Specifically, about a week ago, V.H., living in Tan Phu District in Ho Chi Minh City, sought urgent flight tickets to Vinh City through websites, but tickets were all sold at VND5 million per ticket, and there was no flight at the time that he wanted. However, through some groups, he found the desired ticket and was also offered a discount if he bought two tickets upwards.
On some online ticketing websites, air ticket prices have started to increase sharply in the days near Tet, especially from January 26 onwards. For example, the price of an air ticket departing from HCMC to Buon Ma Thuot City on January 25 ranges from VND830,000 to VND3.3 million, depending on carrier and departure time. However, if departing on January 28, the ticket price will surge to VND1.1 million-VND3.8 million per ticket.
According to a representative of Vietnam Airlines, compared to the same period last year, airfares are lower this year, but the price depends on flight time and flight date. Currently, the national-flag carrier still has tickets for many flights on the days near Tet. Besides, Vietjet also informed that some routes from HCMC to provinces saw many passengers because the demand to return home for the Tet holiday of people increased sharply, whereas flights were limited.
According to airline representatives, there is no such thing that agents holding flight tickets overcharging passengers. According to regulations, passengers who buy tickets and make reservations on the system must provide their names and cannot change them. Carriers recommend passengers buy tickets on the official websites, agents, and ticket offices and ask for an invoice to avoid buying counterfeit and overcharged tickets. For customers who buy tickets on websites, they should access the correct address of the airline.
In fact, some agents are hoarding tickets for some flights. In the context of a strong increase in travel demand, demand exceeding supply, the situation of agents holding tickets for profit may occur. Therefore, the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam needs to strengthen monitoring and supervision of domestic air transport operations and proactively decide to increase the frequency of flights on some routes because the limited number of granted flights is also the reason for the sharp increase in airfares lately when airlines focus on high price ranges, not offering promotional prices.
