Flight: Vietjet VJ 624
From: Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) To: Danang (DAD)
I flew with Vietjet Air from Ho Chi Minh City to Danang. There are over 30 flights a day between the two cities offered by Vietjet, Jetstar, and Vietnam Airlines, so the prices are always competitive. I compared flights with Skyscanner and picked Vietjet mainly for the time of day I took the flight.
The last flight I took was with Vietjet to Nha Trang, and they are now my 5th most flown airline according to my Flightmemory statistics. Vietjet are the largest low cost airline in Vietnam, and they have been expanding their Southeast Asia and East Asia services. In the week I took this flight Vietjet become the first publicly listed airline in Vietnam.
For this flight I paid 716,900 VND ($31.40 USD). I had booked this over 2 months in advance, but you can still find $50 fares a week before you fly.
This booking included a checked bag for 130,000 VND ($5.70 USD).
During the booking process you can also pre order meals. As this is a 1 hour flight I didn’t order food.
Seat selection is also another add-on fee which I didn’t add. When you get to SGN airport you can check in with a kiosk and choose your seat for free. I visited the website to see if there was online check-in but I couldn’t find a reference to such a service. If you check in at the kiosk you will save some time as there was a long line at the regular check in desk and only two people ahead of me at the bag drop.
Tan Son Nhat International Airport (the airport of Ho Chi Minh City) has long since outgrown its inner city space and it will be expanded again before the new airport begins construction (if it ever begins).
In the domestic terminal there are 20 gates, and gates 1-2, and 15-20 don’t have an airbridge. This means there is good chance you’ll be getting a bus to the airport parked on the tarmac.
As it turned out my flight was a designated bus day.
For short domestic flights I always get a window seat. SGN is in the city and it is built up right up to the airport boundary. It is quite a site to fly in and out of when most international airports have moved out beyond the city limits.
The February issue of the inflight magazine, still not replaced with the March issue.
With Vietjet being a low cost airline, you pay for your own drinks. SGN airport has fountains so you can refill your water bottle at least, otherwise the drinks are cheap onboard. For example if you are a beer drinker a can of Saigon Special is 30,000VND ($1.30 USD). That must be the cheapest inflight beer in the world.
The flight arrived on time and there was a short wait for the bags to come out. Overall this was an easy flight and Vietjet are a good option if you are just looking for a cheap domestic flight with no frills. If you are new to Da Nang check out my where to stay guide.
