Airlines "race" to import new planes, will Tet ticket prices decrease?

On January 28, the aviation market began to operate to meet the travel needs of passengers during Tet. The continuous import of new aircraft by airlines contributed to the increase in flights and seats. Many flights on the main route from Ho Chi Minh City to the Central and Northern provinces were increased, and ticket prices did not increase too much.

Vietnam Airlines said it has just added four more Airbus A320 aircraft on wet lease (lease of aircraft includes insurance, flight crew, ground engineering, maintenance services), thereby helping the airline add nearly 1,000 flights this time.

The first additional aircraft landed at Tan Son Nhat Airport on the afternoon of January 25 and was put into operation on January 26. Vietnam Airlines will receive the remaining aircraft in early February 2024 (right during the peak of Tet).

Hãng hàng không — Airfares between Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi during Tet peak season are still high.

The additional aircraft can accommodate 180 passengers and will be served by Vietnam Airlines flight attendants and foreign flight attendants according to the airline's service standards, except for the entertainment system. Vietnam Airlines has planned to arrange suitable flight schedules for the Airbus A320 aircraft and flexibly adjust them according to passenger demand during peak times.

In total, Vietnam Airlines Group (including Vietnam Airlines, Pacific Airlines and VASCO) will provide a total of 2.86 million seats during the Tet peak season on all domestic and international flight networks.

Bamboo Airways said it will continuously receive 2 more aircraft in the first 2 weeks of this year, serving the peak of Tet Giap Thin 2024. Along with adding new aircraft, the airline also promotes plans to increase operating capacity, incentive programs... This move conveys efforts to stabilize operations, moving towards future growth in the context of Bamboo Airways restructuring.

During the 2024 Lunar New Year period, the airline plans to increase capacity by 20% and increase operating frequency on main routes Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang , and local routes with high demand between Ho Chi Minh City and Vinh, Thanh Hoa, Hai Phong, etc.

Previously, Vietjet received 4 additional wet-lease aircraft to its fleet of 103 aircraft to provide more flight opportunities at reasonable costs for customers, ready to serve the travel needs of passengers during the peak season.

Vietjet said it has also increased check-in kiosks at airports, encouraging customers to check in online to save time at the counter and reduce direct pressure at the airport for a good flight experience during Tet.

Regarding airfares, the reporter noted on the morning of January 28 that the main airfares between Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi during the Tet peak are still high, the lowest fare is from 3.5 million VND/trip including taxes and fees; the route from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang is from 2.4 million VND/trip... These prices are not much different from the Tet peaks of previous years. Some other routes such as Ho Chi Minh City to Vinh, Quang Binh... also have increased the number of flights and seats.

Many people said they were able to buy plane tickets after airlines imported new planes, after the previous period of running out of tickets. On the contrary, some people had to use other means of transportation to return to their hometowns after failing to buy tickets a few weeks ago. Mr. Ngoc Duong (residing in Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City) said that about 2 weeks ago, he wanted to buy a plane ticket from Ho Chi Minh City to Vinh before Tet but there were only business class tickets left, so he had to buy a train ticket to return to his hometown.

"For the past two days, I've been checking the airlines' websites and there are quite a few tickets for the Ho Chi Minh City - Vinh route, priced from around 3.5 million VND/trip including taxes and fees. The airlines must have just increased the number of flights, but I've already booked a train ticket so I can't change it," said Mr. Duong.