Tet flight tickets are too expensive, many families rent cars to drive themselves home

Sky-high airfare

Mr. Nguyen Khai Hoan (Phu Nhuan, Ho Chi Minh City) said that his family of 5 people, if traveling by plane, the total cost would be nearly 36 million VND, when returning to his hometown, traveling would be passive, there was no means of transportation.

Therefore, Mr. Hoan's family considered renting a 7-seat car to return to his hometown in Nam Dinh. If renting a car for 1 million VND/day, for 15 days to return to his hometown, the cost of renting a car is 15 million VND. Gasoline, road tolls and fees are about 8 million VND. Thus, his family saves 12 million VND compared to flying.

“On the way, my family rested and ate for a night in a city, then continued the journey the next morning, arriving at around 11pm. Now, traveling by highway is very fast and convenient, both healthy and cost-saving, and I can see the beautiful scenery of the country along the way. Renting a self-driving car, I can also take the initiative in my travel schedule in my hometown, take my relatives on a trip... That's why I decided to rent a self-driving car," said Mr. Hoan.

Associate Professor, PhD, aviation expert Nguyen Thien Tong said that in reality, the price of gasoline is not expensive, but the price of air tickets is being pushed up too high.

“If the ticket price is too high, instead of flying, people can travel by personal vehicle or rent a self-driving car for convenience, initiative, and to reduce costs.

At that time, airlines will have many empty seats, and their business will not be very effective. Therefore, airlines need to calculate and balance to offer appropriate prices for Tet flights," said expert Nguyen Thien Tong.

According to a survey conducted by reporters on the morning of November 24, round-trip economy class tickets on many domestic and international routes during the 2025 Lunar New Year (January 24 - February 3, 2025) have increased from over VND 1 million to over VND 2 million per ticket compared to normal days and increased by about VND 3 million compared to the same period last year.

Specifically, a round-trip ticket for the Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi flight (including taxes and fees) of Vietjet Air is 7.25 million VND, an increase of 1.1 million VND compared to the time of booking in early November and an increase of 3.4 million VND compared to the current flight time; Vietnam Airlines is more than 7.73 million VND/ticket, an increase of 300 thousand VND compared to the time of booking in early November and an increase of more than 2.9 million VND compared to the current time; Vietravel Airlines is 7.2 million VND/ticket, an increase of 200 thousand VND compared to the time of booking in early November and an increase of 2.8 million VND compared to the current time; Bamboo Airways is 7.8 million VND/ticket, an increase of 300 thousand VND compared to the time of booking in early November and an increase of more than 3.1 million VND compared to the current time.

The Ho Chi Minh City - Hai Phong route (round trip ticket including taxes and fees) of Vietjet Air is 7.35 million VND; Vietnam Airlines is 7.72 million VND; Bamboo Airways is 7.7 million VND. The prices of all airlines have increased by more than 3.3 million VND compared to the current flight time, an increase of about 2 million VND/ticket compared to the same period last year.

Other routes such as Ho Chi Minh City - Thanh Hoa, round-trip economy class tickets of Vietjet Air are priced at 7.54 million VND; Vietnam Airlines is priced at 7.7 million VND. Ticket prices of both airlines have increased by more than 200 thousand VND compared to bookings made in early November and increased by more than 3 million VND compared to current flights.

For the Ho Chi Minh City - Nghe An route, Vietjet's round-trip ticket price is 7.6 million VND, an increase of 400,000 VND compared to the ticket booking in early November; Vietnam Airlines and Pacific Airlines have a price of 7.72 million VND. Bamboo Airways has no information on this route.

Meanwhile, flights during Tet from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang are also very expensive, ranging from 5.1 to 7 million VND/round trip ticket, but there are still very few economy class tickets left. Business class tickets for this route of airlines range from 9.5 to more than 12 million VND.

Faced with the high price of airfares, while train fares are not far behind, many passengers said they would choose other options to optimize their savings.

Airlines continue to increase millions of Tet tickets

Most recently, a representative of Vietnam Airlines Group (including Vietnam Airlines, Pacific Airlines and VASCO) said that this unit will provide more than 650,000 seats, equivalent to more than 3,000 flights on domestic routes in Vietnam during the period from January 13 to February 12, 2025 (ie December 15, year of the Dragon to January 15, year of the Snake).

This flight increase will increase the total number of seats on Vietnam Airlines Group's domestic flight network to more than 2.15 million seats, equivalent to more than 11,000 flights.

The increased flights focus on routes serving the needs of family reunions and spring travel during Tet such as between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang, Da Nang, Phu Quoc, Vinh; between Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, Hai Phong, Hue, Thanh Hoa, Quy Nhon, Pleiku, Chu Lai, Dong Hoi, Vinh...

“Many flights during the Lunar New Year currently have a seat occupancy rate of up to 70% - 80%, focusing on flights from Ho Chi Minh City to northern and central provinces such as Thanh Hoa, Quy Nhon, Chu Lai, Dong Hoi...

According to forecasts, the number of passengers will continue to increase sharply in the coming month. Therefore, we have also chartered 4 more Airbus A320/A321 aircraft, including 2 wet-leased aircraft (including flight crew) to serve the Tet peak. Each aircraft is expected to operate 180 flights during this occasion," said a leader of Vietnam Airlines.

Previously, from September 2024, Vietnam Airlines Group opened for sale nearly 1.5 million seats on the entire domestic flight network for Tet to serve passengers' early ticket purchase needs.

Vietjet Air has also opened early sales of 2.6 million Tet tickets during the period from January 15 to February 12, 2025 (December 16, year of the Dragon to January 15, year of the Snake).

Bamboo Airways has also opened ticket sales for the period from January 15 to February 12, 2025.

Recently, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has granted regular flight permits for the 2024 winter flight schedule to 5 Vietnamese airlines and 72 foreign airlines with more than 4,600 round-trip flights/week, an increase of 188 round-trip flights/week compared to the 2024 summer flight schedule.

In addition, in order to meet the exploitation plans of airlines during the peak period of the Lunar New Year 2025, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has carried out preparations such as: creating conditions for airlines to supplement their fleets; adjusting the parameters for coordinating landing and take-off times at Tan Son Nhat airport (from January 14 to February 12, 2025); directing service units in the air transport chain to develop plans, prepare resources, and be ready to serve night time slots.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam will monitor the situation of seat reservations and airfares on domestic routes to promptly direct airlines to supplement capacity on routes with high demand, meeting passenger needs during the peak period of the Lunar New Year 2025.