Air fares rise in build up to Tet holiday

After the official announcement made about the upcoming Tet holiday break and the release of tickets, Hoang Minh, who lives in Ho Chi Minh City, enthusiastically starts searching for air tickets to Hanoi.

Minh said that all economy class air tickets during January 16 to 19, December 25 to 28 according to the lunar calendar, have been sold out. There are still seats available in flexible economy and business classes, however, tickets cost VND5 million and VND9.6 million for a one-way trip, respectively.

The same high ticket prices are also being applied for flights from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City from January 7 to 8.

"I regret not buying air tickets earlier because I thought as in previous years there would still be many seats available close to Tet and the ticket prices would only cost VND3.5 million for one-way trip," Minh said, adding that he may have to book night flights to save money.

Most airlines have increased airfares during the Tet holiday – the peak season for travelling. Online ticketing site Abay, the lowest price for one-way tickets from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi from December 23 to 29 on the lunar calendar, is VND3 million per person.

Meanwhile, on the same route, the cheapest tickets for the night flights of Bamboo Airway cost VND3.4 million per person, while low cost airlines Vietjet, Pacific Airlines and Vietravel Airlines offer at nearly VND3.2 million per person.

Explaining the high ticket prices, a representative of national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines said that domestic airlines continue to increase the number of flights to meet the passengers’ needs, however, some negative factors have meant that supply can't meet demand.

Moreover, travel demand has shot up in the post-pandemic period, leading to a sharp scarcity of air tickets during Tet, the representative added.

It is nearly impossible to book economy class tickets for flights during Tet these days, though Tet is almost one month away.

According to statistics compiled by several airlines, air tickets of several main routes have been sold out.

Vietravel Airlines said that tickets for flights from Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi, Phu Quoc, and Quy Nhon have been selling quickly over recent days following the tickets put on sale. On the Ho Chi Minh City - Da Nang route, tickets are still available with low availability.

The airline stressed that the Tet holiday in 2023 is predicted to be the most exciting period for the aviation industry, this is largely down to the huge demand of Vietnamese labourers and students wishing to return to their hometowns after two years of struggling to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic.

All eyes are on the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam that is tasked with permitting domestic airlines to add more flights to serve the needs of passengers.