Airfares from Ho Chi Minh City to nearby ASEAN countries have dropped sharply from August into September. Routes you could fly round-trip even over a weekend — Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur — are the main ones seeing fares of around 10,000 yen one-way and even round-trip fares in the low 20,000-yen range. It's the result of several airlines undercutting each other on the same routes during the lull after the summer travel and homecoming rush. For Ho Chi Minh City residents, and for business travelers staying in Saigon, these two months reward anyone who moves.
Fares around 10,000 yen one-way, round-trip in the low 20,000-yen range
On the Ho Chi Minh City-Singapore route, Vietjet lists a base fare of 19,000 dong (about 1.6 million dong including taxes and fees), while Scoot offers one-way fares of 1.4-1.8 million dong. Converted to yen, that's roughly 8,000-11,000 yen. Bangkok fares run under 1.9 million dong one-way, with round trips staying within 3.5-4 million dong. Kuala Lumpur and Phuket run around 4 million dong round-trip, and Jakarta about 6.3 million dong round-trip. Considering that a Ho Chi Minh City-Hanoi domestic flight during the same period costs 2.2-2.5 million dong one-way, it's actually cheaper to fly to a nearby country than to fly domestically — a reversal worth noting.
| Route (from Ho Chi Minh City) | Fare (one-way / round-trip) | Yen equivalent (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore (LCC) | One-way 1.4-1.8 million dong | About 8,000-11,000 yen |
| Bangkok | One-way under 1.9 million dong | Under about 11,000 yen |
| Kuala Lumpur | Round-trip about 4 million dong | About 23,000 yen |
| Phuket | Round-trip just over 4 million dong | About 23,000 yen |
| Jakarta | Round-trip about 6.3 million dong | About 37,000 yen |
Yen conversion is an approximation calculated at 1 yen ≈ 170 dong. Fares vary by when you check and when you book.
Why prices drop in August-September
There are three main reasons. One is a demand trough. Vietnam's summer holiday and Trung Nguyen travel peak settles down after July, and customer numbers fall off heading into the September school start. Airlines that can't fill seats cut prices.
The second is increased supply. Vietnam Airlines opened a Ho Chi Minh City-Phuket route, and both Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet began flying Ho Chi Minh City-Colombo (Sri Lanka) in August. When more aircraft and seats are added to nearby routes, it puts downward pressure on fares for existing routes too. The spread of new routes launching from Ho Chi Minh City is also touched on inour piece on Vietnam's first direct flight to Sri Lankais also touched on there.
Competition is the third factor. Singapore, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur are a fiercely contested battleground where Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet, Scoot and others overlap — when one airline cuts fares, the rest follow suit. The same pattern shows up on domestic routes too, where late-night fares drop to bargain levels, as covered inour piece explaining why domestic fares dropas we wrote there.
Why fares fall even as the market grows
Demand itself isn't shrinking. International passenger traffic to and from Vietnam totaled 26.2 million in the first half of 2026, up 15.4% year over year. Vietnamese carriers now fly 109 international routes, and foreign airlines operate 235 scheduled routes into Vietnam. While the overall pie keeps growing, each airline adds seats on the same nearby routes, so fares alone can collapse locally during the lull. For travelers, more routes launching means more flights to choose from and a deeper price floor — a tailwind.
How residents and business travelers can use these two months
The cheap combination is "departing from Ho Chi Minh City, to nearby ASEAN, on a weekday." Here are some concrete ways to use it.
- A Friday-night-out, Sunday-night-back weekend dash. Singapore and Bangkok are within about 3 hours one-way, and even adding meals and sightseeing to a round trip in the low 20,000-yen range still fits a weekend budget.
- A visa-run trip for residents who need to exit the country once for visa or residency reasons. With nearby routes cheap right now, you can minimize the cost of the border run while combining it with some sightseeing.
- Extending a business trip's stay before or after into a nearby country. It's easy to add 1-2 days to a Ho Chi Minh City stay and swing by Bangkok or KL.
- Getting ahead of the crowds for anyone who wants to avoid the pricier year-end, New Year, or Lunar New Year season. Use September's low fares to knock out nearby-country trips early.
Practical tips for not losing out when booking
- LCC listed fares charge extra for seat selection, checked baggage, and in-flight meals. Compare total cost across airlines. Adding checked baggage can narrow the price gap between carriers.
- Booking each leg with a different airline can sometimes be cheaper. Consider combinations like Scoot outbound and Vietjet on the return.
- Shifting departure and return by just one day, to a weekday, can move the price by several thousand yen. A Thursday departure is often cheaper than a Friday one.
- With some international flights set to move to the new Long Thanh Airport, confirm which airport a flight departs from when booking from the end of the year onward.
- Refund rules in the event of delays or cancellations have changed. How much you can recover if something goes wrong is covered inour piece on the new rule of a full refund for delays of 4+ hours— worth keeping in mind.
Move before September ends
These low fares are temporary, a product of the seasonal supply-demand lull overlapping with new route launches. From October onward, prices are likely to climb back up with the travel season and year-end demand. Residents and business travelers with reason to visit nearby ASEAN countries would do well to lock in dates now, in August and September, while one-way fares sit around 10,000 yen. Check the total cost including extras, and book on weekdays, to keep weekend trips and visa runs cheap.
