Vietjet Airlines have been operating successfully within Vietnam for over a decade, with around 450 flights daily across 160 routes connecting Vietnam with other countries across Asia, and now Australia. Although marketed as a budget airline, they have an impressive safety rating of 7 stars by the world’s only safety and product rating website airlineratings.com. They are also listed as one of the world’s 50 best airlines for healthy financing and operations by Airfinance Journal, among other awards. We were invited to travel to Vietnam to review the Business experience.
Sydney (SYD) to Ho Chi Minh City (SGN)
Airline: Vietjet Air
Class: Business
Seat: 1G – Aisle seat in a 2-2-2 layout
Aircraft: A330
Flight Time: 9 Hours – Delayed 1 hour, Arrived 1 hour Late
Boarding and In-Flight Experience
Carry on luggage is 18kg allowance and a generous check baggage limit of 60kg. Business and SkyBoss classes have a priority checkin desk, priority security lines and access to a shared lounge. Business and SkyBoss travellers have an exclusive line to the plane. The seats in Business are in a 2-2-2 arrangement of two rows. SkyBoss has 18 seats in a 3-3-3 arrangement. The fully reclinable seats come with a welcome pack, a pillow and blanket.
The welcome pack contains socks, slippers, eye-mask, comb, toothbrush and L’Occitane hand cream.
Before takeoff, the flight attendant brings a choice of delicious juices or water and a disposable hand towel to start the journey fresh.
There is no in-flight entertainment or wi-fi, so this writer caught up with some reading while wearing BOSE QC-35 headphones. There are universal 240V outlets in the front of the seats if you need to charge devices along the way.
After take-off, we’re offered the food and drink menu, which includes pho, sticky rice and banh mi, and a choice of cocktails and tea and coffee.
This writer chose basa fish and salad for “breakfast” which was tasty and fresh. The chamomile herbal tea was suggested by the flight attendant. It is perhaps one of the best herbal teas that I have had recently. The salad came with a peanut sauce and there was chilli sauce to spice things up if needed. The cutlery was bamboo style.
When ordering, you are given a choice to be woken or stay sleeping when meals are served. During the flight, you can also order additional drinks or a cheese platter, with the tiniest crackers that I’ve ever had.
Before long, “lunch” is served, with a similar arrangement to breakfast. This time, I opted for lettuce wraps as a starter and grilled chicken for the main.
For those in economy class, food may be pre-ordered or purchased on-board, with a different menu choice. Surprisingly, there were no vegetarian options on the menu, but it may be possible to pre-order them.
Duty free selection is available to purchase in flight.
Arrival and Transfer Experience at Ho Chi Minh City Airport
Business class passengers leave the plane first and have an exclusive bus to the terminal. At customs, we had access to a fast track through the arrival proceedings, to the baggage carousel. By the time the baggage arrived, the economy class passengers had also cleared customs, however Business class luggage is the first to arrive.
The domestic terminal is a short walk from arrivals, and once again we had access to a dedicated check in counter and VIP customs line.
Domestic flight from Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) to Nha Trang (CXR) – VJ614
Airline: Vietjet Air
Class: SkyBoss
Seat: 1A – front row window seat in a 3-3 configuration
Aircraft: Airbus A321
Flight Time: 70 minutes on-time
SkyBoss passengers have access to the shared lounge at Ho Chi Minh City airport, which had a good range of beer, wine and local delicacies, such as porridge with curried egg. Once again, a dedicated bus takes Business passengers to their plane.
The first rows are assigned to Business class, but no extra size seats are used. For a 70 minute trip this makes no difference. Snacks and drinks are offered, but these are fairly limited compared to the long haul.
Nha Trang airport is clean and modern and once again our bags are first to arrive on the carousel.
Domestic flight from Nha Trang (CXR) to Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) – VJ605
Airline: Vietjet Air
Class: SkyBoss
Seat: 2D
Aircraft: Airbus A321
Flight Time: 70 minutes on-time
Once again, lounge access at the Nha Trang airport allows us to relax and prepare for the short flight to Ho Chi Minh City. One highlight was a small birthday present of a USB stick presented to me with a card. It is these touches that add to the experience.
International flight from Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) to Sydney (SYD) – VJ085
Airline: Vietjet Air
Class: Business
Seat: 2C – Aisle seat in a 2-2-2 layout
Aircraft: A330
Flight Time: 9 Hours – on time
The final leg of the journey was an overnight flight leaving at 7.30pm from Ho Chi Minh and arriving at 7.20am in Sydney. This is when the lay-flat seat some into the equation. Although I had ordered a meal for after take off, I was fast asleep early into the flight and fortunately chose to not be woken for my meal. Waking 90 minutes before arrival in Sydney, I was asked if I would like breakfast. I had ordered Banh Mi and an iced coffee with condensed milk, which was a perfect way to start the day as the sun rose over the clouds outside the window.
Once again, on arrival, fast tracking exit from the plane could give you time to browse the duty free shops or wait for the luggage to arrive.
Final Verdict
With flights leaving regularly from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne and more planned for Perth later this year, VietJet is a convenient way to access Vietnam and beyond. For those on a budget, there are weekly specials to tempt you. For those who want to pamper themselves and experience Business Class, this has most of the benefits without the high price tag. There are also flights planned to India, so it is a cheap and convenient way to get to that destination.
The staff are particularly friendly and helpful and do their best to make you have an enjoyable flight.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Flights can be booked on-line here
Tickets can also be booked via Vietjet Apps, OTA, Facebook, Vietjet Livestream Episodes, etc. as well traditional channels through agents and Vietjet ticketing offices in Vietnam, in AUS and globally.
Vietjet regularly holds weekly discounted fare promotions for Australian travellers until December 31, 2023 every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. They have an ongoing promotion that gives travellers the chance to score free connecting flights departing from Ho Chi Minh City (subject to availability) to other domestic destinations within Vietnam.
Vietjet launches Mega Business and SkyBoss Promotion for Multi-Destination Travel
From now until the 31st of August 2023 (23:59, GMT+7), Vietjet is offering discounts of up to 50% to passengers booking Business and SkyBoss (premium economy) class seats.
The promo tickets apply to existing routes that connect Australia (Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney) and Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City), all of Vietjet’s domestic routes, as well as routes originating from Vietnam to various international destinations, such as India, Kazakhstan, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong (China), and Southeast Asia.
To take advantage of this offer, travellers need to key in the code “BESTFLIGHT” (*) to enjoy up to 40% discount on Business class seats, while those wanting to book SkyBoss seats need to key in “ENJOYFLYING” (*) to avail of up to 50% discount.
The travel period for this promotion spans from the 6th of September to the 30th of November 2023, excluding public holidays. Tickets can be purchased on the website www.vietjetair.com/en, or via the Vietjet Air mobile app.
(*) Terms, and Conditions apply.
The writer was a guest of Vietjet and stayed in Mōvenpick Resort in Nha Trang and Hôtel des Arts in Saigon
