HAN Turnaround on TG
When considering doing a BKK-HAN-BKK turnaround, I tried to research this but came up empty on any information about even transiting, much less a turnaround. Without any Vietnamese visa though, I decided to fly into virgin territory and try a turnaround at a point which I felt was prime for potential pitfalls. The result though was a very easy turnaround.
I tried to get my return boarding pass at BKK, but was not able to. On arrival I had my health/quarantine form filled out just in case it was needed. Deplaning, there are only signs which say "Exit". No place are there signs directing you to "Transit" or "Transfer", but upon arriving in the arrival hall, I did notice the "Connecting Flights" counter to the rear, so went there. Nobody was manning it, but one airport worker was nearby so I asked her. She directed me towards the quarantine line and immigration area. I said to myself at this point, "this isn't looking good at all." I handed in my quarantine form, then found an official and showed him my ticket and said I was transiting. He pointed me to go back where I was and to the left, which I did. The arrival hall is basically divided into two sections, with the "Visa on Arrival" room at the back being in the center, dividing the two sections. I just walked past the "Visa on Arrival" room, and found an identical "Connecting Flights" counter on the other side manned by two officials.
When I told them I was transiting on TG, they immediately called a staff member who quite quickly and professionally handled processing my transit and issuing me my boarding pass. At the end he told me to wait because he needed to go landside to get my lounge invitation, which took about 5 minutes. The officials flipped though my passport and stamped it. All the time I was the only passenger at the transit desk (no surprise there). I then headed up the escalator marked "For Transit Passengers" (or something to that effect), then up again to the TG contract lounge.
I wasn't expecting much so was pleasantly surprised it was actually a decent lounge for being a contract lounge. Some sort of apparent broadband dialup internet wasn't working, but I snacked on a few of the food choices to pass my time.
I left the lounge before the boarding announcement to have a quick look at the shops, which look to be mostly carbon copies of each other and nothing of any interest to me. When the boarding announcement came, I was a bit surprised that Hanoi's idea of *A priority boarding is exactly opposite of what it should be. The announcement was something to the effect of "will economy class passengers now please board. Business class and Star Alliance Gold passengers please wait for the next announcement." I was a bit shocked to hear that, though I'm sure they wouldn't stop business or *G passengers from boarding then if they wanted to. There never was any announcement for us to board and when the final call was made I then boarded.
A very easy turnaround, and I wouldn't foresee any problems for transit passengers either. If you have checked luggage which isn't checked through, it might be a problem, though I failed to ask about this scenario, which I'm sure many would be interested in. I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't ask that your luggage be retrieved and checked in by the staff while you wait at the transit desk, though without asking about if it was possible, don't know that I'd want to risk it without having a Vietnamese visa.