Airlines increase prices, tickets sold out on April 30 holiday

Less than 2 weeks before the April 30 - May 1 holiday, some domestic flights have increased in price by up to 3 times, while some international flights are sold out.

With just over 10 days to go until the April 30 – May 1 holiday, domestic and international air tickets to countries near Vietnam are running out. Those who are starting to plan their vacations at this time do not have many options. Mr. Minh Tri (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City) planned to travel to Myanmar, but because he had the idea quite late, both airlines flying directly to Yangon from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air, reported that their tickets were sold out.

“I tried to find a round-trip flight to Yangon on April 29 and return on May 2, but there were no seats available. The direct flight to the destination was sold out, and connecting flights would take about a day. I didn’t expect the demand for air travel to be so high during this time,” said Tri.

'Flight sold out' is a common message when searching for tickets close to the travel date on April 30.

Not only the Ho Chi Minh City – Yangon route, on Vietjet’s system, tickets to Singapore on April 29 are sold out. The Ho Chi Minh City – Bangkok (Thailand) route only has one option for the departure on April 29, while the return on May 2 is no longer available. The Ho Chi Minh City – Taipei (China) route is also sold out for the return on May 2.

In preparation for the April 30 holiday, domestic and international airlines with flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to nearby destinations such as Bangkok, Singapore or Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) have been running promotional programs for more than a month. Therefore, the number of promotional tickets for this holiday has now run out.

“The airline’s best-selling routes from Ho Chi Minh City are to Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Penang (Malaysia). We have had promotions for these routes for the April 30 holiday, so the cheap tickets are no longer available. However, compared to last year, international ticket prices for this holiday are somewhat ‘softer’,” said Ms. Phuong Thu, Air Asia’s communications manager in Vietnam.

Similarly, Jetstar Pacific said that flights from Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Da Nang to Bangkok, Singapore and Hong Kong (China) did not have high prices compared to last year's holiday, and the number of passengers had somewhat decreased.

According to Skyscanner, the lowest one-way ticket prices from Hanoi to Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Singapore on April 29 are 2.5 million, 3.5 million and 4 million respectively. Flights from Ho Chi Minh City to these three cities are cheaper, but the lowest prices are still fluctuating from 2.5 million to 2.7 million one-way. With this amount of money, passengers can buy a round-trip ticket if traveling during normal times.

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The domestic flight ticket prices are also quite tense. The cheapest flight on April 29th is also over 1.1 million VND one way. That is the Hanoi to Da Nang route of Vietnam Airlines. Most of the remaining routes are quite expensive during the holidays.

Popular Jetstar Pacific routes such as Hanoi - Da Nang, Hanoi - Nha Trang or Ho Chi Minh City - Da Nang have started to increase in price sharply. Many routes have sold out at some time slots. The situation is similar on the websites of Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet. For example, a round-trip ticket for the Ho Chi Minh City - Cam Ranh route can normally be purchased for only 800,000 VND. However, the lowest round-trip ticket price for this route on the occasion of April 30 is currently 2.5 million VND.

“Some domestic flights have increased prices up to three times compared to normal during the upcoming holiday. The ticket prices for April 28 and April 29 are the highest. The ticket prices for May 1 are cheap but for May 2 are quite high. Many customers call to ask but after hearing the price quotes, most of them shake their heads,” said Ms. Phu My Duyen, an airline ticket agent in Ho Chi Minh City. According to her, the flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, Thanh Hoa, Vinh, Da Nang, and Phu Quoc are the most popular with customers in the southern region.

According to VNE