Air tickets on holiday rise by 20%, but night flights are cheaper

Travel demand at the end of summer before children return to school, plus the 4-day National Day holiday, have pushed airfares up. Airfares have increased by 20% for flights during the National Day holiday,

Passengers have to pay VND8 million for a return ticket on Hanoi – Phu Quoc Island route though it is not the most beautiful season on the island. Vietjet Air is the only carrier that still has tickets for direct flights to the island, with 3 flights each day.

Vietnam Airlines does not have more tickets for direct Hanoi – Phu Quoc flights. If passengers want to book Vietnam Airlines’ flights to Phu Quoc, they have to transit in HCM City, which means that it would take five hours more to reach the destination.

Meanwhile, the price is VND5.2 million for a return ticket from Hanoi to Da Lat if passengers accept departure time night, and VND6 million if departing in daytime.

CAAV reported that from August 30 to September 3, domestic airlines will provide 4,257 flights, or 840 flights a day, an increase of three percent compared with the week before the holiday.

These include 600 domestic flights a day (+ 5%) and 241 international flights (- 2%) compared with the week before the holiday.

There will be 171 flights a day on domestic tourism routes and 187 flights to other localities, up 2% and 4%, respectively.

The total number of seats to be offered for domestic flights on August 30 - September 3 is 600, or 122,000 seats a day, up 5%.

Tourism routes and North - South backbone route will still have the highest number of additional flights, increasing by 6.8% compared with the week before the holiday.

Analysts noted that the air tickets for August 30 and for National Day holiday have increased by 20% compared with ordinary days.

The most expensive air tickets for daytime flights on August 30 on Hanoi – HCM City route offered by Vietnam Airlines is VND2.6 million/one way, up 8%.

Meanwhile, tickets for the same time offered by Vietjet Air is VND2.3 million, up 25%.

For the Hanoi – Nha Trang route, the quoted prices are between VND2.4 million and VND3 million/one way, up 24%.

A CAAV representative noted that airfares tend to increase, but mostly for flights on the first and last days of the National Day holiday, while airfares are stable for other days.

The airfares for National Day holiday are considerably lower than those for the April-May Holiday.

Passengers flying from Hanoi to Nha Trang now have to pay VND6.6 million for a return ticket if they depart at a good time. But if they depart late at night and return early in the morning, they pay VND4.1 million only.

Analysts noted that it is cheaper to fly from HCM City to tourism sites. The tickets for flights from HCM City to Nha Trang, for example, are cheaper than from Hanoi to Nha Trang, just VND3.7 million.

Particularly, tickets from HCM City to Phu Quoc are just half of that from Hanoi to Phu Quoc, ranging from VND2.7 million to VND3.1 million per return ticket.

CAAV has advised passengers to book tickets soon to have more options. They should also keep a close watch over flight schedules to arrive in the airports on time to avoid traffic jams.

Travel firms reported that the number of bookings for domestic and outbound tours remains high.

In previous years, August, September, October and November were the off-peak months of the domestic tourism season. But more people choose to travel in these months, because they can enjoy good airfares, avoid traffic congestion and admire beautiful landscapes in autumn, according to Tran Thi Bao Thu from Vietluxtour.