After spending 5 beautiful days in Hanoi and Northern Vietnam, I was ready to see my next destination : Bangkok in Thailand. This was my first time in this very touristic country, so I was not sure what to expect…
I initially wanted to use some BA Avios to book the Fifth freedom QR flight between HAN and BKK, availability was there for weeks before I decided to book it, and when I was ready to reserve a business class seat on this flight, it was not there anymore : It appeared that QR decided to stop this Fifth freedom flight and fly to Hanoi directly from Doha. So I ended up booking a cheap VN flight, in economy class, where I could still enjoy some SkyPriority benefits.

The Uber ride to the airport was relatively smooth, considering the intense traffic in the Vietnamese capital and I reached Noi Bai airport in a bit less than 45 minutes from the center of the city.

Hanoi airport





The airport being a hub for the national carrier Vietnam Airlines, a large and dedicated check-in area for SkyPriority eligible passengers was available at the end of the international terminal, pier H.


Skypriority check-in area



Only a few minutes were necessary to tag my luggage and issue my boarding pass to BKK, and after I went downstairs to change the remaining Vietnamese Dongs I had in my possession, I went straight to immigration and security clearance where sky priority counters were available at both check points. Less than 5 minutes were necessary to complete both actions - thumbs up to HAN airport and Vietnam Airlines for the smooth process !


Lounge coupon


Skypriority lane was available for immigration and security procedures.

After a few outside pictures and visiting a few shops, I went to the VN lotus lounge upstairs and was greeted by 2 friendly agents.


Departures board


Plane spotting in Hanoi








Lounge access upstairs

The lounge is quite large and was not very busy when I was there. At the end of lounge can be found a relaxation section with massage chairs while the buffet area is located in the middle of the lounge. It also has large windows to the outside and I remember seeing a smoking section (I don’t really care as I am a non-smoker).


VN lotus lounge entrance


VN lounge Hanoi airport




Nice outside views from the lounge


Relaxing area




Bar and buffet


Beverage selection

The buffet has a few hot and cold options, including a make-your-own Phô (vietnamese noodle soup), which is a popular option with Vietnamese travelers for lunch.


Buffet selection








Make your own noodle soup




I am ready for lunch !



Finally, the lounge has wifi connection and I recall the speed was ok.

I stayed about 40 minutes in the lounge before heading downstairs towards the bus gate 26, from where my flight to Bangkok was departing.





The general boarding had already started when I arrived and I used the sky priority lane to bypass the crowd. Note that a separate bus was available for business class passengers and the gate agent invited me to use it, but also mentioned that the normal bus would be faster to reach the aircraft as it was ready to depart, so I used this latter option. I am not a big fan of bus gates, but appreciate when airlines offer a special bus service for premium class passengers, as the buses are usually packed to the brim…

We reached our aircraft, the same one I had the week before between REP and LPQ after a 5 minutes airport bus tour.


VN-A615 to Bangkok