September 2nd holiday, airfares are twice as expensive as usual

This year, National Day on September 2 falls on a weekend, so workers get four consecutive days off, from September 1 to 4. With such a long holiday, people's travel and leisure needs also increase, pushing airfares from big cities to tourist destinations up one and a half times, even twice, normal days.

According to a survey conducted by VTC News on July 30 on the websites and online ticketing systems of airlines, round-trip tickets for the Hanoi - Da Nang route, departing on September 1-2, returning on September 5 of Vietnam Airlines range from 3.8 - 4.6 million VND. With the same airline, if departing or returning 2 - 3 days earlier than the holiday, the ticket price is only from 2.5 - 3.1 million VND including taxes and fees.

Vietnam Airlines round-trip tickets for the Ho Chi Minh City - Da Nang route departing on September 1-2 and returning on September 5 range from 3.2 to 4.1 million VND, while Vietjet's prices range from 2.8 to 4.2 million VND; while round-trip tickets on weekdays are only from 2.1 to 2.8 million VND, including taxes and fees.

For other flights from Hanoi to tourist destinations such as Da Lat, Hue, Nha Trang, Da Nang... during National Day, the lowest Bamboo Airways airfare is also from 3.7 million VND or more including taxes and fees, while Vietnam Airlines's price is from 4.2 million VND or more. The cheapest flight for these routes belongs to VietJet Air, but also from 3.2 million VND/ticket. This price is also double that of normal days.

Similarly, round-trip tickets for flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Hue, Da Nang, Nha Trang... airfares during the National Day holiday are also from 3.2 million VND or more, while on normal days they are only about 2.2 million VND.

Even at tourist destinations that many people choose during long vacations, many flights at convenient times are sold out of economy class tickets, leaving only expensive business class tickets.

It is worth mentioning that while domestic airfares increase daily, international airfares to countries in the Southeast Asian region such as Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, etc. on the occasion of September 2 are quite cheap.

According to Vietnamese Law , many flights are "affordable" for customers such as Hanoi - Singapore direct flight of VietNam Airline with price of more than 6 million VND, Hanoi - Bangkok direct flight of Vietjet Air with price of 3.8 million VND/ticket. If passengers want to fly Hanoi - Bangkok, VietNam Airline flight costs more than 5 million VND/ticket.

Previously, during the recent April 30 - May 1 holiday, domestic airfares initially increased and then suddenly dropped sharply, causing public reaction.

Talking to Tien Phong about solutions to avoid situations like the recent 30/4 - 1/5 airfares, a leader of the Civil Aviation Authority said that they will strengthen inspection and supervision of airfares and the supply of airfares by airlines during the upcoming National Day holiday on 2/9. However, according to this person, airlines operate according to the provisions of the law and are allowed to set their own airfares, but the maximum price can only be equal to the ceiling price issued by the Ministry of Transport.

"As the holiday season approaches, if the booking rate for flights is high, the Civil Aviation Authority will ask airlines to increase flights to meet people's travel needs," said the leader of the Civil Aviation Authority.

Regarding train tickets, Vietnam Railways Corporation (VNR) said that the railway has officially opened ticket sales across the entire system during the National Day holiday on September 2 this year. Specifically, the Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City route opens ticket sales for all 4 pairs of Thong Nhat trains, the Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh City - Da Nang route opens ticket sales for 3 pairs of trains. Other local trains are also open for ticket sales; such as Hanoi to Lao Cai, Hai Phong, Quang Binh and vice versa; Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang, Phan Thiet and vice versa...

In addition, on the occasion of National Day this year, the railway continues to apply a promotional policy of ticket discounts (5% discount on each ticket price for customers booking round-trip tickets; 7% discount on each ticket price for groups of 20 or more). In addition, social policy groups are still entitled to train ticket discounts on this holiday, such as people with revolutionary contributions, the elderly, the disabled, children, students, etc.

VNR representative said that they have prepared a plan to increase the number of trains and add more cars if the number of ticket bookings increases during the upcoming National Day holiday.

Minh Hoa (t/h)

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