Airfare prices increase significantly during the National Day holiday on September 2nd.
This year's National Day holiday on September 2nd lasts for four days. Therefore, many people have been booking plane, train, and bus tickets early to plan trips and return to their hometowns during this holiday.
According to an announcement from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, civil servants, public employees, and workers will have a holiday for National Day 2024 from Saturday, August 31st to Tuesday, September 3rd. This is the third longest holiday of the year, after the Lunar New Year and the recent April 30th - May 1st holidays.
Even though it's not yet the holiday, people in Nghe An are already starting to buy plane, train, and bus tickets in advance to prepare for their trips.
According to surveys on the official online ticketing websites of major airlines in Vietnam, airfares for the National Day holiday on September 2nd this year have fluctuated significantly.
Currently, Vietnam Airlines operates two direct routes from Nghe An: Vinh - Ho Chi Minh City and Vinh - Hanoi. For the Vinh - Ho Chi Minh City route on the first day of the holiday (August 31st), there are four direct flights. The earliest flight, VN1263, departs from Vinh at 9:40 AM and arrives in Ho Chi Minh City at 11:35 AM. All economy class tickets are sold out; only business class tickets are available at a price of 4.2 million VND per one-way trip.
The remaining 3 direct flights still have economy class tickets available; however, only the latest flight, VN1269, departing from Vinh at 9:55 PM and arriving in Ho Chi Minh City at 11:45 PM, has the cheapest fare at 1.6 million VND/one-way. The other two flights are priced above 2 million VND/one-way, higher than usual. Notably, on the last day of the holiday (September 3rd), Vietnam Airlines' Vinh - Ho Chi Minh City airfares surged dramatically. All four flights no longer had economy class tickets available, only standard economy class tickets and above, ranging from 2.5 to 3.7 million VND/one-way, 1.5 times higher than usual.
Not only the Vinh - Ho Chi Minh City route but also other routes are seeing price increases during the holiday season. Vietjet Air, which operates the most direct flights to Nghe An, includes routes such as Vinh - Ho Chi Minh City, Vinh - Buon Ma Thuot, Vinh - Da Lat, and Vinh - Can Tho. Among these, the Vinh - Da Lat route is a popular choice during holidays.
On the first day of the holiday (August 31st), Vietjet Air had one flight from Vinh to Da Lat, flight number VJ713, with the lowest fare being 2.5 million VND/one-way. However, before the holiday, the fares had increased by half; specifically, the lowest fare for the Vinh-Da Lat flight on August 30th was 2 million VND/one-way, and for flights before August 29th, the lowest was 1.3 million VND/one-way. Other flights operated by the airline also saw price increases, such as Vinh-Buon Ma Thuot and Vinh-Ho Chi Minh City.
Besides air travel, people are also busily booking train and bus tickets in preparation for the holiday. Information from the Vinh Railway Transport Station indicates that families and tour companies have already contacted them to book tickets for the holiday. The most popular routes are short and medium-distance ones such as Vinh - Nha Trang, Vinh - Da Nang, Vinh - Hanoi, Vinh - Hue… The number of passengers on the Vinh - Saigon route has increased only slightly because traveling this route already takes more than a day, making it difficult to arrange enough time for a relaxing vacation.
Mr. Cao Ngoc Tuan, Head of Vinh Railway Transport Station, said: After the April 30th - May 1st holiday, the National Day holiday on September 2nd is always a time when the number of railway passengers increases significantly, doubling compared to normal days, with an estimated 2,000 - 3,000 passengers boarding and alighting from trains each day. With more accessible ticket prices for the majority of people, safe routes, and fewer delays, passenger numbers are always high during holidays.
To better serve passenger needs, Vietnam Railways will operate additional trains alongside its regular service schedule to meet the demand for travel. All staff members have been briefed on the passenger service plan for the upcoming holiday period.
In contrast to the bustling market for airline and train tickets, the booking of bus tickets remains relatively unchanged. Contacting bus companies operating routes such as Vinh - Hanoi, Vinh - Hue, Vinh - Da Nang, Vinh - Hai Phong, etc., reveals that the number of bookings for the upcoming holiday period is still low.
According to bus operators, this mode of transportation is the most numerous and highly competitive. Furthermore, with the North-South expressway now open through Nghe An, the increasing number of passengers switching to private vehicles and ride-sharing services has also impacted the number of passengers using buses. Despite this, it is expected that bus numbers will increase from August 25th onwards.
