Weigh, measure, and watch tickets every day
Having studied in Hanoi for 3 years, Chau Thi Ngoc Han (Can Tho) - a third-year student at the Academy of Journalism and Communication - has always struggled to find cheap airfares.
From the end of November 2024 - at a time when the school had not yet announced the Tet holiday schedule, but because of the worry of not being able to find cheap air tickets, Han decided to book a ticket and chose January 26 (ie the 27th day of the lunar calendar) to return to Can Tho to celebrate Tet with her family.
Because of her habit of booking tickets at an agency, Han encountered many difficulties in getting her plane ticket in hand. From finding a flight that fits her budget to checking ticket prices on online booking applications and finally booking through a familiar agency store.
However, the most difficult part of the problem of returning home during the holidays and Tet for the third-year student is waiting for the time when the ticket price "cools down". Following the changes in airfare prices over the years, Han has drawn her own experience: "The ticket price will have a period of skyrocketing, then suddenly decrease, then skyrocket again. Airfare prices are like a sine wave graph, so students far from home like me are always in a state of "watching for tickets".
With the mentality of wanting to “be sure” of going home for Tet, many people have booked very early to get cheap air tickets. However, in reality, it seems that getting cheap air tickets is a matter of fate. “I once waited for a ticket for a friend for about a month, and when the day was near, although I waited patiently, the ticket price was still “unchanged”. I was worried so I decided to book a ticket. But just 2 days later, the air ticket price dropped by nearly 1 million VND”.
At the time of the survey, flights from Hanoi to Can Tho ranged from 2,800,000 - 3,900,000 VND one way, depending on the departure date and time, the price will vary significantly.
“Although I booked my tickets 2 months in advance, the one-way ticket price of 2,036,000 VND is still high for students. If I travel on a normal day, the one-way ticket price is only over 1 million VND” - Han shared.
Unlike Han, Quang Phu (Binh Phuoc) - a final year student at the Academy of Journalism and Communication - chose to book a flight ticket close to the date to "wait for the price".
Quang Phu shared that flights from Ho Chi Minh City to the northern provinces are often cheaper than the other way around. Phu booked a ticket 2 weeks ago, the flight from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City costs about 1,100,000 VND but the return flight costs more than 3 million VND.
Worrying about the airfare alone is not enough, “I have to book early and prioritize the limousine from Tan Son Nhat airport to Binh Phuoc, about 120km from home, and it costs an additional 250,000 VND,” Phu said.
Most students only book one-way tickets because they want to see if the price of the flight back to the capital is suitable before they boldly pay.
Flights from Ho Chi Minh City to the Northern and Central provinces are "fully booked"
According to data from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, as of January 15, 2024, Tan Son Nhat International Airport is expected to serve a record high number of passengers. From December 23 to December 29 of the Lunar calendar, the number of flights operated at Tan Son Nhat International Airport fluctuates from 820-900 flights/day, with the highest day being 901 flights (December 24) and the lowest day being 823 flights (December 29); the number of passengers passing through the port on the peak days (December 26 and 27) reached approximately 150,000 passengers (an increase of 12.7% compared to the peak days before Tet 2024).
For the days after Tet (from the 1st to the 6th of the first lunar month), the number of flights operated at Tan Son Nhat fluctuates from 830-900 flights/day, with the highest day being 917 flights (the 5th of the first lunar month) and the lowest day being 832 flights (the 1st of the first lunar month); the number of passengers passing through the port on the peak day (the 5th of the first lunar month) reached more than 155,000 passengers (an increase of 4% compared to the peak day after Tet in 2024).
Overall, in the 7 days from December 29, compared to the same period of Lunar New Year 2024 (Giap Thin), it is forecasted that the exploitation activities at Tan Son Nhat International Airport during Tet this year will increase with over 6,100 flights and approximately 900,000 passengers, an increase of 8.7% in the number of flights and 4% in the number of passengers compared to the same period last year.
