I was travelling to Jakarta last September. I chose to fly with Vietnam Airlines since it has direct flight from Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) to Jakarta (CGK). The flight took 3 hours.
Generally, I was satisfied with the flight. I wen to the airport early although I didn't have to queue. I entered the business class counter where I didn't have to wait. However, I still had to line up at the immigration counter. I had the so-called Sky Priority on my boarding pass but there was no such priority lane for immigration process.
I went to Apricot CIP Lounge by SASCO in the airside. The food was so so, not as good as I experienced in Bangkok or else where but much better than in some places such as Kolkata Airport. Apricot Lounge has a very nice view of the tarmac so you can watch the planes taking off, landing and taxiing.
The lounge:
I was boarding the plane with a bus. Because I was a priority passenger on business class, I was taken to the plane on a small van. With this trip, I travelled on an Airbus A321. The cabin was a regional business class. Of course, there was no flat bed.
The FA was very nice. She smiled all the time and even when she didn't smile, I also felt that she smiled. Half of the business class cabin was empty.
The following photos are about the in-flight meal:
Business class seats
While waiting for the meal
Appetizer: dried beef with cheddar
Main course: Fish something
I asked for blanket and pillow since the cabin was a little bit cold and I wanted to take a nap
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport of Jakarta
Thank you for this first report and welcome here :)
Nice FR with a connection out of the beaten path of flight-reporters. Catering looks good, especially the garlic bread.
You should not leave your full name and details on the boarding pass...you never know.
Thanks so much Pititom. Thanks for your first comment on my post and yes, I will fixed the boarding pass now. ^^
Welcome !
Thank you for sharing your first trip report.
Such a nice flight with a great product, the catering looks fresh and tasty. Are the FA always that smiley on VN ? I've always heard the opposite, so that's a good point.
Thanks Flyism!
I have to admit that Vietnam Airlines business class meal generally good. You're right about the FA. Sometimes they don't smile a lot but I was impressed with the FA on that flight. I was lucky enough to meet on other 2 flights. For Vietnamese FAs, they're improved pretty much comparing few years ago. I heard that Vietnam Airlines aims to become the number one traditional carrier in South East Asia and I hope they can do that.
Welcome !
Vietnam Airline is quite improve these day with the long route, keep it up bro :)
Welcome to a new community bro!
Thank you for sharing this report. I always love reading reports from Asia,which country are you from originally?
The catering looks quite tasty :)
Welcome to the site, hope you'll post more reports :)
Thanks AirCanada881,
I'm Vietnamese and I live in Ho Chi Mih City (aka Saigon). I usually fly with Vietnam Airlines. :)
Thanks for sharing your first FR and welcome aboard
It's great to have smiling FAs on a flight
See you soon with another FR
Thanks. Waiting for your next FR too.
Thank you for your first FR on flight report
VN got a quite decent product in medium haul !!
Thanks Denzee,
I agree! Vietnam Airlines is not a 4 or 5 star carrier but I satisfy with most of the flights with them. Business class on short and medium-haul flights is worth to try.
I flew VN on a route of similar length back in 2010, also in an A321, and had a very similar experience.
This is a very good first report, and we can expect more of them, considering your Elite status.
Like AirCanada881, I welcome reports on Far-eastern regional flights, in a region which is dear to my heart. Welcome among the contributors !
Thank you, Mr Marathon,
Actually, your FR about Vietnam Airlines flight from SGN to NGO was the first post in FR that I read. Very impressive. I have some interesting stories to share on FR but so lazy to write. Since I found that this community is very nice and friendly, I will try to interact more. Thanks again for encouraging me for my first time here.
Thanks for sharing this first report with us! Always happy to see reports from Vietnam (I am half Viet). The service looks pretty good overall; too bad there are no PTVs on these medium-haul flights. Hope to see many more reports from you in the future!
Welcome to Flight-Report!
Hello bro,
Nice to know you. It's good to know that you're half Vietnamese. :) Thanks for welcoming me.
Thanks for this nice FR and welcome to Flight-Report :)
Thank you :)