Despite the high price of Tet holiday plane tickets, they are still difficult to buy.

Airfares remain high, causing many families to hesitate about traveling during the Lunar New Year holiday – Photo: CONG TRUNG

Despite numerous measures taken by airlines and authorities, the surge in travel demand during the Lunar New Year holiday makes purchasing tickets to return home a significant challenge for migrant workers.

"All economy class tickets are sold out, only business class tickets are left!"

On December 2nd, sitting in a cafe, Thuy Tram (28 years old, living in Ho Chi Minh City) continuously browsed the websites of various airlines to find tickets to return to her hometown of Da Nang on January 26th, 2025, which is the 27th day of the 12th lunar month.

Despite her efforts to find tickets through multiple channels, she still found it difficult to purchase economy class tickets when the airline announced on its website that economy class tickets were sold out, displaying only business class tickets.

“Business class tickets cost between 5 and 6 million VND per leg, which is too much for my family of four. If we choose to fly a day later, economy class tickets drop to 2.6 million VND per person, but it's still double the price on a regular day.”

"The total cost for the whole family, including the round trip, was over 35 million VND, almost equivalent to two months' salary for my husband and me," Ms. Tram shared.

It's not just Ms. Tram's family; many other workers have also had to abandon their plans to return home for Tet because of the exorbitant ticket prices. Mr. Nguyen Phuc Chau, a worker who has been unemployed for two years, said that he and his wife decided to stay in Ho Chi Minh City for Tet because the round-trip airfare for two people would cost more than 8 million VND.

"We had no choice but to accept it, because that amount of money is beyond our current financial means," Mr. Chau said.

According to surveys, airfares from Ho Chi Minh City to northern provinces such as Hanoi , Hai Phong, Nghe An, etc., during Tet (Lunar New Year) range from 3.7 to 3.9 million VND per ticket before Tet. For the return trip, the price is lower after Tet.

Tet holiday tickets now cost only 1.1 - 1.2 million VND/ticket. This "discrepancy" has caused the price of return tickets to the countryside to skyrocket, creating even greater pressure on workers, especially those with low incomes.

According to Tuoi Tre newspaper, airlines are focusing their resources and increasing staff to maintain operations during the busy Tet holiday season. In addition to increasing capacity and adding more aircraft, new convenient services are being launched to facilitate passenger travel.

For example, passengers who buy Vietjet tickets on the website can immediately choose taxi services with a significant discount.

This airline also offers an E-Voucher product for Green Taxi SM integrated with airline tickets. Customers can book taxi services in advance with discounts of up to 20%.

Specifically, the 15km package starts from only 200,000 VND, applicable at airports in Ho Chi Minh City, Hue, and Da Nang, while the 30km package starts from 350,000 VND, applicable at Hanoi, Phu Quoc, Khanh Hoa, and Quang Ninh.

Increase flight frequency, operate night flights…

Facing immense pressure from travel demand during the Lunar New Year holiday, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has requested airlines to maximize capacity. Tan Son Nhat Airport, which experiences the highest passenger volume nationwide during Tet, has increased its flight frequency to a maximum of 46 flights per hour during peak hours from 5:00 AM to 11:55 PM during the Tet holiday.

In addition, airlines are encouraged to operate more night flights at local airports such as Tho Xuan, Chu Lai, and Tuy Hoa to alleviate congestion.

Airlines are also rushing to expand their fleets. Bamboo Airways has added eight Airbus A320s, while Vietnam Airlines and Vietravel Airlines are leasing additional aircraft to meet demand.

Hundreds of additional flights are expected to be added during the peak Tet holiday period.

In addition to increasing the number of flights, the aviation industry is also applying technological solutions to optimize operations. At major airports such as Tan Son Nhat, Noi Bai, and Da Nang, the Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM) system has been implemented.

This process allows relevant units to share information and coordinate efforts, helping to minimize flight delays, increase on-time performance, and respond flexibly to unusual situations such as bad weather or delayed aircraft arrivals.

Major airports have also implemented cashless payment systems at their entry and exit gates. RFID technology and license plate recognition cameras help reduce waiting times and alleviate congestion, especially on peak days.

Despite implementing numerous measures, the aviation industry still faces many challenges. According to Mr. Nguyen Dang Minh, head of operations at the Vietnam Airports Corporation (ACV), the number of aircraft is expected to decrease this year due to various technical issues.

Airlines such as Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet have leased additional aircraft, meaning the number of planes available for Tet 2025 will only be equivalent to last year, while demand for travel is predicted to increase significantly.

Furthermore, the record-high travel demand during the 2025 Lunar New Year holiday, with its nine-day break, is creating significant pressure. According to ACV, the number of passengers passing through airports nationwide during the peak Tet holiday is expected to reach over 10.5 million, a slight increase compared to 10 million the previous year.

At Tan Son Nhat Airport alone, the projected passenger volume is over 4 million, operating at a maximum capacity of 46 flights per hour.

People buying airline tickets at Tan Son Nhat Airport, Ho Chi Minh City – Photo: TTD

With 7 million tickets available for Tet (Lunar New Year), how will ticket prices fluctuate?

The Vietnam Civil Aviation Authority recently surveyed economy class airfares at the end of November 2024 on domestic routes during the 2025 Lunar New Year holiday. The results showed that some routes achieved booking rates of over 100% for outbound flights, while return flights were at low levels, even below 10%.

Before Tet (Lunar New Year), demand for flights from Ho Chi Minh City to provinces in Central and Northern Vietnam increased sharply. Routes such as Ho Chi Minh City – Hue, Ho Chi Minh City – Quy Nhon, and Ho Chi Minh City – Tuy Hoa recorded booking rates of 90-100%. Conversely, return flights from these locations to Ho Chi Minh City only reached 5-15%.

To meet the surge in travel demand, airlines are expected to provide a total of 6.9 million seats during the Lunar New Year holiday, a 4% increase compared to 2024, with 4.8 million seats allocated to domestic routes. Vietjet and Vietnam Airlines have planned to add more aircraft to accommodate the sudden increase in passenger demand.

Airfares on popular routes increased significantly in the days leading up to the Lunar New Year holiday (January 25, 2025, or the 26th day of the 12th lunar month). On the Ho Chi Minh City – Hanoi route, Vietnam Airlines and Bamboo Airways maintained fares at around 3.6 million VND/one-way.

Vietjet recorded similar prices, a 20% increase compared to the period before the holiday, while Vietravel Airlines had a price of 3.4 million VND/one-way, a 17% increase.

Towards the end of the Tet holiday (February 2nd, 2025, which is the 5th day of the first lunar month), the seat occupancy rate reversed. Flights from localities such as Tuy Hoa, Quy Nhon, and Dong Hoi to Ho Chi Minh City achieved an average occupancy rate of 75%, and even exceeded 100% on some routes.

Conversely, flights from Ho Chi Minh City to other provinces only reached 10-20% occupancy. For major routes such as Ho Chi Minh City - Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi, and Hanoi - Da Nang, the occupancy rate during the Tet holiday (from January 25th to February 2nd, 2025) remained low, averaging only 15-20%.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/gia-ve-may-bay-tet-dat-van-kho-mua-20241203081128316.htm