These days, passengers have found it difficult to hunt for plane and train tickets for Tet, while ticket prices also increase and decrease "unusually" depending on the route.

Passengers arriving at the Da Nang Railway Station. Photo: THANH LAN

According to a survey from ticket sales sites of Vietnamese airlines, while Tet flight tickets from the South to northern and central localities are difficult to buy, the return flights before and after Tet have much lower ticket prices.

Specifically, a one-way ticket is set from VND 3.34 million to VND 3.74 million for Economy Class on flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Ha Noi on January 22, 2025 (23^rd day of the 12^th lunar month).

Meanwhile, airfares for flights from Ha Noi to Da Nang, Cam Ranh, Phu Quoc and Da Lat are much cheaper. On these routes, Vietnam Airlines offers tickets priced from VND 980,000 to VND 1.22 million, Vietjet Air from VND 580,000, Bamboo Airways from VND 910,000, and Vietravel Airlines from VND 740,000 - VND 850,000.

Mr. Nguyen Van Khanh, a freelancer working in Ha Noi returning to Da Nang for Tet, shared that passengers only have to pay about VND 2.8 million per ticket before Tet, VND 4.5 million during Tet, and VND 4.2 million after Tet. For him, these prices are not too expensive compared to peak times.

Meanwhile, Ms. Pham Thi Tuyen, who bought a ticket for the Lunar New Year of Snake 2025 flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang, informed that the price of the one-way ticket for flights operated by Vietnam Airlines and Bamboo Airways is about VND 2.5 million, and Vietjet Air and Vietravel Airlines ranging from VND 2.1 million to VND 2.3 million.

Unlike the flight to/from Ho Chi Minh City, on the Ha Noi - Da Nang flight, the one-way ticket price is recorded at VND 1.46 million - VND 2.5 million for Vietnam Airlines, VND 1.27 million for Bamboo Airways, VND 1.24 million - VND 2.38 million for Vietjet Air, and about VND 1.49 million for Vietravel Airlines.

Meanwhile, the prices of return tickets do not have a big difference. In particular, Vietnam Airlines has set airfares for return flights at VND 1.32 million - VND 2.04 million, Vietjet Air VND 1.11 million - VND 2.39 million, Bamboo Airways VND 1.41 million, and Vietravel Airlines at around VND 1.24 million.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Viet Nam, there are still many seats left on tourist flights from Ha Noi to central and southern provinces such as Da Nang, Cam Ranh, Phu Quoc, Da Lat and Binh Dinh before and after Tet, with the occupancy rate only ranging from 20-50% depending on the day and route.

The agency believes that airfares are also reasonable. For instance, the airfare set for the Ha Noi - Da Nang route during Tet is only VND 2.8 million - VND 4.5 million/round-trip ticket for Vietnam Airlines flights, VND 2.7 million with Bamboo Airways and Vietravel Airlines flights, VND 2.35 million - VND 4.7 million with Vietjet flights. According to the survey, ticket prices and demand for flights from Ho Chi Minh City to other localities for Tet are increasing rapidly.

Right from the beginning of the Tet holiday (from January 21 to January 28, 2025), the booking rate on flights from Ho Chi Minh City to some localities, including Da Nang, Hue, Pleiku, Quang Binh, Thanh Hoa and Vinh, has reached over 95%.

This difference is largely due to the high demand for travel to hometowns to celebrate Tet in Central and Northern provinces, causing one-way ticket prices from the South to the North to be higher than the opposite direction.

After the holiday, when people start to return to work, the ticket prices from the Northern and Central provinces to Ho Chi Minh City change in the opposite direction.

In preparation for Tet’s peak travel period (from January 14, 2025 to February 12, 2025), airlines are set to offer more than 6.9 million seats across domestic and international routes, a 4% increase compared with the 2024 Tet period.

To serve the travel needs of people during the Lunar New Year 2025, the Railway Transport JSC will increase many trains on the North-South route. The increased trains mainly serve passengers from Ho Chi Minh City to Ha Noi and the northern provinces and cities. From the HCMC Railway Station, train SE12 will depart on January 14, 2025 and train TN5 will depart on January 16, 2025.

In addition to the additional trains, the railway industry still regularly organises 7 pairs of North-South passenger trains between the Ha Noi Railway Station and The HCMC Railway Station.

Moreover, there are 13 pairs of passenger trains running daily between Ha Noi and Vinh and Da Nang; between Hue and Da Nang; and between Ho Chi Minh City and Vinh, Da Nang, Quang Ngai, Quy Nhon, Nha Trang and Phan Thiet.

Notably, during the peak of Tet, the railway industry still maintains discount policies for social policy beneficiaries. Heroic Vietnamese mothers, and revolutionary activists before the August Revolution 1945, receive a 90% discount on ticket prices. Other subjects such as war invalids, people with severe disabilities, and war participants infected with toxic chemicals are offered with a 30% discount on ticket prices.

Most recently, the Da Nang Department of Transport has issued a plan to deploy passenger transport services during the Lunar New Year and the Spring Festival of the Year of Snake in 2025. Accordingly, the peak time for passenger transport services during the Lunar New Year and the Spring Festival in 2025 is from January 20, 2025 (21^st day of the 12^th lunar month) to February 7, 2025 (10^th day of the first lunar month).

Reporting by THANH LAN - Translating by M.DUNG