Connection time in SGN?
 

Would be grateful for some quick advice:

My travel agent tells me that the minimum connection time in SGN (Ho Chi Mihn City) is 2 hours. I am asking him to book the following two flights:

Sunday, 11/18: LH772 BKK->SGN 4:05pm-5:40pm, then VN328 (Vietnam Airlines) SGN->DAD 7:20om-8:30pm

The above gives us 1h40m to connect. We will be traveling First on LH and Business on VN. Stas on LH772 indicate that it is 63% on time with an average delay of 18 minutes.

What sort of customs/immigration formalities (if any) do we have to undergo in SGN if our ultimate destination is DAD (Danang)? Do we have to exit and re-enter security? Do we get any "fast track" access for First?

Thanks very much for any help!

It's a little tight to be honest. I arrived on LH772 (in F) a couple of months ago and we got in a bit early. This didn't count for much as the queue at immigration was bad. Loads on the BKK-SGN leg of LH772 are usually light.

They have just (beginning of this month) opened a new international terminal at SGN and the old joint terminal has now been turned over to domestic operations. I haven't been through the new place yet but it is supposed to be quicker to clear immigration. Baggage was always fabulously quick at the old terminal but first reports of the new place were not so. This was during the soft opening though so hopefully it's improved.

Unless it's imperative that you get to Danang on the Sunday night I would recommend spending the night in Saigon and going up the next day. I notice there are no flights after VN328.

Thanks MAN Flyer. We will not have any checked bags, so at least there's that, but it sounds like we will have to transit from the international terminal to the domestic.

Has anyone been through the new Intnl terminal at SGN?

Immigration I'm told is much quicker than before (more counters). You'll be first off your plane and as long as there isn't a flight ahead of you, you should be first in line too (there is a Cathay flight that arrives around the same time). You'll need to walk from the International Terminal to the Domestic Terminal (separate buildings). 5-10 minute walk at the most. Check in for Da Nang s/b quick (separate counter for Business Class and not many customers usually flying Biz on this route). More than likely, the VN Air flight will be late in departing. I think you should be OK as long as your flight arrives on time.

I'm flying out tmrw and back on Sunday. I'll post when I get back if I've got anything new to add.

The new International terminal has about 20 gates so it is not that long. It takes about 5 minutes to get from one end of the terminal to the custom counters which is in the middle of the terminal. The international connections are before the custom which means those who transit on to international destination no longer needs to cross the custom counters anymore. For domestic, you will need to trek to the adjacent (old) building. I did not see a direct connecting hall inside the international building to the old one so you may have to head outside.

The airport is much cleaner than the old one. It even has escalators to speed you up.

There are just 8 jetways at the new terminal, so size wise, it's about the same as the old terminal. But it is definitely a lot nicer.

Arriving last night, at least 15 immigration counters were open. 5 minutes from plane to clearing immigration (flying in Biz with no other flights ahead of us).

Will be departing from SGN at 16:40 on MH759 on 22 Dec and was planning to connect on SQ178 from SIN that arrives 13:45. Hard to imagine a scenario where SQ arrives late and MH departs early and at face value 2Hrs:45min seems like plenty for an international connection. But then again this is vietnam and I have never used the new terminal before....

Appreciate feedback from anyone who has done an international transit here. ie, do we need to exit through immigration and customs and then check in again landide or are there now transit desks so we can stay airside.?

I'm surprised nobody has answered - perhaps because you asked for personal experience and no-one here's done it.

All I can say is I saw signs to transfer desks as I passed through a couple of weeks back. I'm pretty certain that you would not have had to pass through immigration to get to these and that therefore your timings will be fine.

In fact, I've always found immigration OK in Saigon. Even if you did go out and back in, I think you'd be fine - though most nationalities need a visa organised. I have a multientry and couldn't bear not to go out... though unless you were out really quickly it would be a risk, especially if you're not familiar with the place.

Check-in queues can be awful at SGN and can only be escaped if you're in the higher classes or have FF status.

Hi all,

any recent experiences connecting in SGN?

I am flying JFK-HKG-SGN-REP. I think I am going to purchase a separate ticket for the SGN-REP leg as I am flying CX J on an award ticket and I don't think they can combine. I have 1h35m connection. I believe I'll have to pick up my bags and then go through security again unless CX can check my bag through to REP even though I purchased a separate ticket.

If you have to clear immigration and pick up your bags on separate tickets then i would say possibly not enough time.
On a good day you could be out within 20 minutes, then back through departure immigration and then security in a further 30 minutes.
On a bad day entry may take 40 minutes, on exit i personally have spent 25 minutes at immigration then a further 30 minutes at security.

If you can check in online and then get bags tagged all the way then no problems.

