Airlines Boost Tet Flight Schedule as Fares Continue to Climb

Vietnamese airlines initiated ticket sales for the 2025 Tet holiday in mid-September, presenting higher-than-normal airfares, particularly for routes connecting Ho Chi Minh City (HCM City) to Hanoi and central regions.

On November 22, Vietjet Air and Vietravel Airlines listed return tickets (inclusive of taxes and fees) for flights from HCM City to Hanoi, departing on January 24, 2025, and returning on February 2, 2025, at VND7.44 million.

Bamboo Airways and Vietnam Airlines quoted slightly elevated prices of VND7.58 million for similar journeys.

This means that ticket prices during the 2025 Tet period are about double the usual rates and are VND800,000 to 1.4 million more than those during the 2024 Tet.

Return tickets from HCM City to various other destinations also reflect steep prices, ranging from VND6 to 7 million. The route from HCM City to Thanh Hoa/Nghe An stands at VND7.4 million, while tickets to Da Nang are available for VND5 million.

Tickets for some routes on Vietjet Air have sold out already, particularly for flights from HCM City to Dong Hoi from January 22-26, and from HCM City to Quy Nhon from January 24-26.

This limited availability of flights contributes to the rapid sell-out of Tet tickets on these routes.

Vietnam Airlines also has high fares; for HCM City to Dong Hoi and Quy Nhon, travelers are looking at VND10 million per return ticket (with connections).

Mai Thu Hong from Binh Thanh district shared that her family of four would spend VND25 million on tickets to Hanoi to celebrate Tet.

“My parents live in Ha Dong, Hanoi, and we fly there at least once a year. Just the cost of tickets takes up almost all our monthly salary,” Hong explained.

In response to the rising demand for travel during the 2025 Tet holiday, Vietnam Airlines Group has committed to adding 650,000 seats or over 3,000 flights on domestic routes between January 13 and February 12, 2025.

This will increase the total available seats on their domestic flights to 2.15 million across 11,000 flights.

Airlines report that many flights during Tet are experiencing high occupancy rates of 70-80%, especially on routes from HCM City to northern cities and central regions.

To bolster capacity, Vietnam Airlines plans to lease four Airbus A320/321 aircraft, including two on a wet lease arrangement, each expected to offer 180 flights during Tet.