Over ten million VND for a plane ticket for Tet 2024, people have a headache worrying about going home

Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen from Ha Tinh and her husband Nguyen Van Duc from Nghe An, who are working as workers at Di An Industrial Park (Binh Duong), shared: From 2019 until now, their family has not been able to return to their hometown every Lunar New Year for many different reasons.

Earlier this year, the couple proactively planned to return to their hometown to celebrate Tet 2024, saving up some money to prepare for the move..But when they surveyed the airfare, they were shocked and hesitated to cancel their plans.

“The price of a round-trip flight ticket from Ho Chi Minh City to Nghe An is from more than 5 to 10 million VND/person. If a family of 3 goes, it will cost at least 17 million VND, plus the cost of transportation from Binh Duong to Tan Son Nhat airport, then from Vinh airport to Quynh Luu, which is up to a million VND. That is not to mention many other expenses."Ms. Huyen calculates.

Browsing through online airline ticket sales websites, it can be seen that airfares for the 2024 Lunar New Year on many routes are fluctuating from 4.5 - 10 million VND/round-trip ticket depending on the airline, flight time and flight date (including taxes and fees).

Specifically, the round-trip ticket price for the departure flight on February 9, 2024 (ie the afternoon of the 30th of Tet) and the return flight on February 16, 2024 (the 7th day of Tet) from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi of VietJet Air is 5,538,000 VND/ticket, Vietnam Airlines: 5,987,000 VND/ticket, Bamboo Airways: 7,203,000 VND/ticket and Vietravel Airlines: 6,130,640 VND/ticket.

The round-trip ticket price for the Ho Chi Minh City - Vinh (Nghe An) route of VietJet Air is 5,632,800 VND/ticket; Bamboo Airways has a price of 7,154,000 VND/ticket and Vietnam Airlines: 9,928,000 VND/ticket.

For the Ho Chi Minh City - Hai Phong route, VietJet Air tickets cost 6,043,200 VND; Vietravel Airlines: 3,832,000 VND; Bamboo Airways: 6,267,000 VND and Vietnam Airlines: 4,010,000 VND.

The flight from Hanoi to Nha Trang on February 11 (the 2nd day of Tet) and the return flight on February 17 (the 8th day of Tet) of VietJet Air costs 5,877,000 VND; Bamboo Airways: 6,688,000 VND and Vietnam Airlines: 7,130,000 VND.

Also departing on February 11 and returning on February 17, the Hanoi - Da Lat flight of VietJet Air costs 4,613,400 VND; Bamboo Airways: 7,154,000 VND. Particularly, the ticket price of Vietnam Airlines is the highest, up to 9,956,000 VND.

As for the Hanoi - Phu Quoc flight on this day, the ticket price of VietJet Air is 5,693,400 VND; Vietnam Airlines: 8,318,000 VND; Vietravel Airlines: 11,070,440 VND.

Meanwhile, the Hanoi - Da Nang route of VietJet Air is 3,310,800 VND; Vietravel Airlines: 3,223,280 VND; Bamboo Airways: 5,102,000 VND and Vietnam Airlines: 4,975,000 VND.

Sky-high airfares not only make people hesitate when booking tickets to return home for Tet, but also make many tourists hesitate before spending money to travel far during this year's Lunar New Year.

Ms. Pham Thi Thao, representative of an airline ticket agent in Tan Son Nhat ward (Go Vap district, Ho Chi Minh City) said that this year, airline ticket prices are about 15% higher than the same period last year.

“Due to the economic difficulties, the high rate of unemployment and limited income, up to this point there are still very few customers booking tickets. Currently, the number of ticket sales at the box office is very low, only about 40% compared to last year,”Ms. Thao said.

What does the airline say?

Responding to the question of expensive Tet airfares, a representative of an airline explained that Tet is always the peak time of the year when the number of passengers increases dramatically.

“This year, fuel and exchange rates are also much higher. Specifically, jet fuel prices increased from more than 110 USD/barrel to more than 130 USD/barrel and exchange rates also increased by about 10%. These are difficulties in the airline's business, so increasing ticket prices to cover costs is necessary,”this one said

According to this representative, this year some airlines are gradually downsizing and drastically reducing the number of aircraft. When supply decreases but demand increases dramatically, serving passengers during Tet will face many challenges.

Also talking about Tet airfares, Mr. Dinh Viet Thang, Director of the Civil Aviation Authority, informed that airfares offered by airlines depend on the policies of each time and the laws of supply and demand of the market.

"In the beginning, airlines always offer high prices at a certain time, at a certain flight time to serve those who have the conditions and have a schedule that requires them to travel at that time and date. Airlines expect that segment to sell at a high price, and other time slots and other days will have different prices."Mr. Thang said.

Mr. Thang affirmed that the ticket prices offered by the airlines are still within the regulated ceiling price range. When people's travel demand increases, the airlines will certainly increase flights to maximize the number of passengers.

"However, it is not yet possible to confirm whether the high prices can last throughout the Tet period, on all flights or just at one time. When ticket prices are high and cannot be sold, airlines must adjust their prices accordingly."Mr. Thang added.

The Civil Aviation Authority also closely monitors and requires airlines to provide data on customers booking tickets. When the number of passengers reaches 70%, the Authority requires airlines to study and propose increasing flights to exploit and serve the travel needs of people. When flights increase, supply increases, ticket prices will also have to be adjusted according to the market.

Sharing the same opinion, aviation expert Nguyen Thien Tong also said that domestic airfares during the Lunar New Year increased 3-4 times compared to normal days, which is not surprising, because airlines have to calculate and balance flight routes, because transportation in general, and air transportation in particular, during the Tet holiday, is usually only full in one direction, the other direction is basically empty.

Along with that, airlines are selling tickets according to market mechanisms and complying with regulations, and there is competition on ticket prices between airlines and routes.

"If the airfare is too high, people will definitely limit their purchases. Therefore, airlines must have carefully calculated and can adjust to avoid a slump.", experts predict.