Vietnam Domestic Flights Guide: Airlines, Routes, Fares, Tips

This Vietnam domestic flights guide comes down to one choice: Vietnam Airlines includes a 23 kg bag and runs more reliably, while Vietjet is cheaper until you add luggage. Most one-way fares between big cities cost 400,000 to 2,200,000 VND (~15 to 85 USD), and flights take 1 to 2 hours. Below you will find the airlines still flying in 2026, real fares on 5 busy routes, baggage rules, terminals and the mistakes that cost travellers the most.

Vietnam domestic flights guide: the airlines you can book

Four Vietnam domestic airlines sell scheduled flights in 2026: Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air, Vietravel Airlines and Sun PhuQuoc Airways. Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet carry about 90% of passengers between them. Bamboo Airways stopped selling scheduled tickets on 1 August 2026, so ignore older blog posts that still recommend it.

Vietnam Airlines is the full-service national carrier, with meals, checked bags on most fares and the widest network, including small airports through its regional arm VASCO. Vietjet is the big low-cost option with the most frequencies and the most promotional fares. Vietravel Airlines is a smaller low-cost carrier with a short route list. Sun PhuQuoc Airways, owned by Sun Group, began commercial flights in November 2025 and focuses on Phu Quoc, plus some trunk routes such as Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. Pacific Airlines, another Vietnam Airlines Group brand, has largely stopped flying its own schedule.

Sources: Vietnam Airlines fare conditions, Day Trips Vietnam airline atlas (August 2026), Wikipedia, checked October 2026.

Vietjet vs Vietnam Airlines: which one to book

For Vietjet vs Vietnam Airlines, book Vietjet when you travel with hand luggage only and your plans are fixed, and book Vietnam Airlines when you check a bag, have a tight onward connection or care about timing. Once a 20 kg bag is added, the price gap often shrinks to 100,000 to 300,000 VND.

The Vietjet baggage allowance is 7 kg of hand luggage on the basic Eco fare. A 20 kg checked bag costs 180,000 to 350,000 VND (~7 to 13 USD) when you add it online in advance, but 400,000 to 600,000 VND (~15 to 23 USD) at the airport counter. Vietnam Airlines allows one hand bag plus one small accessory up to 10 kg in total (7 kg on its ATR72 turboprops), and its Flex, Classic and Lite fares include one 23 kg checked bag. Its cheapest Super Lite fare cannot be changed or refunded.

Punctuality is the other difference. Civil Aviation Authority figures put the industry on-time rate at 65.8% for 2025, with Vietnam Airlines at about 70% and Vietjet at about 55% in the first nine months. Punctuality improved in 2026: in June, 79% of Vietnam Airlines flights and 71.5% of Vietjet flights left on time. When we book flights for our own team, anything that matters, like a cruise check-in or a tour pickup, goes on a morning flight, because evening departures inherit the delays from the whole day. To see how flight costs fit into a full trip, our breakdown of daily costs by region helps.

Popular domestic routes, flight times and real fares

The busiest domestic routes link Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Nha Trang and Phu Quoc. Flights take 1 to 2 hours 10 minutes, and base fares range from about 400,000 VND on Vietjet to 2,200,000 VND on Vietnam Airlines, before bags. The table shows typical one-way prices in 2026.

Sources: vietnamtourism.com fare survey (updated 1 October 2026), airline timetables. USD at about 26,000 VND, checked October 2026. Tet and summer holiday fares can be 2 to 3 times higher.

The Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh flight is one of the busiest domestic routes in the world, with about 11 million scheduled seats in 2025 according to OAG, so you can usually find a seat even a few days out. Smaller islands work differently. Phu Quoc has direct flights from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, which makes it easy to add a few Phu Quoc beach days at the end of a trip. Con Dao is served by small aircraft from Ho Chi Minh City with few daily seats, so book early or read our notes on getting to Con Dao by air or ferry.

How to book and when fares are cheapest

Domestic fares are usually cheapest 4 to 8 weeks before departure and rise sharply inside the last 7 days. Compare prices on Google Flights or Skyscanner, then book on the airline's own site or a booking platform you trust, and enter your name exactly as it appears in your passport.

