Vietjet to Laos

Time for me to add an other airline to the growing list of airlines I’ve flown. This time it was Vietjet’s turn to fly me somewhere new - Ho Chi Minh City to Vientiane in Laos. Check in at Ho Chi Minh and as a breeze with almost no one in the queue. Not bad for a low cost airline. The immigration queue was long and painfully slow so I was glad I got here early.

Once airside I opted for a late lunch bowl of pho - a must when in Vietnam. The restaurant upstairs had a great view of the runways and tarmac. In other words, a great place for this pho loving avgeek traveller. Pho consumed and boarding time getting closer I wandered to the gate, only to find a gate change. Wandering to the new gate there was as no sign of Vietjet staff or plane despite it being the alleged boarding time.

The vibe among fellow westerners was “are we at the right place?”, said without speaking with glances in each others direction. Boarding time came and went without any sign we were at the right gate, other than the occasional passenger running to the gate and asking others around if they had missed the flight.

About 30mins post boarding time Vietjet staff arrived and so did the incoming flight from Bangkok. Boarding commenced around the original departure time, and despite having boarding groups, and the staff going to the effort of putting signs up to sort said groups, boarding was just a first in best dressed situation.

Once on board the A321I realised I had somehow ended up seated in the ‘Skyboss’ cabin. I’d booked a deluxe ticket but didn’t realise that Vietjet had a business cabin. Sure it’s euro business style, but had little curtain separating the cabin from the rest. Once the door was closed a lot of people wanted to move seats which was weird but the crew did well to accomodate everyone.

Once airborne, I was surprised to receive a free hot meal. It was some sort of veggie curry with rice - pretty good for a low cost carrier. Much better than Jetstar’s food for sure. As the sun set the ladies sitting next to me liked the photos I took and gave me their phones to try and replicate for them.

The route took me over Phnom Penh and Ankor Watt in Cambodia - all of which looked like an inland sea - before heading across eastern Thailand before descending into the capital of Laos, Vientiane. Immigration and luggage were super quick and it was only a 10min taxi to my hotel to call it a night. I would fly Vietjet again - if for nothing else than their catchy song played during boarding.Läs mer