dubaiblue

Hi there,

I am looking to fly this route on Vietnam Airlines in J during June and I have a few questions.

1. I will be landing in SGN from Dubai on Emirates J. I land at 19:35, I assume I will not have enough time to make the 21:00 Flight to DAD that night? 1hr 25mins

2. If not can anyone recommend a nice hotel close to the airport?

3. On the return I need to fly from SGN-DXB at 21:10, there are two flights from DAD one arriving at 19:20 and the other at 16:25. Again I am assuming the 19:20 landing will be to too close to by departure to DXB to make the flight? 1hr 50 mins

4. If not, will I be able to checkin that early after the 16:25 flight? anything to do close to the airport? If I do checkin does anyone know what the lounge will be like? Its the Rose lounge

5. Does anyone know what the aircraft is likely to be on the SGN-DAD route? Any reviews of the business class seats?

Thanks in advance!!

Goldorak

It all depends if all your itinerary will be on one ticket or 2 separate ones. If one ticket, you are protected in case of irrops and your bags will be checked through, so you can book it. On separate tickets, it seems too tight IMO, especially if there is a delay on the inbound flight, even a slight one.

dsquared37

MCT in SGN is 120 so no, that would not be advisable.

The city itself is a 15min taxi ride away, there's no need to stay proximal to the airport.

I would definitely take the earlier flight and give yourself additional padding.

You'll have to kill some time after retrieving your bags from the domestic flight but it's certainly better than arriving late.



The international and domestic terminals are separate buildings and I'm sure, even if on one ticket, OP will need to claim bags at the domestic terminal and re-check in for the flight to DXB.

typical

1. Really not worth the risk. Immigration can be slow. Baggage can be slow. You have to change terminal.

If you had a visa already, and no baggage, I might say it was doable if you already know your way around the airport, and you're prepared to run between the terminals.

2. As said above, just stay in the centre. However that 15 minute taxi ride can easily be 30 minutes, 45 minutes or more in morning rush hour (from ~7am).

3. I would ALWAYS get the earlier flight. Protects you against it being cancelled (you have the later one to fall back on) or delayed significantly (ditto).

4. Check in will probably open 2 or 2.5 hours before departure, I don't remember exactly when the EK staff turned up when I last flew it. There's a department store with cinema and food court a short walk (or very short motorbike taxi ride) from the terminals. The food courts inside the airport landside have wifi.

The lounge is nothing much to look forward to. Some limited Vietnamese snacks and drinks.

dubaiblue

Thanks for your help all.

I'll do the night in a hotel and look at the earlier flight for the return. I can do everything on one itinerary but it still seems like a risk.

IceTrojan

Just did a spot check on a random day in June, and it looks like all the SGN-DAD flights are flown on an A321, so at least there's an actual J cabin. After coming off EK J, just be prepared to be underwhelmed. Some of the A321s need a freshening, just be glad you get a bigger seat.

Hotelwise, if you didn't want to go all the way to District 1 (yes, it can be an annoying 45 minutes to get there), there's a Movenpick hotel (formerly Omni) that's on the main road to Dist 1, but is closer to the airport... could be the best option for a late arrival/early departure.

There really isn't much at the airport itself, and the lounge isn't worth getting there early (in fact, you might be shocked at the offerings). Unless you like self-serve instant ramen with pour-yourself boiling water from a stock pot. One contractor manages all the lounges at SGN.

speedy_j

All previous feedbacks to you is on the money so heed the advice. An alternate hotel option other than Movenpick is the recently opened Saigon Tan Son Nhat hotel, not to be mistaken with the old TSN Hotel unless you're a history buff as it used to be the Ministry of Defense, pre-1975.

Skip the Movenpick restaurants if you choose to stay there. Waste of money for subpar, unauthentic grub.

SaigonCyclo

It's been several years, but the 3 times I've flown to SGN-DAD, twice it was a 777 and the other was an A330. Business seats were nothing special.