Vietnamese Celeb Allows Child to Pee on VNA's New A350

A well-known Vietnamese singer is alleged to have allowed her young son to urinate whilst in their seats and not in a lavatory, reports VietOneRadio (link in Vietnamese).

To make matters worse, this was on Vietnam Airlines' (VNA) brand new Airbus A350-900 (A359), which was just recently delivered on June 30. The new plane is currently flying between VNA's two bases in Hanoi (HAN) and Saigon (SGN) to help familiarize and train personnel before its international debut to Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) in September.

A fellow passenger posted the story on their Facebook page (also in Vietnamese), with a photo of the singer sitting behind him in Seat 11B.

(image courtesy VietOneRadio)

While the poster anonymized the singer's identity by hiding her face and using only her initials "L.Q.," the Internet quickly figured out her identity to be Le Quyen (Facebook fan page, individual page), using a photo that was publicly posted just after she arrived.

(image courtesy VietOneRadio)

The poster claims that Le let the child pee into an airsickness bag, which cause urine to splatter onto the plane's interior.  When confronted by the Chief Steward on the flight, she pretended not to hear him.

Roughly translated: On board this beautiful A350 which still has that new plane smell (currently at 9000 m, so you can still use the lavatory), one beautiful female passenger in Seat 11B, with 10 fingernails painted in 10 colors, dressed very fashionably, tore open a vomit bag for her son to pee in, splashing everywhere. Chief Steward asked why not go into the lavatory. Dirtying the plane, but the passenger didn't even want to look/acknowledge the Chief Steward. Truly insane, peasants flying on a plane... DEATH BECOMES ME (communicating an "OMG" moment)... THIS LADY IS A VERY FAMOUS SINGER... ONE OF THE HIGHEST PAID PEOPLE IN VIETNAM... SHOULD I UPLOAD THIS PHOTO... (image courtesy VietOneRadio)

The Internet quickly reacted, calling the behavior embarrassing and for her name and this incident to be used to educate the public on proper etiquette. As one can imagine, some posters who did not see anything amiss were quickly mocked and shamed.

A similar incident occurred onboard a Delta flight in 2014 from Beijing, when a child defecated in his seat after his parents spread newspapers out for him. The incident sparked public outrage in China, with those on social media calling the family an embarrassment to Chinese culture.

Spring 2015 Asian Escapade

Yes, I know I haven't finished my last trip report... but I wanted to give you a heads up that I just came back from another trip. As you can see below, we hit a lot of places in a short amount of time. I call it "run-and-gun" but it's definitely not for everyone.

I enjoy maximizing the return on value to visit cities I normally would just connect through; I previously wrote about utilizing stopover privileges, and how you can flex them to your advantage.

Read more: Maximize the Layovers on Your Itinerary

As the real-life example here, I was able to stretch out a simple trip to Vietnam to include stops in Tokyo and Kyoto during cherry blossom season, Taipei, Hong Kong, and Chicago.

The map of my flights:

Image source: Great Circle Mapper

What you see above is actually a combination of paid and award bookings (and another example of why it's so worth it to pay attention to miles!). The foundation of the whole trip is a purchased double open-jaw roundtrip, which had us flying Seattle (SEA) to Tokyo-Narita (NRT), then as the return Saigon (SGN) to Los Angeles (LAX). By flying back into LAX instead of SEA, I was able to save a couple hundred dollars in airfare, even after counting the cost of buying a separate one-way flight LAX-SEA.

Sidenote: You'll probably see me refer to "we" a few times. I'm fortunate enough to be able to travel with my wife and some friends of ours, so when you scale the savings up, it starts amounting to a lot!

To get from Japan to Vietnam, we cashed in some miles and flew in comfort while maxing out how much we could fly.

So I have a full report for you: flights, hotels, ground transportation, and experiences.  Our complete itinerary, so that you can visualize it and either envy or pity us:

