Today we’re riding with Vietnam Airlines on their A321 in Business Class between SGN and DAD. The A321ceo makes up the back bone of the Vietnam Airlines domestic and short haul international fleet with 48 in the fleet. Vietnam is also adding A321neo aircraft to the their fleet, but the older A321ceo still outnumbers them 2 to 1. Flying is a very popular way of getting around Vietnam and there is lots of competition on the domestic Vietnamese flights. On this flight I purchased business class as the cost difference wasn’t very high.
We chose to ride with Vietnam Airlines over some of the other airlines flying between SGN and DAD because the timing was right and so was the price. This is a popular route with departures every 90 minutes.
Bottom Line: I think that Vietnam Airlines does a fantastic job with their domestic business class flights. Even on a short flight a full hot meal was served and the food was quite good. The A321ceo cabins are starting to show some age, but for a flight of about an hour, I was more than comfortable. I would gladly ride on the Vietnam A321 business class again.
In This Review
Vietnam Airlines Business Class Boarding
After spending about an hour in the very nice Vietnam Airlines Lotus Lounge here at SGN(Review Here) we headed to our gate where boarding was just about to begin.
There was a priority line but none of the announcements had an English component so we just made some guesses and went with it. When we made it to the front of the line we were told to stand to the side to the side as business class would be boarded separately after economy. Ok, odd, but no big deal.
The gate agent made another announcement and then gestured for us to board. So we lined up, passed through the gate and headed down the escalator.
Here in SGN, a lot of the boarding is done by busses and not jet-bridge, even our 787 that arrived here was by stairs and busses. Not a bad thing, just different. We were directed to the closer, smaller bus that’s just for business class passengers. Now the boarding process makes a little more sense.
I wouldn’t say the bus ride to the plane was glamorous, but it was air conditioned and not very crowded.
At our Vietnam A321 we walked up the stairs. They held the economy passengers in their bus so that there wasn’t much of a line for us outside of the plane. I love boarding planes with the stairs, really shows how big a plane is.
Vietnam uses both the front and rear doors for boarding, but being business class, we’re boarding from the front door.
Vietnam Airlines A321 Business Class Seats
We boarded and found our business class seats on the right hand side of the Vietnam A321. This aircraft has 4 rows of 2-2 seating for 16 total business class seats. Other Vietnam Airlines A321s only have 2 rows with 8 seats. Vietnam needs to really evaluate their color choices, I’m not sure the grey and beige color scheme is that attractive.
The leg room on the Vietnam Airlines A321 in business class was really good. Even with my bag stored, I had lots of space.
No in seat video entertainment options on these A321s. But most of the flights will these planes fly are within Vietnam or are very short international flights of less than 3 hours.
A little worn, but the business class seats have lots of controls to adjust the seat.
There’s even an old school audio entertainment jack in the seat.
The seats also had these nice little drink tables that flipped out from the arm rest. These seats were also quiet wide in comparison with US domestic airline First Class seats.
Overhead the passenger panel had the standard Airbus air vents, flight attendant call buttons, and reading lights.
Vietnam Airlines A321 Business Class Departure
During boarding the friendly flight attendant came around and offered cold towels. I really like this here in Vietnam instead of hot towels. It’s hot outside, I don’t need a hot towel, a cold one is pretty refreshing.
Next she came around with drinks, the options were juice or water, I just had water because I’m boring.
Right on time, the boarding door was closed and the glasses and towels were collected.
A safety video was shown on drop down monitors that were spaced throughout the cabin.
Outside we pulled away from our parking area and began to taxi to the runway. The pilot told us the flight time would be 1:05, nice short trip.
Vietnam Airlines A321 SGN Takeoff
Soon we were ready to take-off and head to Da Nang.
Once in the air we got a pretty cool view of Ho Chi Minh City. Looks like a great day for flying.
As we climbed we got to see how large the city really is. SGN is to the north of old Saigon but the city has grown around the airport.
Vietnam Airlines A321 Business Class Meal Service
Very quickly after take off the seatbelt sign was turned off and the flight attendant came around to ask for our lunch order. The options were beef with noodles or a selection of canapes. I had the beef and Val had the canapes.
The tray tables are stored in the outside arm rest.
Linens were laid down before the lunch service.
I liked the Lotus woven into the table cloth fabric.
Next came our lunches served all on one tray. The beef was a Vietnamese type meatball wrapped then grilled. It was served with basil and rice noodles. The N??c ch?m dipping sauce was very good on both the meatballs and noodles. There was a sweet corn and tapioca pudding for desert. Not sure how I feel about the pudding, but the rest of the lunch meal was just perfect.
Val’s selection of canape sandwiches were very good, but not as filling as my beef with noodles. It was paired with the same corn and tapioca pudding. And as Val describes it, I’m not sure I loved it, but I did keep eating it.
The flight attendant then came around and collected our trays. From start to finish the whole meal took about 25 minutes. I was really impressed, it doesn’t take much for a nice little meal and the US airlines could learn a thing or two from their Asian partners.
Vietnam Airlines A321 Business Class In Flight Review
With just about a half hour left in our Vietnam A321 flight we got a great sky view and of Vietnam below.
I settled into a podcast then I remembered the in seat audio and wondered if it worked. I pulled out my 2 prong adapter and checked it out. Well it still worked! There was different music on all of the channels. I looked to see if there was a channel that had ATC like the old United planes, but no such luck.
Just a few minutes later and we were getting ready to land in Da Nang. The flight attendant came around and collected any trash and glasses leftover from the lunch service.
Vietnam Airlines A321 Da Nang Arrival
As we approached DAD we got a nice view the coast and then a small view of the surrounding area.
Finally on the ground here in Da Nang.
Here at DAD we got to use a jet bridge into the airport. One last look at our Vietnam A321.
Vietnam Airlines A321 Business Class Final Thoughts
Business Class on Vietnam Airlines’ A321 is a nice product for these short flights around Vietnam. Our particular aircraft was a little worn. I’m still not sure why Vietnam has such a colorful and unique exterior livery yet the interiors are somewhat bland and almost drab. Oh well, at least the business class seats on the A321 are comfortable. I liked that they were adjustable and had leg rests along with seat recline.
The lunch provided on the Vietnam A321 was great for a flight time of less than an hour. I really did enjoy the grilled meatballs and noodles. No in seat entertainment screens on the Vietnam A321, but there was an old school individual audio selection.
Riding on the VN A321 reminded me of flying US airlines in the late 90s early 2000s. Old school comfortable seats, great service, a quick hot meal, and no in seat entertainment. Nothing wrong with that, I kinda enjoyed it. I’d gladly ride with Vietnam on these short haul domestic flights, though I’d like to check out the economy offering and see what that’s like.
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