On board VietJet, the low-cost carrier that wants to compete with AirAsia: too bad for passengers and smells

I flew for the first time in my life with VietJet, Vietnamese low-cost airline that operates a lot of flights in Southeast Asia and competing with AirAsia for dominance of the "no frills" skies.

Reservation

I took An almost last-minute ticket to fly from Phuket to Hanoi, the only direct flight between the two cities and perfect as schedules, at a price of about 110$, I had many cheaper options but all with stopovers.

I could have gone from Bangkok with AirAsia, from Ho Chi Min with Vietnam Airlines, not to mention other fancy solutions like Singapore, Kuala Lumpur or Hong Kong, but this time I preferred to do what everyone else would have done: a cheap direct flight.

The problem when flying with these companies is knowing what is included and what is not. No low-cost airline is like Southwest, where everything is included, and often between options for extras and invitations to buy pieces of the ticket you always run the risk of getting it wrong.

In this case VJ has a very strict policy on carry-on baggage, the basic fare allows only 7kg of baggage, offering the option of paying to have 2kg extra.

Unfortunately, I could not manage the online reservation and for international flights, it is not even possible to check in independently, but you have to go through the counters at the airport.

I came a little bit earlier, just because I wanted to avoid surprises and instead Thai smile here too and off we go even though I had 10.3kg of trolley. There is not much public space in this airport, but fortunately my Level8's travel partner at the occasion is transformed and becomes a perfect support for work and leisure, if you like with code TFC10 you have 10% discount.

At the airport

All the world's major carriers that cover Thailand fly to Phuket. Emirates flies here with its 777s, but so does Qatar, Singapore Airlines and even Israel's El Al, in addition, of course, to all the low-cost companies in the area.

Passing through security, I found an airport alive and full of travelers and stores, a decidedly different scenario to the last time I had been through here.

I headed into the Coral Lounge, the only one accessible with Priority Pass, and here I waited for my flight.

What amazed me was that all the passengers waited in their seats for the gate to open.. There was no one standing in front of the Gate !0 lane to jump on board, then magically as soon as the announcement was made everyone quietly popped up in line. Other than boarding in Italy, all without priority, zones or queue boarding. Almost unbelievable to believe.

On board

The plane is a fairly lived-in A320, the configuration is the classic 3-3, and legroom is minimal.

The plane slowly filled up and we eventually left with almost 100% load factor. Given the strict policy on cabin baggage, there were no classic scenes as there are on any flight in Europe with flight attendants modeled after Tetris players going crazy trying to fit all the luggage in.

I assigned myself a window-side seat so that I would not be disturbed by anyone and could admire the view during the flight.

The problem with flights in Asia, as in India, is the passengers and what they bring to eat on board.

It happened to me A family who probably thought they would starve to death during the 2-hour, 30-minute flight.Okay tangerine, which perfumes the air, but if you then start eating stuff from bags with incomprehensible smells, it's not really the best.

If we then add that the father's (barefoot) feet were 1cm from me for the entire flight and Who while eating, as in the best Asian traditions spit into the napkin (at a distance of 50 cm) you can see why I tend to avoid economy in these latitudes of the world.

Otherwise, the flight went smoothly, with the crew coming by with the trolley to sell food, but without disturbing them too much.

In conclusion

Moving around Southeast Asia is super easy, certainly unlike Europe where the Schengen area makes things easier, here you have to be ready to do immigration and customs every time you land and take off, there are places like Singapore where everything is automated And how Thailand still stamps its passport twice.

I was headed to Vietnam and before boarding I had to show my exit ticket, still for a few days the old law that allowed 15-day visa on arrival for Italians was in effect. Now, on the other hand, those who arrive by plane can stay 45 days without any problem, except to have the talk with the immigration officer and pay for the visa.