Local airlines add more flights, increase prices for upcoming holiday

HCM CITY — Local airlines have increased flights to popular destinations to meet travel demand during the upcoming national holiday season.

However, the fares are rising by the hour.

Vietnam Airlines Group, including Vietnam Airlines, Pacific Airlines and Vasco, is offering  五00,000 seats, equivalent to about  二, 六00 flights to and from Hà Nội, HCM City, Đà Nẵng, Quy Nhơn, Đà Lạt and Phú Quốc, among other localities, between April  四 and May  三.

The number represents an increase of  一00,000 seats compared to off-peak periods.

Bamboo Airways has plans to add about  一 一0 to  一 五0 flights per week, which is equivalent to  二 二,000 to  三0,000 seats, with many routes operating at a frequency of up to four to five flights per day.

Popular routes are Hà Nội/HCM City to Phú Quốc, Nha Trang, Quy Nhơn or Vinh, Thanh Hoá and Hải Phòng. 

Meanwhile, in addition to launching five new routes from Vinh, Đà Nẵng, Thanh Hoá, Nha Trang and Đà Lạt to Phú Quốc, Vietjet will also increase flight frequency to meet passengers’ needs on the holiday.

Even though more flights have been added, many locals are upset about how expensive and rare some tickets are. 

This can be seen from the limited number of flights from Hà Nội to Phú Quốc on April  三0. According to the online ticketing site Abay, Vietjet offers the most affordable price at over VNĐ 一. 八 million per way, but only  二 五 tickets at  五pm on April  三0 were seen at this price.

On the same day, Vietnam Airlines had five flights but they were priced at VNĐ 二. 九 to  四. 二 million per ticket, depending on the ticket class. 

Bamboo Airways has the highest price, with VNĐ 三. 六 million per way at the cheapest and VNĐ 四. 二 六 million the most expensive.

Prices on flights between Hà Nội and Nha Trang and between HCM City and Quy Nhơn have increased significantly compared to two weeks ago.

While many airlines have launched more flights and discounts to stimulate travel demand, all of the announcements are accompanied by the phrase “not applicable during peak period”, which covers the upcoming holiday period.

Representatives of some travel agencies pointed out that local tourism is in a demand stimulus stage to recover from a year of bad luck.

The biggest problem now is boosting sales and encouraging locals to travel. However, it is essential for travel agencies to not increase their package prices i妹妹ediately, but keep everything under control to build trust and confidence among customers.

“During this difficult period, some customers have helped local tourism revive. It seems unfair if travel agencies decide to increase their prices now," a representative said. — VNS