Flight: Thai AirAsia FD 657
From: Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) To: Bangkok (DMK)
I flew with AirAsia from Ho Chi Minh City Bangkok. This is a popular route with many flights to choose from. I have previously flown this route with Nok Air, and to BKK with Thai Airways and Vietjet Air.
For this flight I searched for the cheapest flight with Skyscanner, and picked AirAsia for the combination of price and time of day. The total fare was 1994.56 THB ($66.35 USD), which included a check bag.
I booked this flight in December to attend a conference in Bangkok. The conference was postponed due to COVID-19, but I went ahead with the trip. The last time I was at Tan Son Nhat Airport was a few days before the lunar new year holiday. That was the first time I heard about the coronavirus, as Wuhan had just gone into lockdown. That day was the busiest day of the year for travel in Vietnam. This flight was the complete opposite, with the airport feeling half abandoned with hardly any queues at check-in.
By now it was apparent how much the virus was disrupting travel around the world, with the departure board showing a sea of red.
Public notices about the Coronavirus are everywhere now.
Thai AirAsia FD 657 departs SGN at 9.45 and arrives at DMK at 11.30, for a scheduled flight time of 1H, 45M.
With reduced flights operating it was no surprise that our flight departed on time.
AirAsia is a low cost airline, so there is not much in the way of leg room. For short flights such as this I would rather just fly economically, so I don’t mind.
Travel360 – the inflight magazine of AirAsia. On Thai AirAsia there is also a Thai version.
Being based in Southeast Asia, AirAsia is by far my most flown airline. They have flights everywhere, though we still wait to see if AirAsia start a subsidiary in Vietnam to capitalise on the booming Vietnam aviation market.
There is no meal service but you can order food online, or order onboard.
Meals are available for 150 THB ($4.99 USD).
A coffee is 60 THB ($1.99 USD).
AirAsia is now serving boba milk tea for 90 THB ($2.99 USD).
I’ve flown between Saigon and Bangkok many times, and the flights are almost always full. The flight today was 60-70%, which I was surprised that so many were still flying.
Crossing land at the Gulf of Bangkok.
The flight arrived on time, and the airport here was also quiet.
Overall this was a good flight option for travel to Bangkok.
