As the 2025 Lunar New Year (Tet) approaches, airline tickets are selling out rapidly. By the first day of the holiday break on January 25 (December 26 in the lunar calendar), major domestic routes such as Ho Chi Minh City to Thanh Hoa, Pleiku, and Vinh have seen economy-class tickets fully booked.

On some dates, even business-class tickets are sold out. Passengers on certain routes face detours lasting up to 10 hours to reach their destinations.

High demand, limited options

With less than two weeks until Tet, the demand for flights is intensifying despite airlines continuously adding capacity. As of January 11, tickets for high-demand routes like Ho Chi Minh City to Danang, Hue, Nha Trang, Thanh Hoa, Pleiku, and Vinh have become scarce.

Flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Thanh Hoa and Vinh are particularly strained. Vietjet Air’s booking system shows no available tickets from January 23 to 25 for Ho Chi Minh City–Vinh and January 25 to 27 for Ho Chi Minh City–Thanh Hoa. Vietnam Airlines also reports no tickets left on its direct flights for these routes during the same period.

Passengers traveling from Ho Chi Minh City to Vinh must now opt for connecting flights via Hanoi, extending travel time to 4–5 hours. Ticket prices are steep, starting at 11.6 million VND ($485) for economy class and nearly 13.4 million VND ($560) for business class.

The situation is equally challenging for Ho Chi Minh City–Pleiku. Direct flights are sold out, leaving passengers with the option of connecting flights through Hanoi, taking 6–10 hours. Ticket prices range from 12.67 million VND ($530) to 14.4 million VND ($600), with some flights requiring overnight layovers.

Tet travel crunch

Even on the Ho Chi Minh City–Hanoi route, tickets are selling out fast. For January 25, only late-night flights are available with Vietjet Air, starting at 3.66 million VND ($153) for economy class. Vietnam Airlines has limited seats remaining, all in business class, priced at 9.8 million VND ($410) or more.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) noted that despite increased flights, many routes from Ho Chi Minh City to provincial cities are nearing full capacity during peak travel dates before Tet. Similarly, return flights after Tet, particularly on February 2, are seeing surging demand and prices for routes from northern and central provinces back to Ho Chi Minh City.

Routes such as Hanoi to Buon Ma Thuot, and Ho Chi Minh City to Hue, Quy Nhon, Pleiku, and Thanh Hoa, have also reported 100% seat occupancy during the peak period.

Airlines adjust capacity and pricing

To manage the imbalance in demand, airlines have implemented promotional pricing for less popular dates and routes. For instance, on January 22, 25, and 27, flights from provinces like Buon Ma Thuot, Hue, and Thanh Hoa to Ho Chi Minh City are being offered for as low as 90,000 VND ($4). Vietjet Air is also running a 0 VND promotion on select routes, while Bamboo Airways and Vietravel Airlines are offering tickets starting at 25,000 VND ($1) for routes such as Danang to Ho Chi Minh City.

On busier routes like Hanoi–Phu Quoc and Hanoi–Quy Nhon, ticket prices remain relatively stable, ranging from 1 to 3 million VND ($40–$125) depending on the class and time of booking.

By January 10, domestic airlines had added 522 flights, equivalent to 133,000 seats, to high-demand routes. The CAAV and airlines are now exploring further capacity increases and additional night flights to address the continued surge in demand.

Ngoc Ha