Thai VietJet Air VZ626 from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport Main Terminal Building (MTB) to Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 4 Flight Review

Thai VietJet Air is a Bangkok-based Thai budget airline which launched their Singapore route last year. I still have not tried Thai VietJet Air, though I have already flown on the original VietJet Air from Ho Chi Minh City to Singapore. This time, to see what was the difference in Thai VietJet Air versus Thai VietJet Air, I booked myself on Thai VietJet Air back to Singapore after my S$50 one-way overland trip.

Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport Main Terminal Building (MTB)

Despite being a budget airline, Thai VietJet Air flies out of Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK).

At the time of my flight, Thai VietJet Air still used the 1 Main Terminal Building (MTB) that Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) has. International Thai VietJet Air flights may now be using the new SAT-1 midfield satellite terminal for contact gates, but check-in still remains at the Main Terminal Building (MTB) since the new SAT-1 terminal is mainly for gates.

Checking the departure board for my Thai VietJet Air VZ626 flight.

Check-in for my Thai VietJet Air VZ626 to Singapore is at Row N.

I arrived 3 hours before departure for check-in to deal with the growing immigration queues and to enjoy the airport for a bit longer.

Looks like I will be catching a bus to my plane later, with the bus gate of C2A assigned.

There was not much people queuing 3 hours before departure and my waiting time was less than 1 minute.

My boarding pass for my Thai VietJet Air VZ626 from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport Main Terminal Building (MTB) to Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 4.

Row N is just in front of the escalator up to international departures for security screening.

I headed directly in to start my queue process, with an estimated queuing time for immigration of 12 minutes.

There was no queue for security, with the queue building up after at immigration. While the screen predicted a 12-minute queue for immigration, my whole process took 21 minutes instead.

The linkway down to the Automated People Mover (APM) station for the APM train to SAT-1 was already unveiled, with the escalator blocked off by queue poles.

Peeking at the new linkway from the lift.

Heading left to the C gates.

Around the midpoint, there is a choice of using 1 travellator to slightly speed up your walk, or continue by the shops.

Turning right at the junction towards the C gates.

Heading out to the C gates.

Heading down the escalator to the gates level.

C2A is just beside the down escalator on the right.

My flight details on the big screen at Gate C2A.

Heading down the escalator to the bus gate of Gate C2A.

Gate C2A has ample seats and overflowing standing space which looks suitable for big aircraft.

Looking out to the THAI Ground Services buses. Will this be my bus to Singapore?

Boarding pass checks are made only upon boarding to ensure that passengers are on the bus and not stuck in the gate hold room.

There was quite bad weather outside with very heavy rain.

Thailand 2-pin and 3-pin power sockets of type A, B, C, F, and O are available from the floor at selected rows of seats after the toilets.

At 4.58pm, 2 minutes before scheduled departure, an announcement was made that my Thai VietJet Air VZ626 flight from Bangkok to Singapore would be delayed due to bad weather, and the new estimated departure time will be at 7pm.

2 more hours to walk around Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, a lot more than I had bargained for.

The departure screen also reflected the the new estimated departure time of my Thai VietJet Air VZ626 flight.

I got back to Gate C2A in good time for the new departure time. TG341 which is supposed to use Gate C2A after my flight had departed had the gate changed to D1A, another bus gate.

Heading down to Gate C2A again.

The weather had cleared up at this point, but where’s my plane?

An on-the-spot check on Flightradar24 did not show any possibility yet aside from watching planes land, as the aircraft was not pre-assigned yet.

Boarding commenced at 6.58pm, 2 minutes before the rescheduled departure time.

As it was a bus waiting for me, I decided to board last since it wouldn’t make much of a difference anyway.

Getting my boarding pass checked at the counter before heading down to the bus gate.

To my surprise, after my boarding pass was checked and torn, it was returned to me together with a snack box.

Heading out of Gate C2A on the ground floor.

Heading out to my Thai VietJet Air bus.

The interior of the Thai VietJet Air apron bus.

An LSG Sky Chefs-branded box was handed out by the gate staff with my checked and torn boarding pass. I was not expecting this “sorry box” on a budget flight.

There was just a few moments of waiting in front of the plane while passengers from the first bus were still ascending the mobile stairs.

Just 1 door was opened to exit from the bus to funnel the crowd into a queue leading to the mobile stairs.

Heading up the mobile stairs to board the plane.

Boarding at this remote bay also allowed me to hear one last arrival of the AERA1 Airport Rail Link Siemens Desiro Class 360/2 arriving from the track ahead.

