All the 'hot' stages are sold out

One week to the April 30 - May 1 holiday, statistics on bookings by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam ( Ministry of Transport ) on flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to famous tourist destinations show that on the first day of the holiday (April 27) and the last day of the holiday (May 1), the booking rate on flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to localities mostly reached over 75%.

Some routes have reached 90% to 100% booking rate, such as from Hanoi to Hue, Quy Nhon, Quang Binh , Nha Trang, Tuy Hoa, Dien Bien; from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Lat, Tuy Hoa, Phu Quoc, Dien Bien,...

Notably, according to a survey by reporters, flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Tuy Hoa ( Phu Yen ) have sold out for both outbound and return flights.

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Some flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to tourist destinations are sold out. Photo: Hoang Ha

The only tickets left for the Phu Quoc route from Hanoi are Vietjet tickets, priced up to 8.5 million VND/round trip ticket (including taxes and fees), there is only one return flight left; if going from Ho Chi Minh City, there are no more flights.

For flights from both ends of the city to Dong Hoi (Quang Binh) from Ho Chi Minh City, there are still many tickets left, but from Hanoi they are all sold out. To Quy Nhon, there are no more flights from Hanoi, but from Ho Chi Minh City there are still plenty of tickets, prices range from 4.5-4.7 million VND/round trip ticket.

Notably, for the flight to the hot spot Dien Bien - due to the National Tourism Year and the 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu victory, the flight tickets from Hanoi are sold out, and from Ho Chi Minh City there is only one flight left for both the outbound and return flights (April 27 - May 1) even though Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet have given priority to increasing the capacity on this route twice.

These are the routes with high booking rates throughout the April 30-May 1 holiday period and are expected to continue to be tense in the following days.

In the opposite direction, on flights from localities to Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh City, the booking rate at the beginning of the holiday period was only average, fluctuating at 50%; some routes with higher rates were Hai Phong - Ho Chi Minh City, Dien Bien - Ho Chi Minh City, Dien Bien - Hanoi, Da Lat - Hanoi,...

Through that, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam commented that the booking rate shows that the "head-skewed" nature of air transport during peak holiday periods is clearly formed.

Delay departure 1-2 days, still have many opportunities to fly

Struggling to find a flight ticket for the April 30 holiday, meaning departure on April 27 and return on May 1, Ms. Nguyen Thu Thuy in Cau Giay (Hanoi) tried checking the airline booking system for departure on April 28-29 and return on May 1-2, meaning 1-2 days later. She was surprised that there were still available tickets, and the price was relatively reasonable compared to traveling on the exact date.

For example, if booking tickets to Phu Quoc at this time, her family (4 people) will spend about 25 million VND, instead of 34 million VND if going during the holiday. "I immediately discussed with my husband, if we can book a room, we can still arrange to go, if we come back late, we can take a day off and the children can take a day off from school, so we can have a trip and save money," Ms. Thuy said.

According to the ticket sales systems of domestic airlines, on April 26 and 28, 1 day before and after the first holiday, the booking rate tended to increase.

However, the mid-holiday of April 29th has not seen much increase or any significant fluctuations in booking rates, mostly fluctuating between 30-50%. Passengers still have many options for air travel at reasonable prices on this day.

Therefore, by simply postponing the departure time by 1-2 days, customers still have the opportunity to buy flight tickets, even for stressful routes.

For example, if you leave on April 28 and return on May 2 (one day later than the main holiday), there are still available tickets from Hanoi to Tuy Hoa, priced at over 6 million VND; if you delay by 2 days, the price is only 5 million VND. From Ho Chi Minh City to Tuy Hoa, there are still tickets available for departure on April 29 and return on May 2, priced at around 3.4 million VND.

Similarly, for the Phu Quoc route on April 28, there are still many seats left. From Hanoi, the price is about 6.4 million VND (2 million VND less than the departure on April 27), and from Ho Chi Minh City, it is only from 2.8 million VND/round trip.

Thus, if you can arrange your work and time, traveling by air during the April 30 - May 1 holiday can still be done if you delay your departure by 1-2 days.

Tourism struggles because of 'hot' airfares, 30/4 holiday schedule 'finalized' late. Airfare prices for the 30/4 - 1/5 holiday are as tight as a bowstring because they are both record high and scarce, combined with the 5-day holiday being finalized later than every year, causing travel agencies to struggle.