Passengers at Noi Bai Airport
Vu Thi Nga and her family in HCM City's Tan Binh District came to Hanoi to enjoy the Lunar New Year Holiday with her parents. They planned to fly back to HCM City on February 6 but were shocked to see the prices had tripled compared to before the holiday.
"I've checked the tickets for February 6, 7, and 8 but the prices all range between VND 7- 9 million a ticket," she said. "I was very shocked as I couldn't imagine that sharp rise. Some flights have even sold out tickets."
Nga shared that she paid just over VND 16 million (USD 696) for four tickets on a Vietjet Air flight from HCM City to Hanoi before the holiday. But now the prices had almost tripled.
"That's a big sum for my family. I decided to stay longer to find cheaper tickets.
The fare hike has also been seen on some other routes. The flights from Thanh Hoa, Hue, Danang and Nha Trang to HCM City have sold out until February 9.
On the Thanh Hoa to HCM City route, ticket prices were still high on February 11, at VND 3.8 million/ticket for Vietnam Airlines flights and between VND3.8-4.6 million/ticket for Bamboo Airways flights.
A representative at the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines said that this situation often occurs every year around the Lunar New Year Holiday.
"People leave HCM City before the holiday and return after the holiday," he said. "We’re having to conduct many flights without passengers from HCM City in order to meet the demand for people trying to get back. We also have to spend on Covid-19 preventive measures to ensure safety on all flights. Therefore, we increased ticket prices to cover our costs."
The representative said that air ticket prices would only fall after February 15 when travel demand declines.
Air travel has increased sharply since the start of the Lunar New Year Holiday, especially after the government removed the requirements on Covid-19 testing and vaccination for passengers.
Statistics showed that as the holiday neared, flights from HCM City to Hanoi and the central region had 94-97 percent occupancy rates.
After the holiday, ticket demand has risen on the flights back to HCM City.
