Are airfares soaring during Tet (Lunar New Year) due to difficulties in increasing flights?

For routes from Ho Chi Minh City to Hai Phong, Vinh, and Thanh Hoa, round-trip tickets are currently selling for 4-6 million VND. Airfare prices have gradually increased following the Prime Minister's decision regarding the 2024 Tet holiday, which will last seven days, from February 8th to February 14th, 2024 (i.e., from the 29th of the 12th lunar month to the 5th day of Tet).

According to airlines, a total of nearly 6 million tickets have been put on sale by domestic carriers. Excluding provincial routes with high passenger demand, major routes remain slow to sell.

A representative from Vietravel Airlines stated that this year's Tet holiday ticket market is not only competitive between airlines, but also between the air travel market and road and rail transport, as workers tighten their spending during the year-end period.

Some airlines are downsizing their fleets from 30 aircraft to 11, and some even have only 3... Renting additional aircraft for the Tet holiday is also proving difficult.

"This year, a few airlines have the capacity to increase flights, while smaller airlines face challenges in leasing aircraft and maintaining stable operations, making it difficult to increase frequency. Not to mention, ticket purchases will increase sharply in the days leading up to Tet when passengers receive their year-end salaries," one airline observed.

Some airlines are starting to turn a profit, but with resources "basically depleted," promotions and discounts on domestic flights during Tet are becoming increasingly rare. Rising input costs make Tet ticket price reductions unlikely. Therefore, many airlines recommend that passengers who need to travel during Tet should book tickets in advance to avoid the situation of tickets running out and flights being limited to their desired destinations.