Why do airfares often increase during holidays?

Airlines recommend that passengers should buy early, or choose pairs of days that are different from the peak days to get the right price.

Only half a month left until the Hung King's death anniversary and the 5-day April 30 - May 1 holiday (from April 29 to May 3), at this time, many flight tickets are almost fully booked and have high prices.

Due to seasonal characteristics

According to the survey, the Hanoi-Phu Quoc route departing on April 28 and returning on May 3, Vietnam Airlines if flying in the morning and afternoon has a price of more than 8.5 million VND, if passengers fly in the evening, the price is lower at 7 million VND but the number of tickets is only a few seats left. Vietjet Air and Bamboo Airways have prices from 7.9-8.3 million VND and there is not much difference.

Or the Ho Chi Minh City-Phu Quoc route, the cheapest round-trip price (including taxes and fees) of Vietjet is 3.5 million VND, Bamboo Airways and Vietnam Airlines fluctuate from 3.6-4 million VND.

Similarly, flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang during the April 30-May 1 holiday cost 1.5-2.5 million VND/ticket, round trip is over 5 million VND, double the normal ticket price.

Vietnam Airlines representative said that the April 30-May 1 holiday period is longer than previous years because it coincides with the Hung Kings' death anniversary. With a 5-day holiday plan, travel demand during the holiday is expected to increase. However, Vietnam Airlines still implements a flexible sales policy in different periods, with prices suitable to the market situation and customer needs.

Specifically, in the pre-peak period, Vietnam Airlines is currently still offering many low to medium prices. During the peak period, the airline always ensures that the opening prices are within the price range prescribed by the Ministry of Transport. The prices will depend on the operating time frame. For late afternoon time frames, there are still lower prices for customers to choose from.

Vietnam Airlines, like all airlines in the world, offers tickets in a range of prices from low to high with flexible conditions attached. When the low price is full, passengers may have to buy tickets at a higher price. Therefore, customers should buy early, or can choose pairs of dates different from the peak days to get the right price.

“During the peak period, the prices on domestic routes of airlines are quite similar, the prices of low-cost airlines are not much different from those of traditional airlines. The average price on the peak days of 2023 of Vietnam Airlines is still only equivalent to 2019,” a representative of Vietnam Airlines added.

Affirming that air transport services are highly seasonal, a representative of Bamboo Airways said that during peak periods such as the April 30-May 1 holidays, travel demand increases dramatically, while the supply capacity of airlines is limited, leading to high ticket prices. This is completely typical of the air transport industry in general.

Up to now, some of the airline's flights have had high booking rates of over 90%, some flights have had 100% bookings such as Hanoi-Nha Trang/Da Nang/Quy Nhon/Hue/Phu Quoc/Con Dao/Quang Binh, Ho Chi Minh City-Da Nang/Phu Quoc/Hue/Quy Nhon/Con Dao.

A representative of Vietravel Airlines said that the summer tourism market is getting hotter and hotter, with the advantage of a long holiday during the April 30-May 1 holiday, suitable for domestic and international travel, leading to an increase in airfares . On weekends, airfares are always 40-50% higher than during the week.

Flight tickets cannot exceed the ceiling price.

To meet customers' travel needs, airlines have planned to increase domestic flights, focusing on tourist routes.

Vietnam Airlines plans to open 2,800 flights, equivalent to 550,000 seats, during the period from April 27 to May 4, up 40% compared to 2019, up 15% compared to 2022 and up 41% compared to the usual period (in April). Of which, the airline has just added (compared to usual) more than 400 flights, equivalent to 79,000 seats, and it is expected that in the next phase, after being granted slots by the Civil Aviation Authority, it will open 235 more flights, equivalent to 43,000 seats.

In particular, on tourist routes, Vietnam Airlines plans to open 1,600 flights, equivalent to 332,000 seats, during the period from April 27 to May 4, an increase of 43% compared to 2019, an increase of 32% compared to 2022 and double compared to the usual period.

With the forecast of strong increase in aviation demand, Bamboo Airways plans to increase the supply of 25,000 seats per day on domestic routes, increasing the capacity by about 15%. The airline plans to increase the frequency of the entire flight network, focusing on the main routes such as Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City/Da Nang, tourist routes to Da Nang, Quy Nhon, Phu Quoc, Nha Trang, etc.

Airlines have increased many flights on tourist routes. (Photo: CTV/Vietnam+)

In order to better serve the travel needs of the people, the Ministry of Transport requested the Civil Aviation Authority to direct airlines to develop plans to increase flights during peak days, arrange night flights to meet the travel needs of passengers on the basis of infrastructure suitability and ensuring flight safety; operate flight schedules to minimize flight delays and cancellations; strictly implement the posting, announcement, and publicization of sales prices and ticket prices according to regulations.

To ensure the rights of passengers when participating in air traffic, especially during the April 30-May 1 holidays and the 2023 summer peak, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam requires Vietnamese airlines to strictly implement the listing; announce and publicize selling prices according to regulations on distribution channels; and have sanctions for agents who do not comply with regulations on domestic ticket prices.

In addition, the Civil Aviation Authority also requested to strengthen control over airline ticket sales, ensuring ticket sales are implemented at the declared price, not exceeding the ceiling price prescribed in Circular 17/2019/TT-BGTVT dated May 3, 2019 of the Ministry of Transport promulgating the price frame for passenger transport services on domestic flights.

Airlines have stepped up propaganda to passengers about buying air tickets at authorized agents and official distribution channels as well as reporting information about buying domestic air tickets at prices exceeding regulations to the airlines' hotlines./.

Viet Hung (Vietnam+)