Review of Vietnam Airlines flight from Hanoi to Da Nang in Economy

INTRODUCTION

Hello FlightReporters
For an aviation geek like me summer means only one thing: flying
At the beginning of June my family and I started to discuss about a big trip in August
We evaluated many places in South East Asia and also India
Finally we find an Italian tour operator offering an interesting 14-day trip of Vietnam and Cambodia
The tour spaced between many places in Northern Vietnam (like Ha Noi and Ha Long bay), Central Vietnam (Hoi An and Hue), South Vietnam (Saigon and Mekong's delta) and Cambodia (Phnom Pehn and Angkor's temples)
To get there from Rome we would have fly with Cathay Pacific through Hong Kong
After some worries about Hong Kong's political situation we left on August 18th
Return planned for September 1st

Some personal stats:
First time with Vietnam Airlines

at the airport

After spending three days visiting Ha Noi, Nihn Bihn and wonderful Ha Long Bay it's time for us to move to Central Vietnam
In the morning of 22nd August we left our cruise boat on Ha Long Bay to go to Ha Noi Airport
Our flight, operated by Vietnam Airlines, was scheduled at 19:00
On the way to Ha Noi Airport our guide informed us that the plane would have had a one-hour delay
Therefore we would have waited at the airport and had dinner there
We arrived at Ha Noi - Nội Bài International Airport minutes before 17:00
Emirates Boeing 777 heading to runway 

Domestic flights at HAN are handled at Terminal 1, while Terminal 2 hosts international flights

The departure hall looking quite new

Our flight was not displayed yet on FIDS

We were directed to Vietnam Airlines group check-in

My boarding pass

A map of the terminal was displayed close to the check-in
The Y-layout is very effective in my opinion since all the gates are close to the core, where security checkpoint is located

Having a lot of spare time we went upstairs to have dinner

After a good vietnamese dinner we proceeded downstairs
Meanwhile the delay became 1 hour and 40 minutes

Security check-point access
Photografy was strictly forbidden

Before the screening BPs and documents were checked
The control itself was quite standard
We passed through it in about 10 minutes

The departure lounge had a good amount of shops and food

The only spotting pic
Bamboo Airways A321neo

While the lower floor was quite nice, the upper one was quite dark and "sad"

Our gate

Finally at 20:20 our plane arrived at the gate
Boarding was scheduled twenty minutes after
Our plane:
Vietnam Airlines A321-231, VN-A335 delivered on August '12 (7.1 years old)
The plane is equipped with 178 seats (C16-Y16)

the flight

At 20:40 boarding started at gate 7

Vietnam Airlines A320 parked next to us

Really like that blue livery with lotus flower

I gave the Flight report form to the Purser and walked to my seat

Seats were a bit "old-style", but really comfortable

Pitch was good for a hour flight

Around 21:05 doors were closed and we started pushback

Meanwhile safety video was played

Lights were lowered for take off

Bye Bye Ha Noi

Half a hour into the flight a drink was served

Around 22 we started our descent to Da Nang

Two hours late than scheduled we landed at Da Nang International Airport

We parked at the empty Terminal

The cabin during desembark

I took the flight report from the Purser and thanked them
The captain mistakenly wrote the number of seats instead of crew members :P

Last snap of our blue bird

No doubts about where we were

VietJet Air A320 parked next to us

The Terminal looks quite new and modern

Walk to the baggage reclaim hall was very short

Belt 3 for us

Baggages arrived in about 10 minutes
Once outside we met our guide for Central Vietnam

A bus was waiting for us outside and carried us to our hotel in Hoi An, 30 km from Da Nang
Our tour would include Hoi An and Hue

To be continued…