• Alaska Airlines, from Seattle to Los Angeles
• American Airlines, from Los Angeles to Tokyo-Narita
• LAX Admirals Club
• Hyatt Regency Tokyo
• Shinkansen, from Tokyo to Kyoto
• Ryokan Ryokufuso
• Hotel Nikko Kansai
• Japan Airlines, from Osaka-Kansai to Taipei-Taoyuan
• KIX Sakura Lounge
• Grand Hyatt Taipei
• Cathay Pacific Airways, from Taipei-Taoyuan to Hong Kong
• TPE Business Class Lounge
• Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui
• Cathay Pacific Airways, from Hong Kong to Saigon
• HKG The Bridge Business Class Lounge
• Lan Lan 2 Hotel
• Vietnam Airlines, from Saigon to Danang
• Hyatt Regency Danang
• Vietnam Airlines, from Danang to Saigon
• Lan Lan 2 Hotel
• Phuong Trang/FUTA Buslines, from Saigon to Can Tho
• West Hotel
• Japan Airlines, Saigon to Tokyo-Haneda
• SGN The Bamboo Lounge
• American Airlines, from Tokyo-Narita to Chicago-O'Hare
• NRT Admirals Club
• Conrad Chicago
• American Airlines, from Chicago-O'Hare to Los Angeles
• Alaska Airlines, from Los Angeles to Seattle

So stay tuned!

First Boeing 787 for Vietnam Airlines Rolls Off Assembly Line

Short but sweet news: FlightGlobal reports that Vietnam Airlines' (VNA's) first Boeing 787-9 (B789) has completed assembly and has rolled out of the hangar.

Photo courtesy Vietnam Airlines/FlightGlobal

Its next stop will be the paint shop to put on the VNA livery, then test flights will commence.

VNAFlyer previously broke the story about interior cabin configurations.

This first B789 is leased, and will have 28 business class seats from Cirrus and 283 slimline economy seats from B/E Aerospace.

While the leased aircraft will not have a deluxe economy section, VNA's purchased airframes will be configured with 28 business, 35 deluxe economy, and 211 economy seats.

The first B789 will be deployed on the Hanoi (HAN) to London-Heathrow (LHR) route commencing June 29, and split time with the Ho Chi Minh City (SGN)-LHR sector.

40-Minute VietJet Air Flight Delayed for Over 10 Hours

VietJet Air Passengers getting off
their plane that went out of service for
10 hours. Image source: Thanh Nien
News.

VietJet Air's (VJ's) nasty reputation for being chronically late has reared its ugly head again.

Passengers at Phu Quoc Airport (PQC) for hoping for an uneventful short flight to Saigon (SGN) were subject to rolling delays amounting to 10 hours that apparently included the aircraft itself repeatedly going around in circles from paddock (there currently are no jet bridges attached to the terminals, so boarding is by bus and airstairs) to taxiways back to its parking spot.

From personal experience, the flight time from PQC to SGN should take about 40 minutes, or about an hour from gate to gate.

A mechanical issue was reported to be the problem, and I don't fault anyone for playing it safe, but this severity of this delay was compounded by several variables:

• The mechanical fault itself;
• PQC is essentially a remote outstation on an island, with no aircraft maintenance services present. Even if VJ wanted to borrow VNA's tools and equipment, they couldn't (not that VNA would want to lend them the tools);
• VJ only has 3 flights a day from SGN, where the part was coming from;
• VNA only has 4-5 flights a day, many on small prop planes, so it would have been tough to get passengers reaccommodated (again, only if VNA was a willing participant);
• There are limited services at PQC, and I'm not sure if VJ handed out vouchers that could be used at the couple of eateries there (with my most major delay with VNA, they passed out meals out of a galley cart).
• VJ fully utilizes its small fleet, so no other aircraft would be available as a replacement, especially at an outstation.

Mechanical issues are inevitable, but it's how airlines handle the irregular operations (IRROPS) that make or break the passengers' experience.

One more interesting tidbit: It looks like there was a decree requiring airlines to refund passengers their airfare if their flight was delayed by more than 5 hours. We'll see how VJ handles this (I wouldn't be surprised if this "refund" came in the form of a voucher for future use on the airline).

Sounds like VJ gets a D- on this occurrence (and not a full-blown F, since apparently they did try to feed the passengers).

Lesbian Couple Weds on VietJet Flight

Image source: VietJet Air

This past Valentine's Day, a same-sex couple wed in an inflight ceremony performed aboard a regularly-scheduled VietJet Air (VJ) flight from Tan Son Nhat Airport (SGN) to Bangkok (BKK).

The couple, Tang Ai Linh and Pham Thi Thanh Phuong, approached VJ to conduct the ceremony onboard one of their flights. The airline agreed and arranged to cover not only the cost of the ceremony itself, but also the newlyweds' honeymoon trip to Thailand.

VJ flight attendants stood in as the couple's bridesmaids, and the airline decked out the cabin with flowers and even a cake.

