>> Vietnam Airlines adds more flights for Tet
Local carriers are busy operating flights fully packed with passengers from the northern and central regions to HCMC to return to work after more than one week of break for the Lunar New Year holiday, or Tet.
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| Many passengers are leaving the domestic terminal of Tan Son Nhat Airport on Tuesday - Photo: Mong Binh |
Both Vietnam Airlines and Jetstar Pacific, the two largest carriers in Vietnam, said their flights southward with full seat occupancy would go on probably until around February 20, or about three weeks after the Lunar New Year began.
Jetstar Pacific told the Daily on the phone on Tuesday that most passengers on its flights returning to HCMC were those who had confirmed their reservation before Tet, which fell on February 3. So, tickets for the services southward remain scarce for the country’s second largest airline.
Demand still outpaces supply for Vietnam Airlines’ domestic services to Tan Son Nhat Airport. The flagship carrier announced in its latest statement that only business-class seats were available for booking on its flights from Hanoi and Danang to HCMC until this Sunday, February 13.
Air Mekong is in the same situation. The private carrier has a limited number of business-class seats to sell on its eight daily flights from the capital city to this economic hub between now and one day before Valentine’s Day.
However, there are still tickets on the flights of Vietnam Airlines, Jetstar Pacific and Air Mekong from HCMC for passengers to snap up on their websites, offices and agents, or at the airport hours before departure.
Jetstar Pacific said though all seats were usually booked for the flights from HCMC before Tet and to this city after this biggest holiday of the country, but things were changing when more people traveled by air from here to the north to participate in major festivals, including Huong Pagoda Festival that kicked off Tuesday.
To demonstrate the growing trend in air travel northward after Tet, Jetstar Pacific said its 11 flights from HCMC to Hanoi were almost full on Tuesday, the day when employees of Government agencies and enterprises came back to work after around eight days off for the special holiday.
Jetstar Pacific said it offered a 34% increase in the seating capacity for the services from HCMC to Hanoi, Vinh, Hue and Haiphong cities in the month of Tet compared to the same holiday last year. Vietnam Airlines is conducting nearly 1,000 more services from January 18 to February 20 to respond to the surging demand for air travel.
Vietnam Airlines calculated it operated some 220 daily domestic flights from January 20 to February 20, supplying 35,220 seats per day to the market in this period. This airline estimated the demand for this Tet holiday was about 20% higher than the same period last year.
Southern Airports Corp. said every day Tan Son Nhat Airport was able to handle some 420 landings and take-offs or 43,000 passengers at its domestic and international terminals during the Tet holiday.
