Vietnam Airlines is the flag carrier of Vietnam with an average of 3 pairs of flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Singapore daily. Flight VN651 is the morning flight from Ho Chi Minh City departing at 9.10am, arriving in Singapore at 12.10pm. Due to the timing, it is also usually the cheapest Vietnam Airlines fare to Singapore available during peak periods.
Self check-in kiosks are available near the entrance for Vietnam Airlines, but if you have check-in luggage, this would offer little help.
The queue to check-in took around 30 minutes at the common check-in counter for Economy Class.
My boarding pass for the flight back to Singapore.
The flight was departing from Gate 27.
After immigration and security screening, Gate 27 is on the right of the terminal.
The Vietnam Airlines Airbus A321-200 (VN-A362) at Gate 27.
Boarding the flight with no crowd at the gate for some reason.
Heading down the aerobridge.
The interior of Vietnam Airlines’s Economy Class on the Airbus A321.
The in-flight entertainment and information were provided from drop-down screens rather than seat-back screens.
The amount of legroom on board Economy Class.
The items in the seat pocket, including a rather elaborate vomit bag.
Before departure, the stewardess came around to give out wet towels.
The safety video was played on the drop-down screens.
Once the video was done, the drop-down screens were stowed for take-off.
The washroom on board was clean with amenities such as toothbrush kits and shaving kits available.
For lunch, a choice of Beef with Rice or Fish with Potatoes was offered.
Here’s the Beef with Rice option.
A silent episode of Just for Laughs was played during the meal service.
After that, the screen showed the flight path.
The drop-down screens were folded up about 20 minutes prior to landing.
Safely arrived at Changi Airport Terminal 4.
VietJet Air VJ811 on the same route from Ho Chi Minh City to Singapore just 10 minutes ahead arrived as well.
Heading down for immigration.
The welcoming arrival immigration area with the Petalclouds “fluttering” above.
For this VN651 flight, the baggage reclaim was at Arrival Belt 2.
Belt 2 was shared with AK1775 from Kuching and QZ141 from Padang.
Waiting for the check-in bags with the view of the Petalclouds above.
Overall, the Vietnam Airlines VN651 flight was uneventful, but the legroom was comfortable enough and taste of the food was pretty decent. Even though Vietnam Airlines is a full-service carrier, the lack of a personal in-flight entertainment (IFE) system did make the overall experience a little less impressive.
Given that the fares for international routes of Vietnam Airlines are usually double than that of VietJet Air (excluding add-ons), I think I might stick with VietJet Air for now.