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Air tickets are almost sold out, business class seats left for long holiday break |
Many airline companies announced no more tickets in economy class flights for the long holiday break to celebrate Reunification Day and Labor Day due to increased demand of travel. Working people will enjoy five consecutive days off from April 29 to May 3 to celebrate the commemoration of the Hung Kings (the nation's founders) that falls on April 29, the National Reunification Day on April 30, and International Labour Day on May 1, which has prompted a surge in tour bookings.
According to information from air ticket agents, round-trip airfares for some routes from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to tourist destinations such as Phu Quoc, Da Lat, Hue, Da Nang, Con Dao, Nha Trang are currently at a very high price, ranging from VND4 to VND8 million including taxes and fees. In particular, the flight from Hanoi to Phu Quoc departing on April 29 and returning on May 3 has been selling like hot cakes.
Specifically, Vietjet Air, Bamboo Airways, and Vietravel Airlines all have prices above VND 8 million to VND 8.5 million for a round-trip ticket. Particularly, Vietnam Airlines only has business class tickets with a price of approximately VND15 million a round trip.
The airline companies are currently selling the Hanoi - Nha Trang route at the price of VND6.2 - VND7.5 million a round-trip ticket and the Hanoi - Da Lat route at a price of VND5.5 - VND7.3 million a round-trip ticket. Economy tickets for some flights on this route have been also sold out and only business class tickets cost about VND11.5 million a round trip.
Airfares of the Hanoi - Da Nang route are being sold at over VND4 million a round-trip ticket. Similarly, the Ho Chi Minh City - Phu Quoc route from April 29 to May 3 has a price of VND3.6 million a round-trip ticket or more, many flights are also out of economy class tickets, and only business class tickets are left with the price of over VND7.5 million each round-trip ticket. Worse, there have been no more flights for the Ho Chi Minh City - Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City - Da Lat route.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, airlines have plans to increase their load for long holidays. For instance, the national carrier Vietnam Airlines is expected to increase the load by nearly 35 percent, and Vietjet Air and Bamboo Airways are also expected to increase the load by 15 percent for the domestic market compared to the same period last year.
However, the air transport capacity is still unable to meet people’s travel demand during the national holiday. Further increasing the frequency of flights is difficult, because two key airports, Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat, are already overloaded with infrastructure.
