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Flight Review: Vietnam Airlines – Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang

October 9, 2018 By James Clark

Flight Review: Vietnam Airlines - Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang

Flight: Vietnam Airlines VN 124
From: Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) To: Da Nang (DAD)

I flew with Vietnam Airlines from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang. There are three airlines that fly this route (the others being Vietjet Air and Jetstar Pacific),

I used Skyscanner to compare prices and flight times. I flew with Vietnam Airlines recently from Saigon to Hanoi, and I like flying with them. I’m not particularly fussy with what airline I fly with though, so I just went with time of day at a reasonable price. With so many flights the fares are competitive between the three airlines.

This flight was 1,079,000 VND ($46.03 USD), which is a great deal considering I booked it less than a week in advance. This fare includes a checked bag, even though I didn’t need it on this flight.

SGN-DAD ticket

I checked in at Tan Son Nhat (the airport of Ho Chi Minh City), which is an easy process for Vietnam Airlines flights. I use the self check-in kiosk, and it lets you pick your own seat. There has never been a queue when I use this, and with no bag to check in I went straight to security.

Self check-in

Even though Vietnam Airlines is a full-service airline, they don’t serve a full meal on domestic flights. I got lunch at the airport, which is cheap in the domestic terminal. This Mien Ga soup is 59,000 VND ($2.50 USD).

Mien Ga

Vietnam Airlines is a member of the Skyteam Alliance. I use my Delta account on Skyteam flights, but I never get credited points on Vietnam Airlines domestic flights. I should join the Vietnam Airlines program and see if I get any points for future domestic flights.

SGN to DAD

The flight time is 12.30 to 13.50, with a scheduled flight time of 1h 20m.

Gate 5 Da Nang

Economy seating of the A321.

A321 seats

Heritage – the inflight magazine of Vietnam Airlines.

Heritage Oct-2018

Plotting my next trip with the regional route map of Vietnam Airlines.

Regional route map

I also like looking at the ads to see what is happening around the country. Ba Na Hills near Da Nang has become very popular since the Golden Bridge became famous.

Mercure Ba Na Hills

Excellent legroom in Vietnam Airlines economy class.

Leg room

I mentioned that there is no meal service, but today there wasn’t even a snack. A drink service of water or Coke/Coke Zero was on offer. No tea or coffee.

Coke Zero

Flying somewhere over the Central Highlands.

Central Highlands

There are TV screens above the seats incase you can’t entertain yourself for an house. it would be better if they just played the air show route map.

TV screens

The flying time to Da Nang is about 1 hour, and our flight arrived on time.

DAD Airport

Da Nang airport is right in the city with mountains on the other side. It’s one of the best located airports in Southeast Asia.

Arrived at DAD

If you have no bags you can be at your hotel within 10 minutes of exiting the plane.

DAD arrival hall

Overall this was another good flight with Vietnam Airlines, and a good choice for flying between Saigon and Da Nang.

Filed Under: Flight Review Tagged With: dad airport, sgn airport, vietnam airlines

About James Clark

James Clark is the founder of Nomadic Notes. He has been a digital nomad since 2003, and Nomadic Notes features trip reports, train travel articles, and where to stay guides. He writes about transport and urban development at Future Southeast Asia. Subscribe to the weekly travel newsletter.

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James Clark from Nomadic Notes

Hi, I’m James Clark, and I've been travelling the world since 2003 while running a location independent travel business. Nomadic Notes is a travel blog featuring travel guides and notes from my travels.

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