This is enough time if it works but not enough at all in case you need to claim bags and go landside to re-check. The lines can be long and very slow in SGN at immigration and security. And depending on your citizenship, you may need a visa to enter Vietnam. And if you need a visa and don't have one and if CX doesn't tag your bag to REP, then they will deny you boarding in HKG because in their system, you are just flying to Vietnam and doesn't have the visa.

Also, if you purchase a separate ticket for SGN-REP, be sure to buy a ticket on a VN-operated flight and not a K6 flight (Cambodia Angkor Air). K6 belongs mostly to VN and they code-share together, but K6 doesn't have any interline agreement except with VN. So be careful of code-shares and buy a ticket on a VN-opetared flight and with VN flight number.

I suspect you can check your bag through. If so zero problems. You should check with CX.

If you can not check through and assuming you are a U.S. citizen, you will need to clear immigration and will therefore need a VN visa. Two options.. Visa on Arrival (VOA) or visa in advance from an overseas VN Embassy/Counsel. With a VOA, 1:35 is tight. I'd get a visa in advance in which case, 1:35 is fine. 20~30 minutes max to clear immigration, pick up bags and clear customs. Two minutes to get from arrivals to departure. Check in, immigration and security on the REP flight should take no more than 10 or 15 minutes (there is a priority line for J in security). I fly internationally out of SGN 2 or 3 times a month in J and never check in more than 60 minutes in advance.

I certainly won't say it's fine. The slightest delay from HKG and he's screwed if he has to go landside. On separate tickets and especially when a border crossing is necessary, never do that kind of connection in less than 2.5 hrs.

Yea, sounds like this is a bad idea then. I will have to buy a visa, clear customs, recheck, and then go through security again. It is on Cambodia Angkor Air so no interline with CX. It is REALLY hard to get to REP from BOS with miles

You should rather try to reach REP via BKK. There are at least 6 daily flights between BKK and REP by PG and K6. You may not have the possibility to redeem OW miles on PG, but if you don't, you can buy this leg as a separate ticket on K6 or PG with a sufficient connection time (you will not need any visa to go landside in BKK, so less hassle than in Vietnam).

Plus CX flights seem to be notoriously late into SGN for some reason.

Does anyone know what the MCT is for I/I connection at SGN? I'll be flying in from BKK to SGN and then onwards to DOH on the recent QR deal...

I don't know what the "legal" MCT time is but you should be able to do it in 10 minutes worst case.

I understand you will be travelling on separate tickets. If yes, the notion of MCT is irrelevant in that case. Even if you are compliant with the MCT, you have no protection in case of misconnection.

What about a situation where a QR PNH-SGN flight is followed by QR SGN-DOH on separate tix.

How would this be handled? Would a BP be issued for the onward flight in PNH? Would I need to deplane, go to the transit desk and then reboard? At least I'd be assured of not misconnecting. :D

I don't know if the 2nd BP will be issued in PNH. Could be but could be not. If not, you will have to collect it at a transfer desk (if any).
Another issue to consider when connecting in Vietnam on separate tickets is that many citizenships require a visa to enter Vietnam and if you don't have one (and require one), the airlines should logically deny you boarding the 1st flight (to Vietnam) because in the booking (in their system), you just go to Vietnam. Showing an e-ticket for an onward flight is sometimes not enough. In your case (QR to QR), it might be easier to convince them as they can see everything in their system and they can even create a kind of link between the 2 PNRs

The visa scenario is easily handled by procuring an evisa ahead of time. The $12 (or whatever) it costs would be worthwhile even if it's never used.

The quick turn in SGN is the concern if the BP isn't in hand.

SGN does not see many int'l to int'l connections. However there is a transit desk in the main immigration area. It is usually staffed by just a few people, I believe they are VN staff. I've never seen other airline staff there, but there have been some people mention they transited ok. I saw, I think in the VOA thread, one comment saying the staff go out and get your boarding pass for you, bring it back into the airside area, and you can transit int'l to int'l. As with all things Vietnam, YMMV. If you do have a bp already, I'd just approach that desk and ask them where to go, cuz it isn't clearly marked that I know of where there is a stairway or elevator and security to get upstairs.

If you have an evisa and are willing to go through immigration, then your only question is about the length of lines at immigration, and those vary. I've been through many times, some only a few minutes, and others at the "rush hour" of many flights landing it took 30-45 minutes. Departure lines have also been pretty lengthy at times, but the newly remodeled departure immigration and security area has kept that moving quickly as of late, even when the lines are a bit long. Basically my point is that if you are going to go via immigration and going upstairs, it's again YMMV but biggest factor might be if the QR flight lands at the same time as some other widebodies.

Thanks for this info. My flight isn't for a few months yet so plenty of time make a decision. ^

I'm considering doing PNH-SGN before my SGN-DOH flight, so naturally I came across this thread. I tried pricing the itinerary out as separate segments on ITA and could only get 25 hour connection (i.e. it didn't work like I was hoping it would with a ~1hr connection).