Airlines race to add planes before Tet peak

Domestic airlines are continuously chartering more aircraft to increase operating resources, preparing for the upcoming Tet peak season.

Two days ago, Vietravel Airlines received a narrow-body aircraft from Avion Express, a Lithuania-based aircraft leasing service provider. This is a wet-leased aircraft (including aircraft and crew) for the peak season at the end of this year and the Lunar New Year.

Earlier this month, Bamboo Airways also added an Airbus A320 via a similar lease. With eight aircraft currently in service, the company is working with partners to receive several more aircraft before Tet.

Previously, in October, Vietjet received a new A321neo aircraft - the 80th in the airline's order of 206 aircraft with manufacturer Airbus. According to the plan, this year, the low-cost airline will receive 10 new aircraft, including mostly A321neos.

The "big brother" of the aviation industry - Vietnam Airlines is also looking for partners to lease 4 more Airbus A320/A321 aircraft, including 2 dry leases (only aircraft) and 2 wet leases. Each aircraft is expected to operate 180 flights during the peak Tet holiday season in 2025. If 2 aircraft are leased, the airline will have 64,800 more seats, and 4 aircraft will increase the number of seats by 129,600 for the year-end market.

In the recent period, the Vietnamese aviation market has been seriously lacking in aircraft due to engine-related incidents and the restructuring of Bamboo Airways and Pacific Airlines. Specifically, the fleet of these airlines has decreased by 40-45 aircraft compared to last year, contributing to the high price of air tickets at many times. Adding more aircraft has also been difficult when many foreign markets have recorded high demand, pushing up rental prices accordingly.

A representative of a domestic airline said that the current price of chartering aircraft is lower due to the low tourist and travel season in Europe. Therefore, chartering with Vietnamese airlines is "easier".

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, airlines have released more than 5 million tickets for the upcoming Tet holiday season. Of these, Vietnam Airlines has more than 2.5 million tickets, while Vietjet Air has opened early sales for 2.6 million.

At this time of year, many flights are sold out early. However, this year's survey shows that there are plenty of tickets, with only a few flights on the peak days of the 4th and 5th of the first lunar month recording temporary sold-out status. Purchasing power is low in the context of high ticket prices, while people are increasingly tightening their spending.

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