While it may be serving as a publicity stunt by VJ, indicated by the fact that the airline paid for the content to be posted on Thanh Nien News, it's no less significant, given the cultural stance of the generally-conservative Vietnamese population, the majority of which are opposed to same-sex marriage and still consider the subject taboo.

Until recently, same-sex couples were subject to fines if they held a wedding ceremony in Vietnam. However in November of 2013, the Vietnamese government issued a decree removing the fine, and the National Assembly subsequently amended the country's constitution to remove the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman.

These were significant steps for a country in which the first gay pride parade took place only in 2012, but the rights of same-sex couples still remain short of those in more "traditional" marriages.

The amended Law on Marriage and Family took effect on January 1 of this year, and while the ban on same-sex marriage has been lifted, the law also does not actively recognize those unions, and thus Vietnam does not afford the same legal protections as a heterosexual couple.

Still, LGBT activists in Vietnam laud the progress as stepping stones to an expansion of rights. Others cite the potential growth in LGBT tourism in light of Vietnam's increasing tolerance and acceptance.

Other nearby countries are not so welcoming. While Thailand is seen as the most gay-friendly country in the region, Singapore recently upheld its anti-gay law, while parts of Indonesia punishes homosexuality with 100 days in jail or 100 lashes. The penalty for homosexuality in Brunei is death by stoning.

Even Vietnam has been inconsistent in the LGBT arena. In 2009, the government for the first time officially recognized the first transgendered citizen, only to later revoke that recognition in 2013.

VJ is no stranger to controversy, already having two "bikini" incidents in its short 3-year existence, both leading to public apologies and one incurring a fine from the government.

Small Bites: 1st VNA A350 Going in for Paint Job; Thai Cuts Routes, Fleet; Jetstar Employees Arrested for Stealing Fuel

A rendering of a VNA A350

Vietnam Airlines' (VNA's) first Airbus A350-900 (A359) is fully assembled and will be heading into the paint shop on Wednesday. Delivery is slated for late in the 2nd quarter of 2015.

(H/T Flyertalk user AlexMills93)

---

A Thai Airways A380

Thai Airways (TG), currently in a financial crisis, has made further cuts to routes from its homebase in Bangkok (BKK) to Paris, London, and Frankfurt. This is part of a rehabilitation plan embarked by TG to prevent falling into bankruptcy. Also included in the plan is decommissioning of 44 aircraft from its fleet of 141, including the accelerated retirement of its Airbus A340-600s (A346s). TG also regrets ordering the Airbus A380.

---

Photo source // Thanh Nien News

Several Jetstar Pacific (BL) employees have been arrested for stealing thousands of liters of jetfuel over the course of two years from Tan Son Nhat Airport (SGN), and then reselling it after mixing it with diesel. Police recovered 5,800 liters of the stolen fuel.

Small Bites: Thai VietJet to Start in March; New Plane for VietJet; Car Crashes Into Crowd at SGN

Thai VietJet Air (V9) will begin scheduled passenger service in March 29, after previously launching with charter services. The offshoot of VietJet Air (VJ) will operating new Airbus A320s (A320) with 180-seats in an all-economy configuration. The A320s will be supplied by parent VJ, as part of their 100-aircraft order with Airbus from 2013.

---

Speaking of VJ, it just took delivery on Friday of its second A320 from its 2013 order, bringing its fleet total to 21 aircraft. The first 19 planes were acquired through leases.

---

On Wednesday, a car waiting to pick up a passenger lost control and injured 11 people as it plowed forward. The driver, for reasons unclear, reported that he mistook the brake pedal for the accelerator. The passenger, singer/model Ho Ngoc Ha, was not injured and visited victims in the hospital. The investigation is ongoing.

American Confirms 1st 787 International Routes to Beijing, Buenos Aires

American Airlines (AA), which took delivery of its first Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner (B788) last month, officially announced today the first revenue flights for the new advanced widebody aircraft.

AA's B788 will be based at Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), AA's headquarters and main hub. On May 7, it will initial fly domestic familiarization and training flights to Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) twice daily.

On June 2, the B788 will make its inaugural international flight from DFW to Beijing, China (PEK). After its return from PEK, on June 4 it will then fly to Buenos Aires, Argentina (EZE).

These flights will be available for booking starting this Saturday, February 14.

