Our long journey home began with a Grab from the Hyatt Regency to the Da Nang airport. On the trip, all of our Grab drivers had been good drivers, never using their phones or other distractions like so many of our Uber/Lyft drivers in the US. Until this one. He seemed like he didn’t quite know the location of the airport , how to navigate a roundabout and/or how to use a GPS. He was a young guy, so maybe he was new to Grab or new to driving, but in any event, we were pretty happy to get to the airport in one piece.

We checked some bags for the journey home. Since we had at least two extra carry-ons, we checked our rollaboard suitcases as well. It made our connection in Japan easier, but we had to check and reclaim and re-check our bags several times across three airlines and five airports.

At Da Nang, we checked in with Vietnam Airlines. I had splurged for business class seats for about $200 per person. Even though my Delta Platinum status would have given us preferred seats and (possibly?) lounge access for the $100 economy fare, I thought it would be nice to start the long journey with some extra comfort.

We found our way to the Vietnam Airlines Lotus Lounge, which was quite nice for an outstation lounge in a domestic terminal. There was a decent food spread including a make your own noodle soup station. The bathrooms were clean as well.

VN 135 DAD-SGN A321
Scheduled: 17:35-19:15
Actual: 17:35-18:58

Our gate was just downstairs from the lounge. Thankfully we had a jetway although for some reason it felt like it was about 1/2 mile long. We were in seats 2C and 2D on the right side of business class. Vietnam Airlines’ entire short-haul fleet is A321s, including some neos. We were most certainly not on a neo, judging by the state of the cabin.

We were given a predeparture beverage of water or juice and a cold towel, which was very welcome as the plane was fairly warm. There were overhead air vents at least.

We pushed back on time and the taxi was short. We headed down to Ho Chi Minh City with a pleasant sunset on our side of the plane. Unfortunately, the window was really scratched so it was hard to get any decent pictures.

We were served a snack. My notes say it was “some sort of rice thing with yogurt for dessert.” I ordered a club soda to go with it.

We were wheels down at 18:47, only about an hour after we took off. We parked at the SGN domestic terminal, which is actually a separate building from the international terminal. In any event, we had to get our bags and re-check them.

The domestic business class experience on Vietnam Airlines was pleasant. Unlike on a US airline, we had food served on a short flight. There was no IFE, but the flight attendants were lovely and while the plane was old, everything was functional. We both automatically received Delta SkyMiles and MQDs within a few days after our flights on Vietnam Airlines which was a good sign of SkyTeam integration.

Up Next: Transiting SGN and Le Saigonnais Lounge International Terminal SGN Review

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