Air tickets from HCMC fully booked for Tet holiday

By Anh Tu December 25, 2024 | 01:08 am PT

Economy-class air tickets of Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet. Photo by VnExpress/Anh Tu

Flight tickets for many routes from HCMC to northern and central provinces or cities for the upcoming Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday have sold out.

Vietnam is set for a nine-day holiday break from Jan. 25 to Feb. 2, 2025.

Statistics from the Civil Aviation Authority show that flights from HCMC to provinces like Quang Binh and Thanh Hoa, or cities such as Pleiku (Gia Lai Province), Tuy Hoa (Phu Yen Province), Quy Nhon (Binh Dinh Province), Vinh (Nghe An Province), and Hue (Thua Thien-Hue Province) between Jan. 22-26 are fully booked.

The HCMC–Hanoi route is less crowded, with flight booking rate only exceeding 80% on Jan. 25.

Meanwhile, only 5-30% of tickets for flights from provinces and cities to HCMC have been sold, which is common for Tet.

Return flights to HCMC are also fully booked from Jan. 30 to Feb. 7, when the holiday wraps up and people go back to work.

In contrast, only 20-50% of the seats have been sold for flights from Hanoi to popular tourist destinations like Da Nang city, Phu Quoc and Lam Dong Province’s Da Lat city.

Ticket prices are high during the holiday, with a one-way flight from HCMC to Hanoi on Jan. 22 costing VND3.14-3.74 million (US$123-147) depending on airlines, according to the aviation authority. Similarly, tickets for the HCMC–Da Nang route cost VND2.1-2.5 million.

These prices are higher than last year as the ceiling airfare for domestic flights was increased by an average of 3.75% on March 1, 2024.

To meet high travel demand during the upcoming holiday, the aviation authority has been working to improve slot coordination at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

From Jan. 21 to Feb. 9, the number of flights accommodated per hour will be raised to 48 during the day and 46 at night.

Airlines have been scrambling to lease aircraft since November to prepare for the Tet travel boom.

Vietjet is expected to receive three new aircraft this month and plans to wet-lease six to 10 more planes to maximize service capacity.

In the first half of the year, Vietnam's aviation market faced a severe aircraft shortage due to engine-related issues and the restructuring of Bamboo Airways and Pacific Airlines, causing both their fleets to shrink compared to last year.

Leasing aircraft was challenging earlier this year due to high prices amid high travel demand in many international markets.

But prices have recently eased now that it is the low tourism season in Europe, making it easier for Vietnamese airlines to lease planes, according to a representative of a Vietnamese carrier.