HCMC-Hanoi route costs nearly VND 10 million
Mr. Nguyen Tuan Hung, from Thu Dau Mot city, Binh Duong province, shared that his family had booked four flight tickets for his grandparents, his wife, and their son to Ha Nam province on January 23rd, 2024, at a price of VND 3.7 million per ticket for the HCMC-Hanoi route. As he couldn’t arrange his work schedule until January 14th, Mr. Hung had to book his ticket on that day.
“On that day, I searched various online booking websites and travel agencies but could only find business class tickets. Vietnam Airlines offered tickets at VND 10.2 million, while I couldn’t find any information about flights from other airlines, including Vietjet Air and Bamboo Airway. As I had to go home for Tet, I finally decided to purchase the business class ticket, which cost more than VND 10 million,”
Mr. Hung said.
Many people had to spend tens of millions of dong to buy business class tickets to go home for Tet due to the unavailability of economy class tickets. (Photo: Civil Aviation Authority)
Mr. Pham Quang Khai, from Go Vap district, HCMC, who owns a fire protection company, said that last Wednesday (January 15th), a close partner asked him to book a flight from HCMC to Hanoi urgently. He searched various websites and travel agencies but could not find any economy class tickets.
“I had to book a business class ticket at a price of more than VND 9.8 million to fly from HCMC to Hanoi on January 26th (the 27th of the lunar calendar). As my partner wanted to go home for Tet and hold a ceremony to celebrate his father’s longevity, I accepted to buy the ticket at such a high price,”
Mr. Khai said.
Many others, like Mr. Khai and Mr. Hung, had to spend tens of millions of dong on business class tickets for their return journeys due to unavoidable reasons.
Mr. Tran Trung Kien, from Phu Nhuan district, HCMC, shared that he and his wife had to purchase business class tickets at a price of over VND 9.7 million per way to visit his hometown in Dong Anh district during Tet.
“If it weren’t for this urgent matter, I wouldn’t have booked a flight at this time because the prices are too high,”
Mr. Kien said.
Over 7.2 million seats supplied, yet “sold out”
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, on January 18th, Vietnamese airlines added 586 more flights during the Tet peak period from January 17th to February 12th, 2025.
Vietnamese airlines supply more than 7.2 million seats during the Tet holiday. (Photo: Civil Aviation Authority)
Specifically, the Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City route increased by 90 flights, Ho Chi Minh City-Hanoi by 89 flights, Ho Chi Minh City-Da Nang by 24 flights, Ho Chi Minh City-Thanh Hoa by 22 flights, Ho Chi Minh City-Hue by 23 flights, Ho Chi Minh City-Vinh by 24 flights, Hai Phong-Ho Chi Minh City by 43 flights, and so on.
“With the additional flights and leased aircraft from Vietnam Airlines, Bamboo Airways, Vietjet Air, and Vietravel Airlines, during the peak Tet period from December 15th to January 15th, the airlines provided more than 7.2 million seats, including 5 million domestic seats. This does not include the flights operated by foreign airlines in Vietnam,”
said Mr. Bui Minh Dang, Head of the Aviation Transport Department (Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam).
The Civil Aviation Authority also stated that despite the additional flights, many routes from Tan Son Nhat Airport (Ho Chi Minh City) to other localities are quickly filling up during the days leading up to Tet and the opposite direction in the post-Tet period.
Currently, several routes continue to have a 100% booking rate, such as Hanoi – Buon Ma Thuot (Dak Lak) (100%); Ho Chi Minh City – Hue/Pleiku/Tuy Hoa/Quy Nhon/Buon Ma Thuot/Quang Binh/Thanh Hoa/Vinh/Chu Lai/Quy Nhon/Nha Trang/Hue (100%).
The Ho Chi Minh City-Danang/Hanoi routes and vice versa are also rapidly filling up during the period from January 25th to February 2nd, 2025 (the 26th of the twelfth lunar month to the 5th of the first lunar month). The Ho Chi Minh City to Danang/Hanoi routes on some days before Tet have a booking rate of over 90%.
According to the flight schedule and booking data from the airlines, in the seven days from the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, Tan Son Nhat Airport will operate more than 6,100 flights and serve approximately 900,000 passengers, an increase of 8.7% in the number of flights and 4% in the number of passengers compared to the same period last year.
The busiest day at the airport is expected to be the 5th of the first lunar month, with more than 155,000 passengers (up 4% compared to the peak day after Tet in 2024).
During the 2025 Tet holiday period, Noi Bai Airport will serve approximately 90,000 passengers and 550 flights daily. The busiest day before Tet is expected to be January 24th, 2025 (the 25th of the twelfth lunar month), and the busiest day after Tet is expected to be February 2nd, 2025 (the 5th of the first lunar month), with nearly 100,000 passengers and 590 flights.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam will continue to support airlines in management and coordinate with units in the industry to enable airlines to add more domestic flights to meet the travel demands of the people during the 2025 Tet holiday.
“The number of passengers at airports, especially at Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat International Airports, will increase significantly, and congestion may occur at certain times in the domestic terminals.
Therefore, we recommend that passengers proactively obtain flight information to plan their trips accordingly and comply with safety and security regulations,”
the Civil Aviation Authority advised.
