Short Saigon Weekend on SIN LCCs

[ycp81]

This would be just a short report on my recent Hari Raya long weekend getaway on Ho Chi Minh City. Tickets were booked a few months back on a combination of SIN's 2 largest LCCSs, Jetstar Asia and Tigerair, at very low prices for the peak travel period. Guess Vietnam is still not a very popular holiday destination for us Singaporeans.


26 July 2014
Jetstar Asia
3K 557
Singapore (SIN) - Ho Chi Minh City (SGN)
A320
9V-JSN
Economy Class

What I like about Jetstar, online check-in can be done 48hrs prior to flight and seats can be chosen at that time at no extra charge. Boarding passes printed and verified at the check-in counters. I chose 20A and 20C, and very fortunately, 20B remained empty even though it was a rather full flight.




Plane had arrived early back from Bangkok and parked at our departure gate C15.




Not too busy at T1 at this time of the afternoon.




Boarding soon




Boarding by rows was enforced, which made boarding rather smooth. Plane was fitted with the new slim-line seats which I liked.






Legroom was sufficient, and with the new seats, at least I can stretch out my legs.




Seat pocket contents.




At the gate.




Boarding in progress.




Slight delay due to no-shows and offload of bags. Luckily it was not long and we pushed back and had a short taxi to Rwy20C for departure.




Takeoff!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3nhd...rW0dYXoZc9I2ZA

[ycp81]

Changi in the distance during the climb.








Buy-on-board food and drinks offered, but we did not get anything. Service by the crew was pleasant and friendly as usual.




Just watching the clouds go by during the 1h40m flight.




Things started to get a bit bumpy during the descent.






We seemed to avoid the storm clouds and had a rather long approach.

[ycp81]

Final approach.






Flare and a very smooth landing onto Rwy25R of Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Ho Chi Minh City. We were 5min behind schedule.




Video of landing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZtyE...rW0dYXoZc9I2ZA


Parked at the gate.




Into the international terminal.




A comfortable flight on Jetstar again on a routine short-haul sector.


We stayed at a new hotel in Ho Chi Minh City near Ben Thanh market area, Paradise Saigon Hotel. Comfortable rooms at very affordable prices.






First evening was meeting a couple of friends for an elaborate French dinner at La Villa Restaurant. The authentic French restaurant serves really value-for-$$ French cuisine, and we pampered ourselves silly with the 10-course (actually more than 10) degustation menu! 3.5hrs worth of fine dining!






Scenes of Ho Chi Minh City

[Nick C]

Looking forward to more food pics

p.s. your passport # is still quite visible

[ycp81]

Our hotel offers quite a good selection of breakfast choices, with nice view from the rooftop restaurant as well.




And more food during our short stay!










Time to go back after the weekend break. Arrived at the airport rather early and queues were already formed almost 30min before the Tigerair check-in counters were opened.




Checking in. As expected, it would be an almost full flight.




Boarding pass. The kind agent allocated us 28A and C, and luckily 28B remained empty. However, this row, as well as the last few rows of the aircraft, would have less than desirable seat pitch. The sticker is the "Board Me First" add-on, which was complimentary for us due to my NTUC card membership.




Using my ANZ Card, I had complimentary access to the Apricot Lounge, where I visited to grab some bites for the flight. Also did some spotting but there was nothing of interest.

Vietjet Air A320 and VN A321.




MH B738 pushing back.




Our Tiger just arrived.




Boarding was at Gate 20.

[ycp81]

28 July 2014
Tigerair
TR 2329
Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) - Singapore (SIN)
A320
9V-TAF
Economy Class


An older Tiger, 9V-TAF would be operating the flight.




Boarding early with our "Board Me First" privilege. The cabin seemed old and yellowish, with fraying seat fabrics on seats. However, the cabin remained relatively clean. Still a far cry from the inbound Jetstar plane.




Really poor leg room at the last few rows of the plane. Luckily the middle seat remained empty.




Seat pocket contents.




At the gate. Pardon for the blurry photos as the windows on this aircraft were really dirty!




Pushed back on time for the short 1h30m flight back to Singapore.




Departure from Rwy25L.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At7L-...rW0dYXoZc9I2ZA


Climb out.




Cruise.




Inflight sales conducted. Service was friendly and professional.




I just had some "bring-on-board" snacks I had grabbed from the lounge earlier.




Sunset.




Pretty soon we were descending into Singapore, landing on Rwy20C 30min early! Well, the Tigerair pilots and crew were quite proud of that, emphasizing on the 30min early arrival during the pre-landing and arrival announcements haha.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PXC8...rW0dYXoZc9I2ZA


Disembarking.




A normal no-frills flight on Tigerair. Seat comfort was poor but saved by the empty middle seat. However punctuality was superb!

Thanks for reading this short report!

[yflyer]

Very nice TR, ycp81! I particularly like the aerial shots of Changi Airport as you departed, and your extended meal at La Villa...got very hungry looking at your three and a half hour meal!