Vietjet Air increased the number of flights by 30 per cent compared to the normal operating schedule. — Photo baochinhphu.vn

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese airlines are rushing to increase flights for the Lunar New Year (Tết).

Previously, airlines announced the first increase in capacity to serve the peak of Tết on August 15, with the total number of seats provided for the entire domestic and international network reaching millions of seats.

Airlines record rapid growth in ticket bookings in the days leading up to Tết.

In particular, passengers tend to book tickets with earlier departure dates than in previous years.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Việt Nam under the Ministry of Transport said that the 2022-2023 winter flight schedule of domestic airlines starts on October 30 (the last Sunday of October) and ends on March 25, 2023 (the last Saturday of March).

Vietnam Airlines Group, including Vietnam Airlines, Pacific Airlines and VASCO, provided a total of 15,767 flights, an increase of more than 4,000 flights, providing more than 1.1 million seats to meet people's dramatic increase in travel demand for the Tết holiday.

Vietjet Air increased the number of flights by 30 per cent, providing over 12,000 flights, bringing the number of seats supplied to more than 2.6 million, an increase of more than 600,000 compared to the normal operating schedule.

As the airline with the largest increase in flights during the Lunar New Year, Pacific Airlines, a member of Vietnam Airlines Group, rose by 59 per cent, equivalent to an increase of 1,364 flights, raising the number of seats supplied by 68 per cent with nearly 290,000 seats.

The routes with the most flights are HCM City – Hà Nội, Đà Nẵng, Đồng Hới, Vinh, Thanh Hóa, Chu Lai, Hải Phòng, Quy Nhơn, Huế and vice versa.

A representative of Vietnam Airlines said that the number of domestic flight bookings during the peak of Tết has increased by about 15 per cent compared to the same period in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The great demand focuses on flights to visit relatives from HCM City to Vinh, Thanh Hóa, Hải Phòng, Huế, Quy Nhơn, Buôn Mê Thuột, Pleiku and Đồng Hới.

Regarding the "sold-out" economy class, only business class remains, a representative of Vietnam Airlines confirmed that ticket prices for Tết this year are still open for sale flexibly according to the market situation with a variety of prices and compliance with domestic ceiling price regulations.

Many people could not return to their hometowns after two years of the pandemic, so they planned to buy tickets early, causing the regular fare range on some routes to be sold out, said the representative.

In addition to the national airline, Vietravel Airlines has also announced that some routes from HCM City to Quy Nhơn and Đà Nẵng have been "locked".

The route from HCM City to Hà Nội has also had approximately 40 per cent of passengers, due to the tendency of customers to buy tickets close to Tết.

In order to avoid buying fake and unconfirmed tickets, airlines recommend passengers buy tickets on websites, mobile applications, ticket offices and official agents. — VNS