Tet air ticket market heats up amid persistent infrastructure bottlenecks
VOV.VN - With just a few months until the peak lunar New Year (Tet) 2027 holiday, the domestic air ticket market is heating up daily.
Market surveys reveal a clear price divergence across routes, with fares for long flights from Ho Chi Minh City to northern and central provinces during the final days before Tet, particularly from the 27th to the 29th of the 12th lunar month, listed at high levels. Even flights scheduled during early morning or late night rarely fall below US$140 (VND 3.5 million) for a one-way ticket.
To resolve potential supply shortages, the aviation sector has prepared early, bringing Vietnam's registered aircraft fleet to a record 258 planes operated by 13 enterprises.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) and relevant state management agencies have collaborated with domestic carriers to optimize operating schedules and grant additional slot allocations during late-night hours at major airports.
Airlines have also launched massive ticket sales early, with Vietnam Airlines Group releasing nearly 3.7 million seats in its initial batch, and Vietjet Air putting over 3.1 million tickets into its distribution system alongside introducing wide-body Airbus A330 aircraft to maximize transport capacity.
Despite enhanced supply, industry observers emphasize that high prices and tight availability remain unavoidable during the peak Lunar New Year season due to surging travel demand. Aviation expert Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thien Tong explains that high ticket prices near Tet reflect a global aviation reality rather than a domestic anomaly, due to the cost of empty return flights as carriers must fly planes empty one way to clear passenger backlogs at departure points.
Concurring with this view, Dr. Bui Doan Ne, Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the Vietnam Aviation Business Association, indicates that the primary bottleneck involves infrastructure limits and slot constraints at Tan Son Nhat and Noi Bai international airports, where peak-hour slots reached maximum capacity long ago, pushing fares during favorable hours to the regulatory ceiling.
To manage travel costs, passengers are advised to utilize off-peak fare bands and stay vigilant against fake sell-outs caused by intermediaries hoarding seats. Experts conclude that despite increased seating capacity from newly added aircraft, overall ticket prices are unlikely to drop significantly to meet consumer expectations.
VietJet Air opens early sales for 2.5 million Lunar New Year 2026 tickets
VOV.VN - To meet the high travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year 2026 (Tet), budget airline VietJet has launched early ticket sales for 2.5 million seats for the peak Tet travel period from February 3 to March 2, 2026.
