railway Transport Joint Stock Company still applies regular discounts for social policy beneficiaries.

When asked about the increase or decrease in train ticket prices compared to last year, the railway also informed that the train ticket prices for the April 30 and May 1 holidays this year are 5-10% higher than last year, depending on the type of ticket. For example, if customers choose to travel on April 27, the lowest price for the SE1 unified train from Hanoi to Da Nang will be 800,000 VND, the highest will be around 1,460,000 VND/ticket; the Hanoi-Nha Trang train ticket will be 967,000 VND/ticket, the highest is 1,613,000 VND/ticket; the Hanoi-Saigon route will have prices ranging from 1,071,000 VND/ticket to 1,788,000 VND/ticket...

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