"We look forward to welcoming our international customers onboard the 787 with its modern amenities and comforts beginning this summer," said Andrew Nocella, American's chief marketing officer. "Adding the 787 Dreamliner to our network gives us the opportunity to increase our efficiency on long-haul flights across the globe and potentially open up new markets in our network. It's a big win for customers and just the latest example of how American is going for great."

For travelers from the United States to Vietnam, AA's DFW-PEK flight opens up another option, as AA fare rules generally allow passengers to connect in China onto Vietnam Airlines (VNA) and other carriers. For instance, a passenger can fly DFW-PEK then onward to Saigon (SGN) or Hanoi (HAN) on VNA.

VNA is set to take delivery of its own Dreamliner later this year.

The B788 will have 2 classes of service, with 28 lie-flat seats in business class with all-aisle access, arranged in a unique 1-2-1, foreward/backward-facing configuration. In-flight entertainment is on a 15.3-inch HD touchscreen, and Bose noise canceling headsets will be provided. A walk-up bar for midflight drinks and snacks will also be available.

In economy, there are 198 seats in a 3-3-3 configuration, 48 of which will be in the extra-legroom Main Cabin Extra section, reserved for the airline's elite passengers and also available for a fee. Each economy seat will feature a 9-inch HD touchscreen.

All seats will feature universal AC and USB power outlets, as well as onboard Wi-Fi.

AA has ordered 42 Boeing 787s in total, in both the -8 and the stretched -9 versions, with options for 58 more.

Vietnam Airlines' Inaugural 787-9 Flight to London-Heathrow on June 29

The inaugural international service for Vietnam Airlines' (VNA's) new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (B789) is currently scheduled to be on June 29, 2015, flying from Hanoi (HAN) to London's Heathrow Airport (LHR).

This replaces service currently flown on VNA's Boeing 777-200ER (B772).

Flight VN055 will depart HAN at 12:30am for an overnight flight, arriving at LHR at 6:40am.

Read more: Vietnam Airlines' Boeing 787: New Lie-Flat Seats in Business, 2 Different Economy Configurations

The first return flight, VN054, will depart from LHR at 2:45pm on June 29, and arrive back at HAN the next day at 7:50am.

Then on June 30, the B789 will operate a revenue domestic flight for repositioning, Flight VN237 from HAN to Saigon (SGN), departing at 10:00am and landing at 12:05pm.

The first B789 flight out of SGN will depart early on July 1 at 12:05am and arrive at LHR at 6:40am the same day.

Read more: Vietnam Airlines: In-Flight Wi-Fi to be Available on New 787, A350 Aircraft

It seems that while the equipment information has been loaded, VNA is using their B772 seatmaps as placeholders, so if while one can select a seat on a flight scheduled to be on a B789, it's very likely to change.

A screenshot of the seatmap that appears on the LHR routes operated by the B789,
though it's clearly the configuration for the B772. Image source: Reader Andrew R.

A blog reader reports that he was able to select a business class seat on the map, even though he is currently booked in a premium economy seat. I cautioned him to:

• Recheck for new seat assignments when VNA loads the final B789 seatmap into the system; and,
• Prepare to ask for a refund, since the first 4 B789s are slated to arrive with no deluxe economy seating.

(H/T: Andrew R.)

Trip Report: Arrival at Tan Son Nhat Airport (SGN)

Other chapters:

• Intro: Ticketing and Getting Ready
• Checking in at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
• SEA-LAX on Alaska Airlines
• Quick stop in Los Angeles
• Checking in at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
• LAX-PVG on American Airlines
• Another quick stop in Shanghai
• Getting to Shanghai Pudong Airport (PVG) and checking in with VNA
• PVG-SGN on Vietnam Airlines
• Arrival at Tan Son Nhat Airport (SGN) (current entry)

Upon our arrival, our Airbus A321 parks at a remote stand, thus requiring airport buses to get us to the terminal. Along with past experiences, it seems that when Vietnam Airlines (VNA) uses A321s for regional services, those flights are highly likely to be assigned to these remote gates, probably saving the jetbridges for widebodies.

Read more: Vietnam Airlines' Boeing 787: New Lie-Flat Seats in Business, 2 Different Economy Configurations

Image source: Vietnam Investment Review

One (very tiny) upside to the remote stand is that they deplane and board through both the front and back at the same time, so those stuck in the rear of the plane aren't waiting forever to get off.

Those in business class are provided their own shuttle bus, which departs quickly. The economy passengers are directed to 3 other larger buses, each one taking off once full.

