Post-Tet flight tickets – Tight as a guitar string

In order to meet demand, many empty flights from Ho Chi Minh City to cities throughout the country to carry passengers in the opposite direction. An example on February 18th, there were over 100 empty flights from Tan Son Nhat Airport.

At this time, the number of passengers from Ho Chi Minh City to other locations is much less than the number of passengers from various locations across the country returning to Ho Chi Minh City after the Lunar New Year holiday.

By February 22nd, even though many companies and schools have started operating, the number of plane tickets for passengers is still expensive.

According to the survey of the Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh City route on February 23rd, Vietnam Airlines reported that some night and morning flights were sold out. For the remaining empty flights, most fares are over 3.5 million VND. Although plane tickets from Bamboo Airways and Vietjet Air are still available, the fares are also around 3.4 million VND. On this flight route, ticket prices only decrease when it moves into March.

Meanwhile, the Hai Phong – Ho Chi Minh City route is predominantly operated by Vietjet Air with available seats. On February 23rd, there was only 1 flight provided by Bamboo Airways. Passengers can choose to connect flights with fares of up to nearly 6 million VND.

Tensions are occurring on the Chu Lai (Quang Nam) – Ho Chi Minh City route as plane tickets are quickly selling out. On February 23rd, this route had no direct flights available, and passengers can only connect flights with fares over 5.8 million VND. The scarcity of direct flights will continue until February 27th. Starting from February 28th, this route will have more than 3 direct flights, mostly operated by Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air.

The reduction in flight frequency is the cause of the scarcity of plane tickets despite being past the peak season of people’s movements. From February 14th to 19th, Vietnam Airlines had a peak of 481 flights per day. However, by February 20th, there were only 401 flights per day with 81 serving planes. Also from February 14th to 19th, Vietjet Air operated from 455 to 468 flights per day but decreased to 364 flights per day on February 20th.

The reason comes from the fact that some airlines have to temporarily halt engine inspections and repairs. According to the announcement from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, a total of 44 Airbus A321 Neo aircraft of domestic airlines are being applied with an order to recall engines from Pratt & Whitney (USA) to ensure safety. Vietnam Airlines has 20 planes and Vietjet Air has 24 planes.

8 planes have stopped flying to remove the engines and send them to maintenance facilities belonging to Vietnam Airlines’ aircraft fleet. There are 8-9 planes of each airline “on the ground” to remove engines for repair, and the number of planes that need to be suspended continues to increase.