Despite peak prices, airline tickets for the Lunar New Year holiday are still in high demand.

Besides scrambling to buy plane tickets to return home for the Lunar New Year, many families this year are also taking advantage of the longest holiday of the year to plan spring trips, causing many flights that went on sale months in advance to still be priced exorbitantly high.

Ticket prices have peaked on all routes.

Planning a family trip to Phu Quoc for the Lunar New Year, Ms. Lan Anh (from Hanoi) was shocked by the exorbitant airfare prices after the holiday. On the online ticketing site Abay, on February 18, 2026 (the second day of the Lunar New Year), Vietnam Airlines only had one flight at 7 AM with available seats, but even then, only premium economy class tickets were available at nearly 4.5 million VND/one-way, and business class tickets at over 7.5 million VND/one-way.

Both Pacific Airlines flights at 12:30 PM on the same day were completely sold out in economy class, with only flexible economy and business class tickets remaining at the same price as Vietnam Airlines flights. Vietjet still had 4 flights available, with the lowest price being over 3.1 million VND/one-way, for evening flights. If flying at a convenient time during the day, the price would go up to over 4.4 million VND/one-way.

The increased demand for returning home and traveling during the Lunar New Year holiday has driven airfares to exorbitant levels.

PHOTO: NHAT THINH

Checking the Vietnam Airlines website directly, Ms. Lan Anh found that there was an additional flight with a layover in Ho Chi Minh City, bringing the total flight time from Hanoi to Phu Quoc to nearly 5 hours. However, standard economy class tickets were no longer available, only flexible economy, premium economy, and business class tickets were available, priced at over 4.6 million VND/one-way, 6.6 million VND/one-way, and over 10 million VND/one-way respectively.

"Since the pandemic, my family hasn't traveled during Tet (Lunar New Year), so I didn't know airfare was so expensive. It works out to tens of millions of VND per person for round-trip tickets. For a family of 4-5, that's tens of millions of VND just for airfare alone, not including hotels, food, and entertainment… However, it's been a long time since my family went to Phu Quoc, so we'll probably still go. It's been years since we last went on a spring trip," shared Ms. Lan Anh.

According to a survey by Thanh Nien newspaper, the Hanoi - Phu Quoc route this spring has a new addition: Sun Phu Quoc Airways. Sun Phu Quoc Airways' Tet 2026 tickets are now on sale, with two flights on February 18th at 7:45 AM and 1:30 PM, at more affordable prices than other airlines, ranging from 2.8 to over 3 million VND per one-way trip.

Similarly, on the Hanoi - Nha Trang route on the second day of Tet, there are still quite few flights with available seats. Vietjet has 3 flights with a flat rate of over 3.1 million VND/one-way; Vietnam Airlines has 4 flights with economy class tickets at over 3.8 million VND/one-way and business class tickets at over 7.3 million VND/one-way.

Meanwhile, traditional flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi before Tet still have many empty seats, but prices show no sign of cooling down compared to when they first went on sale more than a month ago. On February 14, 2026 (the 27th day of the 12th lunar month), Vietjet flights had the lowest price at over 3.7 million VND/one-way. Flights on the same route and day from Bamboo Airways and Vietravel Airlines had the highest price at over 3.83 million VND/one-way, on par with Vietnam Airlines' price (3.86 million VND/one-way). Newcomer Sun Phu Quoc Airways, with 3 flights, also hit the ceiling price at over 3.8 million VND/one-way.

Compared to the same time last year, Tet holiday tickets for the Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi route during peak days in 2026 have all been adjusted higher by airlines, ranging from 100,000 to 200,000 VND per one-way trip.

Similarly, Vietnam Airlines flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang on February 14, 2026, also offer the lowest economy class fares at nearly 2.5 million VND/one-way, while business class fares have increased from over 4.8 million VND/one-way at the time of initial sale to over 5.1 million VND/one-way. On the same day, if passengers choose to fly with Vietjet, prices range from over 2.2 to over 2.3 million VND/one-way.

Even people who "hunt" for Tet holiday tickets several months in advance find it difficult to get cheap tickets.

PHOTO: NGOC DUONG

Supply cannot meet demand, ticket prices are unlikely to cool down.

A representative from Vietnam Airlines stated that the ticket sales for Tet (Lunar New Year) 2026 are showing positive signs, with a significant increase in early bookings compared to the same period in previous years. Many passengers have proactively planned their travel and purchased tickets early to choose flights, times, and prices that suit them, instead of waiting until closer to Tet as is traditionally the case. This trend shows a positive change in the air travel consumption behavior of Vietnamese passengers, moving towards more proactive travel planning, cost optimization, and enhanced flying experience during the peak season.

According to Vietnam Airlines, during the Tet holiday period, travel demand was mainly concentrated on routes from the South to the North and Central regions before Tet; and in the opposite direction after Tet, serving the needs of people nationwide for family reunions and visiting relatives. In addition, Vietnam Airlines also noted a significant increase in tourism during this year's Tet holiday compared to previous years. Many families and groups of young people took advantage of the extended 9-day holiday period, as approved by the Government for the 2026 Tet holiday, to travel to domestic destinations such as Da Nang, Phu Quoc, Quy Nhon, Hue… or to vacation abroad. This decision contributed to creating favorable conditions for people to plan their trips early, while also promoting a vibrant atmosphere of spring travel, tourism, and movement throughout the country.

To meet the diverse travel needs of passengers, Vietnam Airlines is launching the "Celebrate Tet with Vietnam Airlines with fares from only 666,000 VND" program, applicable to many routes with off-peak hours during the Tet holiday. Simultaneously, the airline is increasing the number of flights in early morning, late evening, and nighttime hours to expand options, allocate capacity more efficiently, and provide more convenient and economical journeys for passengers during the upcoming peak Tet holiday season.

Many people were shocked by the skyrocketing prices after booking their spring holiday flights early.

In particular, this year, flexible economy class tickets are selling very quickly, with a high number of bookings. A representative from Vietnam Airlines explained that flexible economy class tickets are more expensive than regular economy class tickets but offer much more comprehensive services, making them a preferred choice for passengers. The number of special economy class seats is significantly smaller than regular economy class seats, so they tend to sell out faster than regular economy class tickets.

In reality, despite high ticket prices, the demand for returning home for Tet (Lunar New Year) or traveling during the spring season remains strong, so airlines consistently struggle to meet the demand. Therefore, even with early ticket sales during peak holiday seasons, finding cheap airfares is difficult.

A representative from an airline stated: Airfares (both international and domestic) are currently implemented using a flexible pricing mechanism with various price ranges from low to high depending on market conditions (supply and demand), ticket conditions, time of ticket issuance, service quality, etc.

During peak periods (when demand far exceeds supply), airlines increase the proportion of tickets sold at higher prices. Conversely, during off-peak periods or for flights scheduled outside of holidays, when passenger demand is low (demand drops sharply compared to supply), ticket prices will decrease. This explains why, during peak holiday periods, even though passengers eagerly wait to "hunt" for tickets from the moment airlines start selling, it is almost impossible to buy tickets at good prices.

On the other hand, to date, the overall fleet capacity of airlines has not yet recovered, and the shortage of aircraft continues. Even with airlines' efforts to lease more aircraft, increase seating capacity, and allocate more night flights, it is still insufficient to meet the ever-increasing demand from passengers. Therefore, the issue is not about price but about the number of seats airlines can provide, meaning that early ticket sales only serve to give passengers more opportunities to choose a suitable flight.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/gia-ve-may-bay-tet-cham-dinh-van-dat-hang-18525101716372604.htm