Pro Tip: Stand near the left-side doors to be the first to get off at the terminal.

After a 5-7 minute ride to the terminal, we are deposited at the entry doors which lead to a narrow escalator that took us up to the arrivals level. We follow the signs to the arrivals hall, just a short walk away.

The arrivals hall at SGN is divided up into three sections:

• The main immigration inspection section, where passports are checked before entry.
• A visa window, for those who pre-arranged to receive a "visa on arrival."
• A transfer desk, for those who are making onward international connections.

Today was a little busy, with at least 3/4 of the immigration booths manned, and each having lines of 15-20 passengers each. The visa window had about 20 people waiting in line, with another 30 waiting for their applications to be processed.

Our line has a passenger that they examined more closely than normal, so it takes us about 30 minutes to finally get through (should have been about 15 minutes). We head down to claim our baggage, which is already sitting off the belt, as our flight's bags have completed offloading. We load our bags onto free carts provided by the airport, and my wife goes for a restroom break.

While I'm waiting, I scan the customs inspection lines that we have to go through before exiting. A customs "officer" tries to wave me over, but I give the "not ready" hand signal and continue waiting.

Pro tip: Never go towards a customs line that you've been directed to, since frankly you don't have to follow their direction. The sad reality is that forced bribery is alive and well at SGN and other airports, and the agent is essentially fishing, trying to get me to come over so I can be "carefully inspected" and assessed some sort of trumped up violation, in hopes that I will "pay the fine" on the spot.

What one should do is to choose a line that looks like someone is already "being spoken to" since they already busy with that person and will let you pass.

When my wife returns, I guide our carts to a line far away from that agent. We successfully have our baggage x-rayed with no challenge, and we were quickly on our way out to the curb.

As we pass by, I overhear a poor American fellow in his mid-50s who was trying to reason with the customs agent, who in turn threatened to detain his baggage for 3-4 days. Shameful... I wanted to help him too, but I also didn't want to stick around and be inspected myself (though I probably would have if I was by myself).

We make our way through the throngs of people waiting for their loved ones, make a left turn and head towards the taxi "stand" near the end of the terminal building, past the Popeye's Fried Chicken stand (great place for a quick and cheap snack or drink).

The stand is really more of a collection area where taxis pick up customers, and no real defined queue, even with the permanent corral set up.

Pro tip: Walk past the taxi corral and the crowds, farther along the curb. Flag down the taxi of your choice when it approaches. The driver doesn't really care who they pick up. This is how the system at SGN works. 

If you're uncomfortable with this, you'll probably be waiting a while, but you can get a dispatcher to help you. Each taxi company has its own dispatcher in uniform in the taxi area.

I prefer Vinasun... it has the most number of taxis in the company, are the most reliable, and always use the meter. MaiLinh is a decent Plan B. I pretty much avoid all other taxi companies.

Taxi pickup area at SGN.

We quickly get into a Vinasun taxi van and we're on our way into the city.

Stay tuned for the rest of my trip report, before our Shanghai-Saigon flight and on our way home. Thanks for reading!
- VNAFlyer

Trip Report: Flying PVG-SGN on Vietnam Airlines on an A321

Other chapters:

• Intro: Ticketing and Getting Ready
• Checking in at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
• SEA-LAX on Alaska Airlines
• Quick stop in Los Angeles
• Checking in at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
• LAX-PVG on American Airlines
• Another quick stop in Shanghai
• Getting to Shanghai Pudong Airport (PVG) and checking in with VNA
• PVG-SGN on Vietnam Airlines (current entry)
• Arrival at Tan Son Nhat Airport (SGN)

Author's note: Yes, it's weird that I have a VNA segment in this itinerary. It was an AA fare where the rules allowed for a connection onto VNA from AA's PVG flights.

Another VNA A321, heading to Hanoi (HAN)

Thankfully, the scrum that seems to always occur at Chinese airports didn't occur here... it might have even been quite orderly! They call boarding for business class first, and then economy in general, with everyone observing the queue. Armed with hand-notated BPs saying that we were in Row 14 exit row seats (and out of Row 33), I'm feeling mighty content as we board Flight VN523...