The interior of the Thai VietJet Air VZ626 Airbus A320-200.

The seats look thin and upright, but the bottom part is actually angled for a more comfortable sitting position.

The legroom available on board Thai VietJet Air’s Airbus A320-200.

A tray table is provided on the seat back in front of me. Interestingly, the labels are in Vietnamese and English, despite this being Thai VietJet Air.

The plane was still quite empty once boarding was complete.

With many empty rows, I moved myself to one of them near to my originally assigned aisle seat.

The condition of the air-conditioning vent at this row was less than ideal, being “fixed” up with regular tape.

Pushing back from the remote stand.

Taxiing past a Thai Airways Boeing 747-400.

I was hoping to depart from Runway 19L to minimise the delays, since the stand was just adjacent to the runway, but alas, it was going to be a longer taxi.

Taxiing past another Thai Airways Boeing 747-400.

Passing by the B pier.

Looking out at the new SAT-1 terminal.

The long taxi is getting longer with the turn right to taxi across the terminal length and more to get to Runway 19R instead.

My taxi tour of the main terminal building perimeter is finally ending.

Heading on to Runway 19R.

My Thai VietJet Air VZ626 took off from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport at 7.50pm – 2 hours and 50 minutes delayed if counting the original scheduled departure time, and 50 minutes delayed if counting the revised departure time.

Flying past Racha Thewa.

The lit-up Summit Windmill Golf Club at night.

Flying past Wat Salut Interchange, where the 55-kilometer Bang Na Expressway runs, and is the longest road viaduct in the world.

Flying past Phraeksa.

Leaving behind mainland Thailand and flying out at Bang Pu.

Now to explore what’s in my “Sorry Box”.

The free snack box given by Thai VietJet Air as an apology for the delay includes a plain croissant, a probably-raspberry crumble cake (I couldn’t figure out what kind of fruit it actually was but it was red), A chocolate snack, and a cup of water.

For a proper dinner, I ordered my meal from the cart when the crew came around. I decided to order a Roasted Chicken Noodle for 160 Baht, to which the stewardess upsold me an upgrade with either water or Coke for a 180 Baht set.

An extra 20 Baht for a Coke? Sure.

The Roasted Chicken Noodle’s casserole came with a foil cover which made it easy to open.

On opening, it was quite a disappointment with the pale colours all around. Was the chicken also steamed or roasted? The noodles were also a little clumped together. However, taste-wise, it was reasonably okay.

The clean toilet on board.

The labels here are also in Vietnamese and English.

It was quite a turbulent flight during the second hour with very cloudy weather, and the seat belt signs were turned on all the way until just before descend.

Flying past Changi Airport for a southerly landing.

Flying past the many ships below, a sign of arriving in Singapore.

Flying over the Pan Island Expressway (PIE)

My Thai VietJet Air VZ626 flight landed at Singapore Changi Airport at 10.52pm – 2 hours and 22 minutes delayed.

U-turning back to head to Terminal 4.

Taxiing above Airport Boulevard on South Cross.

Taxiing to Terminal 4.

Parked at Gate G12.

Disembarking from the plane via the aerobridge.

Gate G12 is just before the escalator down to arrival immigration, so it was a short petal trail to follow above.

Heading down to arrival immigration.

Heading past duty-free with nothing to buy.

With no check-in baggage to pick up as well, I headed straight out to the public area.

I thought I had more than enough time to catch the last train from Changi Airport MRT Station at Terminals 2 or 3, but in the end, I had to start a bus marathon home as the last train connecting to the last westbound train at Tanah Merah would already have departed by the time I got there with the Changi Airport Terminal 4 Shuttle Bus.

Conclusion

The delay of my Thai VietJet Air VZ626 flight was unfortunate, which was the result of the inbound aircraft having been diverted to U-Tapao–Rayong–Pattaya International Airport due to bad weather, and then flying back up to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport again, adding on to the delay. Many flights during that landing period were diverted to U-Tapao, so I was not the only unlucky one.

The service recovery by Thai VietJet Air was great with updates provided in the gate hold room and a complimentary snack box given at boarding pass checks before boarding the apron bus, and of course apologies from the gate to the on-board announcements by the cabin crew.

Perhaps I would be trying Thai VietJet Air again for a fairer comparison, hopefully with better weather. Thai VietJet Air’s move to the new SAT-1 terminal for international flights would also be a draw for me to try something new.