Three timing rules save the most money. First, avoid Tet (Lunar New Year, late January or February) and the 30 April to 1 May holiday unless you book months ahead, because fares can triple. Second, early morning and late evening flights, and Tuesday to Thursday departures, tend to be cheaper. Third, Vietjet runs frequent sales with very low base fares, but taxes, airport fees and bags are added at checkout, so compare the final price, not the headline.

Foreign credit cards work on Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet websites, though some cards trigger a fraud check on the first payment. A name mismatch is the costly mistake: changing a misspelled name on a cheap fare can cost more than the ticket. If you are still deciding which cities to fly between, our Vietnam travel guides by region help you plan the order.

At the airport: passport, check-in times and terminals

Foreign visitors need their original passport for domestic flights in Vietnam, not a photocopy or a photo on your phone. Arrive 90 minutes before departure, because check-in counters close 40 minutes before take-off and security lines at Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat can be long at peak times.

So how early to arrive for domestic flights in Vietnam? Ninety minutes is the safe answer, two hours during Tet. Online check-in opens 24 hours before departure on both main airlines; save the boarding pass as a screenshot, since apps do not always load at the gate. If you check a bag, you still need the counter or a bag drop.

Terminals are where travellers get caught. In Hanoi, domestic flights use Noi Bai Terminal 1 and international flights use Terminal 2, linked by a free shuttle. In Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Airlines uses the new Terminal 3 for most domestic flights, while Vietjet, Vietravel and VASCO use Terminal 1, and Vietnam Airlines flights to Con Dao, Ca Mau and Rach Gia still leave from Terminal 1. The two buildings are not walkable from each other, so check the terminal on your ticket the night before.

Don't do this: don't book a domestic flight less than 3 hours after an international arrival on a separate ticket. Immigration, baggage claim and the terminal change can easily take 90 minutes, and the airline will treat a missed flight as a no-show.

When to skip the plane and go by road or rail

Fly when the distance is more than about 600 km, such as Hanoi to Da Nang or Ho Chi Minh City. Go by road or rail for shorter hops and for places without an airport, because airport transfers, check-in and waiting often add 3 hours to a 1-hour flight.

Those 3 hours start with the ride from the airport. After landing, Grab and metered airport taxis are the cheapest way into town; at Noi Bai a ride to the Old Quarter costs about 300,000 to 400,000 VND (~12 to 15 USD). If you arrive late, travel with a family or carry several bags, a fixed-price private car saves the negotiation at the kerb.

Book a fixed-price airport car

Sapa has no airport, so the usual route is a 5 to 6 hour limousine bus or the overnight train to Lao Cai; our page on bus, train and limousine to Sapa compares them. Da Nang to Hoi An is 30 km by road, and Da Nang to Hue is about 2.5 hours over or under the Hai Van Pass, so nobody flies those. Ha Long Bay has Van Don airport, but most visitors from Hanoi drive in about 2.5 hours on the expressway.

FAQ

Is Vietjet safe to fly?

Yes. Vietjet flies a young Airbus fleet and passes the same Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam safety oversight as Vietnam Airlines. The common complaints are about delays, schedule changes and baggage fees, not safety. If your day depends on arriving on time, choose a morning departure or Vietnam Airlines.

Do I need a passport for domestic flights in Vietnam?

Yes, foreign passengers show their original passport at check-in and at the security gate. Keep it in your hand luggage, not your checked bag. Vietnamese citizens can use their ID card or the VNeID app, but that option does not apply to tourists.

Is it cheaper to fly or take the train from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City?

Flying is usually cheaper and much faster. The train takes more than 30 hours, and a soft sleeper berth often costs about as much as a Vietjet fare with a bag. Take the train for the scenery, especially the coast around Hue and Da Nang, not to save money.

Are domestic flights cancelled during typhoon season?

Some are, mainly on the central coast between September and November, when storms close Da Nang, Hue or Quy Nhon airports for a day or two. Overall cancellation rates stay below 1% of flights. Keep a buffer day before an international departure in those months.