Last month I traveled from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang with Vietnam Airlines. I upgraded myself to Business Class which costed me an extra 75Euro. Find out whether it was worth it upgrading to Business Class on a domestic Vietnam Airlines flight.
Vietnam Airlines A321 Business vs Economy
Even though the trip from HCMC to Nha Trang only takes around one hour, I was still tempted to purchase the Business Class upgrade. The A321 Vietnam Airlines economy cabin seats can have extremely cramped leg space – see the picture above – so with that background knowledge, I decided to purchase the upgrade. But to be honest, I was also curious to find out what the Business Class experience would be like on a domestic Vietnam Airlines flight.
With this Business Class upgrade, I fully anticipated that I could visit the lounge at the HCMC Airport. I’m also platinum elite with SkyTeam, so what could possibly go wrong…. Well, the fact that I still couldn’t access the lounge! A purchased business class upgrade apparently doesn’t grant you access to the lounge – I probably missed that small print…
Platinum elite status with SkyTeam also doesn’t give you access anymore when just flying domestic with Vietnam Airlines. Seems Vietnam Airlines is copying some lounge access rule restrictions from the US?
So, deprived of writing a critical lounge review, I was ready to board the plane and check out the Business Class cabin on the A321. And first impressions are very good; Big seats with plenty of leg space. These seats are definitely impressive considering this is a short domestic flight. I’m instantly feeling a lot better about my upgrade purchase. I’m ready for champaign!
OK, that was a bit too enthusiastic. The choice is water or juice. I take the apple juice and that was just fine. The big question is, will Vietnam Airlines serve a little snack for a 1-hour flight in Business Class? A little sandwich maybe – or even better, in true Vietnamese style, a Banh Mi? Or just some pretzels? Since they have already copied the US lounge access restrictions, they might as well copy the ‘food’ offering…
The answer is, they just serve tea, coffee, or water. That’s still a little bit better than in Economy Class though where you are only getting water.
Sitting on the left side of the plane, offered some great views of Nha Trang and Hon Tre Island just before landing. These great views were also the only entertainment options on board because there are no screens. There are also no entertainment options offered via your own personal device.
Conclusion
I was very interested to know what the Business Class experience would be like on this domestic flight. The seat is very impressive for such a short flight. But besides the seat, you won’t get much more benefits expect for a juice and a tea or coffee. And when you do a last minute upgrade like I did, you are also denied lounge access.
For this time, I was happy paying the additional 75Euro and getting some extra leg room, especially since I know how cramped the Economy Class seats could be. But knowing what other little benefits you get, I’m not sure I’ll do it again for this price. Maybe if it’s a bit cheaper or the flight is more than 2 hours. At least I now know what to expect, and so do you!
Also please review my Youtube video about this trip;
And check out my blog regarding flying Qatar Business Class from Amsterdam to Ho Chi Minh City
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