Air, rail fares climb ahead of Tet despite record capacity

HCM CITY (VNS/ANN) -- Air and rail ticket prices across Vietnam have surged ahead of the 2026 Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, even as transport operators roll out record capacity to meet peak travel demand.
Lunar New Year, known locally as Tet, falls in mid-February this year; public employees and many workers will observe a nine-day holiday from February 14 to 22 under national guidelines, spanning both the final days of the old lunar year and the first days of the new year.

A Vietnam Airlines aircraft at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City.

Domestic airlines have boosted flight numbers by nearly 30 percent compared with regular schedules. However, fares on major routes, particularly from the south to the north, remain elevated, especially immediately before Tet.
Three weeks before the holiday, Nguyen Thao Linh, a resident of HCM City, found many flights to her hometown of Vinh sold out, while remaining tickets were priced above VNĐ5 million (US$188) one way.
She ultimately booked flights from HCM City to Hanoi on February 14, then continued by road, paying VNĐ3.6 million per person each way.
A Vietnam News and Law survey found that northbound flights from HCM City on peak dates, roughly February 11-13, are full or offer only premium economy and business seats. On the HCM City-Hanoi route, premium economy fares have reached VNĐ5.3 million per leg, while business-class tickets approach VNĐ10 million.
On less popular dates, one-way fares fall to around VNĐ3.7 million, though round-trip costs still hover around VNĐ7-8 million per passenger.
Similar conditions are seen on flights from HCM City to central Vietnam. Direct services to Vinh are largely sold out in the days immediately before Tet, forcing some travellers to transit via Da Nang or Hanoi at higher cost.
Other high-demand destinations, including Thanh Hoa, Dong Hoi, Da Nang and Quy Nhon, also show sell-outs or steep price increases.
Airlines attribute the price surge to sharply uneven travel flows: demand spikes from the south to the north before Tet, then reverses after the holiday, leaving aircraft underutilised on one leg. With operating costs largely fixed, fares on peak segments are raised to offset losses.
Travel demand is concentrated into a narrow window of about seven days before and after Tet, quickly filling flights at popular times and pushing ticket prices to regulatory ceilings despite the expansion in services.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, airlines plan to operate more than 36,900 flights between late January and early March, up 27 percent from the previous Tet holiday. Total seat capacity is expected to reach 7.8 million, including 5.6 million domestic seats and nearly 2.2 million international seats.
To ease congestion, authorities have ordered extended night-time operations and additional flights at six regional airports during the peak period.

(Latest Update January 27, 2026)