"Hunting" for domestic night flight tickets, tourists sit regretfully in the middle of the airport

Returning from a 4-day trip to Da Nang, Phan Hoai Thanh (Ba Dinh, Hanoi) was tired and exhausted. To save on airfare, Thanh and his group of friends chose to fly from Hanoi to Da Nang late Wednesday night and return at midnight Sunday.

"On Wednesday, our group still went to work as usual and waited until the traffic jam was over to go to the airport. When we arrived at Da Nang airport, it was already midnight. The group booked a cheap motel to rest, planning to wake up early the next morning to see the sea, drink coffee before moving to the resort we had booked. But in reality, due to working all day, plus traveling at night, the group slept until almost noon," Thanh said.

On the last day of the trip, according to regulations, the group had to check out at 12 noon. With a lot of luggage and souvenirs, the group had to rent a motel to store their belongings, then take a taxi to have lunch, shop, drink coffee, and have dinner before leaving Da Nang.

"At 10 p.m., our group went to the airport and sat around waiting. At this point, everyone was exhausted. The group calculated that the night flight was 800,000 VND cheaper per person per round trip, but there was also the cost of renting a motel room overnight, renting a motel room to store luggage, transportation costs... and especially the feeling of tiredness while waiting. When I got back to Hanoi, I only had time to sleep for 2 hours and then went back to work at the company. I felt regretful for wanting to fly cheap, making the relaxing trip even more tiring," Thanh said.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Tho, an airline ticket agent in Hanoi, said that during the peak summer season, many groups of customers asked her for information on night flight prices from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Phu Quoc, and Da Lat. Ms. Tho looked for deeply discounted flights late at night or early in the morning for tourists, but also proactively advised them about any inconveniences they might encounter.

"For families with elderly people and children, I really don't want to advise on night flights. Previously, many customers complained that traveling by night flight is too tiring and costly. Not to mention that many flights are late and delayed, grandparents are tired, and children are fussy. Traveling is so tiring, the trip is no longer fun," said Ms. Tho.

According to Ms. Tho, night flights mainly serve individual customers, especially young customers who want to save money or have more time for vacation.

In fact, according to a survey, the price of round-trip airfares at night from June 27 to 30 is 20-40% higher than that of daytime flights, but there are very few seats left on many routes. For example, on the Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City route, Vietjet's ticket price is 3 million VND/round-trip for flights from 10:45 p.m. to 1:20 a.m. the next morning, about 400,000 VND cheaper than daytime flights. The Hanoi - Da Nang route, a night flight of Vietnam Airlines, costs about 2.8 million VND/passenger (departing at 20:00 and returning at 0:30 - 1:30 a.m.), a difference of about 800,000 VND compared to daytime flights.

According to many travel companies, night flights represent an effort by the aviation industry but are not a comprehensive solution to support the tourism industry. Domestic night flights are currently not a popular choice for most tourists.

BestPrice's statistics show that: During the peak summer season, customers are interested in and book night flights, but the increase is not much. "This is often only considered a secondary option, giving customers more options, but is not popular due to the many costs incurred such as food, night travel or safety assurance. Night flights do not create any trends or breakthroughs," said Mr. Bui Thanh Tu, Marketing Director of Best Price.

This representative believes that cheap night flights are only effective when there is smooth coordination between airlines, hotels, and travel companies to build products that ensure a balance of interests for all parties, but do not create inconvenience for customers.

"Currently, there are some hotels that apply flexible check-in and check-out policies according to the principle that a 24-hour stay will be counted as one day. Or if a guest checks in at night, they will only be charged half the cost. However, the number of hotels applying this is not much and it is not easy to implement, because the hotel also has to bear the cost of staff," said Mr. Tu.

Ms. Luu Thi Thu, Deputy Director of Hoang Viet Travel, said that this unit does not do domestic summer tours with night flights, unless there is a special request from a group of guests. Ms. Thu said that a trip is a time for tourists to rest and recharge, but night flights make them tired because they affect their sleep, not ensuring their health for the experience. Meanwhile, 80% of domestic summer products are for family groups, including the elderly and children. The group of customers in the agency and business sector is also not suitable for night flights.

According to Ms. Thu, the reduction of about 400,000 VND/way if flying at night is not significant compared to the cost of renting a hotel, transportation, and food. Many destinations do not have adequate public transportation infrastructure to travel at night.

"Exploiting night flights will be more feasible if there is cooperation from accommodation businesses, such as stimulating demand by reducing the first night's price for night flight groups or reducing sightseeing tickets for tourists taking night flights," Ms. Thu commented.

According to Mr. Tu, in reality, the rate of customers accepting night flights when traveling abroad to countries such as China, Korea, Japan, Europe, America, etc. is higher. Travel agencies also prioritize arranging night flight schedules for overseas tours.

The reason is that some foreign flights have a flight time of more than 4 hours, helping tourists save a night in a hotel, reducing tour costs, and at the same time, after landing at the airport, they can start their tour schedule right away. Night flights are considered an economical option, optimizing the schedule for foreign tours.

In addition, many countries have very developed night tourism. Tourists arriving at night can still easily find public transportation, hotels, entertainment venues, restaurants, etc.