Many flights are sold out during Tet

Ms. Oanh, who works for a media company in Ho Chi Minh City, said that in previous years, a month before Tet, it was usually easy to buy tickets to Chu Lai airport, but now it is very difficult. "I asked the agent to keep an eye out for me since the beginning of the month, but no one has reported any tickets yet. I have to book a flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang at night," Ms. Oanh said.

Similarly, Ms. Quynh Chi booked a round-trip ticket from Ho Chi Minh City to Dong Hoi but was only able to buy the outbound ticket, the return tickets from February 13 to February 19 (ie January 4 to January 10 of the lunar calendar) were all sold out. She is trying to find a way to buy a bus ticket but the airlines also reported that all the sleeper tickets were sold out and only the aisle seats were available.

"This year, the price of Tet air tickets is higher than every year, but the number of flights is limited, so buying tickets for my family is quite stressful. I have asked 4-5 agents to help me buy for more than a week, but there are still no extra tickets," she worried.

Ms. Pham Thi Thu - an airline ticket agent in Hanoi - said that routes such as Ho Chi Minh City - Chu Lai/ Dong Hoi/ Thanh Hoa/ Vinh and vice versa sold out early this year even though airlines have increased sales by 2 new rounds.

Accordingly, by the end of 2023, all six airlines will increase flights in large numbers, however, Bamboo Airways and Vietravel Airlines will reduce ticket sales this year due to a reduction in fleet. "Supply cannot meet demand, pushing ticket prices up. Many flights have sold out of Tet tickets early and only business class tickets remain," she said.

Hong Anh, an airline ticket agent in Ho Chi Minh City, confirmed that this year many people from Hanoi and neighboring provinces working in Ho Chi Minh City have registered for tickets early to return home for Tet in the North, so the number of tickets for many routes sold out early. In addition, this year the rate of increase in night flights of airlines to Chu Lai/Dong Hoi/Thanh Hoa, Vinh has decreased compared to previous years, so many routes have only a few tickets left or have been sold out since early January.

A recent report from the Civil Aviation Authority also shows that although airlines have increased 472 flights with more than 92,000 seats during the 2024 Lunar New Year, Tet flight tickets on many routes have been almost sold out.

As of January 12, Vietnamese airlines have sold from 80% to more than 100% of seats on flights between Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and other provinces and cities during the peak Tet holiday, from January 24 to February 25 (ie from December 14 to January 16).

According to the Civil Aviation Authority, the number of passengers booking is still increasing gradually, so the booking rate is high on some days close to Tet and vice versa after Tet. Therefore, the authorities will monitor and recommend airlines to balance and increase flights on routes with high demand during the 2024 Lunar New Year.

Currently, Vietnamese airlines (Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air, Bamboo Airways, Pacific Airlines) are starting to increase night flights through airports in Dong Hoi, Phu Cat, Chu Lai, Tuy Hoa, Tho Xuan, Vinh, Pleiku...

It is expected that the demand for night flights during the 2024 Lunar New Year from January 21 to February 25, from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., will be about 1,800 flights, accounting for about 8% of the total number of domestic flights operated on the entire network.

To support airlines and curb price spikes, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam requested the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) to direct local airports to develop service plans, arrange human resources, equipment, and vehicles, and be ready to serve night flights.

The Department also requested ACV not to increase ground service fees of local airports when serving airlines operating at night.