Table of Contents
Introduction
Budget airlines. Love ’em or hate ’em, chances are you’ll find yourself on one sooner or later.
Recently, I had to fly with Vietjet within Vietnam. My friends and I initially thought about taking the train, but when we weighed the timings and prices, flying seemed to make more sense (spoiler alert, this was the wrong decision). A quick 1.5-hour flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang for $57.40 USD (this was in March of 2024)? It was a no-brainer compared to a 20+ hour train ride at $40.25 USD.
Sure, the train would have offered picturesque views of the Vietnamese countryside, but we decided to save that experience for a different leg of our journey. Flying it is. So, if you’re facing a similar choice, here are 5 tips to make your Vietjet experience as smooth as possible.
1. Vietjet Air Check in Process
The Vietjet Air airline offers a few options for check-in: online, at the counter, or using a kiosk for domestic flights. When I attempted to check in online, the website stubbornly insisted that my reservation code didn’t exist. This frustration was shared by the group I was traveling with. Even reaching out to a Vietjet representative didn’t solve the issue; I was simply told to check in at the counter.
It seems they prefer—or perhaps require—most passengers to check in at the counter, likely to weigh luggage (based on our experience with the strict Vietjet Air baggage allowance). More on baggage weight restrictions in the next paragraph.
2. Vietjet Air Baggage Allowance: Weight and Size Restrictions
Be prepared to have your bags weighed (and potentially weighed multiple times if you’re unlucky) due to the Vietjet Air Baggage Allowance. Given that my current trip is planned to last about a year, you can bet I stuffed my bags to the brim. Did I overpack? Absolutely. But, we can’t dwell on that now haha. When we booked our flights, we didn’t really consider the weight of our luggage. For reference, here are the restrictions:
Vietjet Air Carry-On Baggage:
Each passenger is allowed to carry on board two (2) pieces of cabin baggage comprising either:
- Cabin baggage 1 piece, the dimensions MUST NOT exceed of 56cm (H) X 36cm (W) X 23cm (D) and MUST FIT in the overhead storage compartment in the aircraft cabin.
- One (1) Laptop bag or one (1) handbag or one (1) small bag, MUST FIT under the seat in front of you.
The total weight of both pieces must not exceed 7kg.
Vietjet Air Standard Checked Baggage:
Each piece of checked baggage must not exceed 119 cm x 119 cm x 81 cm and weight not more than 32 kg.
Yes, you read that right—you can bring 2 items on board for free. These items ‘must not exceed 7 kg,’ or about 15 lbs. Any additional weight requires checking a bag, which cannot exceed 32 kg.
Since you can’t check in online (at least, we couldn’t), and have to do it at the counter, you’ll need to get your additional bags weighed and checked there. Checking a bag at the counter on the day of the flight is more expensive than pre-purchasing it online. Despite knowing this, the Vietjet system couldn’t find our profiles, so we had to check our bags in person.
I explained our situation to the woman at the counter, who was understanding enough to give us the lower rate. Just a heads-up: you’ll likely need cash to pay for checked bags and any other fees. I think they do have have credit card machines, but they seemed very hesitant to use those. Thankfully, she also let our slightly overweight personal and checked bags slide (they were only over by a couple of pounds, but still). This turned out well, as no one weighed our personal bags by the gate, but be cautious—online sources suggest they sometimes do, and then charge higher fees.
My personal item was slightly over 7 kilos (but, because of that woman, I didn’t have to reshuffle my things), and my checked bag was about 15 kilos, which I payed about $13 USD for.
3. Vietjet Bag Protections
If you find yourself needing to check your bag, be sure to keep all your valuable items with you in your personal luggage. The last thing you want is for your bag to be opened for inspection and something to mysteriously vanish. And trust me, you don’t want your valuables to disappear along with your entire suitcase. As you’ll see below, Vietjet Air only provides limited coverage for damages to your checked bags.
| Compensation for Partly Damaged Baggage | (In VND) |
|---|---|
| Broken handle | 150,000 |
| Broken wheel | 150,000 |
| Broken zip | 150,000 |
| Crack or depression on surface | 300,000 |
| Tear | 150,000 |
| Depression | 150,000 |
| Broken bottom (wheels) | 200,000 |
4. Saigonnais Business Airport Lounge
Now, let’s talk about travel credit cards. I currently use the Capital One Venture X card, and I’ve been really happy with it while traveling. There are no foreign transaction fees, and you get 2% back on all purchases. Plus, it comes with a perk called Priority Pass, which is why I’m bringing it up. The Saigonnais Business Lounge at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN) in Ho Chi Minh City, has great food and drinks. The best part? You can access it with your Priority Pass membership, at no extra cost! When else will you get to enjoy a bowl of Pho at an airport?
Source: www.prioritypass.com
5. Navigating to Your Final Destination
Before you even land in Vietnam, make sure to download an app called “Grab”. Grab is the local Uber and Uber Eats equivalent. You can easily request a car, or a motorbike to come and pick you up and take you to your final destination.
Compared to United States taxi prices, Grab prices are very affordable. A 20 minute car ride will cost you about $6. For an even cheaper alternative, if you’re traveling solo, try out the Grab motorbikes. Those will cost you about $1.50 for a 20 minute ride. Plus, you get the thrill of clutching onto a motorbike weaving through Vietnamese traffic. A thrill and a way to get from point A to point B.
Not to mention, Grab can also help you with grocery and package delivery. Apparently Grab can also be used as a local Venmo or PayPal, and you can get insurance through it. I have not used those services, so I cannot speak about my experience.
Final Thoughts
All in all, I would not recommend Vietjet Airlines. If you are low on time, and you need to get to another city quickly, then yes, a flight is the way to go.
However, if you have some time to spare, and want to see more of Vietnam, consider booking an overnight train. You can get a very nice, 4 person or 2 person, air-conditioned cabin for your group and travel peacefully with all of your heavy bags.
In our case, we had another flight booked with Vietjet from Da Nang to Hanoi and they delayed the flight about 8 hours 2 weeks before the scheduled departure date.
So, we decided to cancel our tickets (if you book your flight through a credit card travel portal like the one Capital One has, you may be able to cancel your trip for a small fee, we payed about $12 USD per ticket for a refund) and book an overnight train.
It was so much fun getting to experience Vietnam in that way. Plus, I don’t think anyone cares about how many bags you bring and how much those bags weight.
2 comments
Vietjet is such a hassle to fly with. But their prices are good haha. Thanks for the great info on how to deal with this airline. I have renewed hope to book with them again in the future.
Yeah, their flight prices can’t be beat. I do highly recommend trying out the train system in Vietnam, as well. It is very well organized and you don’t have to worry about baggage weight restrictions:)