... until we actually get to our seats. For some reason, Vietnam Airlines (VNA) designates the row in front of  the doors on an A321 as exit row seats as well. No extra leg room, no recline, and not even a window! Much to our chagrin, all the seats in Row 15 (the actual exit row, as we all know what "exit row" actually means) are actually assigned. How they got assigned, I have no idea, because they were clearly non-status passengers (based on a quick, coincidental scan of their BPs, as well as their fairly naive questions about such things as tray tables and such). The fact is, what the manager and agent said at check-in was completely wrong. Those seats were definitely preassigned, even on a flight that was not full.

A Juneyao A320 parked next to us.

In any case, what also seems to happen is that Rows 10-14 (no Row 13) also are the last to be assigned. When boarding was complete, no one was sitting in Rows 10-14 except for us. I quickly flag down the nearest flight attendant (FA) to ask if we could move, and she happily said that we could choose any seat we wish. Interestingly, this same FA was earlier policing this section, asking passengers who sat down in this section for their BPs and moving them along to their original seats.

Read more: VNA's Airbus A321: The Most Accurate Seat Map Available

Thankfully, we moved out of Row 14 to Row 12. A few other passengers apparently take our move as their cue to move as well, but it isn't a total exodus, more of a spreading out, with a maximum 2 passengers for every 3-seat section.

Interlude: The lesson with VNA is to be persistent, and don't accept their answer, even from a manager or supervisor. It's like a game of chicken or a staring contest... who will give up first? I've had other experiences with VNA that leads me to the same conclusion. Just don't give up, because the culture of the ground staff is to refuse first, hoping passengers will accept what's given to them.

The door closes and we push back 10 minutes past our time of departure. Safety announcements are conducted in Vietnamese, Mandarin, and English. It takes about 15-20 minutes for us to taxi to a runway on the other side of the terminal, giving us a nickel tour of PVG.

A China Southern 737-800 heading towards PVG's control tower.

An American 777-200 followed by a China Eastern 737-800.
Love it or hate it, that new tail makes the AA bird easy to spot.

No further delay as we smoothly take off towards the northwest, make a left turn, and loop around Shanghai then south to Vietnam. The smog is unbelievable... not as bad as Beijing, but still sickeningly thick, much worse than LA has ever gotten.

Read more: Vietnam Airlines' Boeing 787: New Lie-Flat Seats in Business, 2 Different Economy Configurations

When you need a paint
that can withstand
Armageddon....

As soon as we hit 10,000 feet and hear the ding, the FAs all jump into action, and the curtain to the first class cabin is ceremoniously closed. The FAs walk down the aisle was a basket of packaged refreshing wipes for the economy passengers, quickly followed by drink service. 

There is a small lull before meal service, so I check out the VNA inflight magazine, Heritage, which has articles in both Vietnamese and English.

The crew comes through with an offering of chicken or fish. As a personal rule, I always avoid airplane fish in coach, so chicken it is!

The chicken is similar to a teriyaki chicken, with linguini, and steamed green beans... definitely better than expected. 

I wasn't going to buy
Kohler, but the attractive
model with a rose
changed my mind.

The side salad, on the other hand, is quite frankly gross. The shrimp look like they were frozen for too long, then dipped in hot water before being tossed onto the salad, and the veggies look wilted. I don't even bother opening the salad.

Dessert was cut fruit ("fresh" was questionable), and the crew also came through with hot tea and coffee. Overall, it's a serviceable lunch on a 4-hour flight, but I'm glad we had brought snacks.

The rest of the flight is pretty uneventful.  Entertainment is in the form of Vietnamese variety shows on small overhead screens, with headset provided in the seatback pocket. Blankets and pillows were also provided, nice touch for coach.

The FAs did their jobs quite well, and was generally personable overall. Interestingly, the FA who primarily served our section was a native of Japan who spoke only Japanese and English... no Vietnamese.

Only a couple of people try to go up front to use the lav, and they were turned away. There are 3 lavs in the far rear of the plane, so the parade of passengers was constant. The cabin temperature was a touch on the warm side, but tolerable. 

Descending into Saigon.

We land at SGN right on time, and taxi to a remote stand for arrival.

Next chapter: Arrival at Tan Son Nhat Airport (SGN)

Trip Report: Getting to Shanghai Pudong Airport (PVG) and checking in with VNA

Other chapters:

• Intro: Ticketing and Getting Ready
• Checking in at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
• SEA-LAX on Alaska Airlines
• Quick stop in Los Angeles
• Checking in at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
• LAX-PVG on American Airlines
• Another quick stop in Shanghai
• Getting to Shanghai Pudong Airport (PVG) and checking in with VNA (current entry)
• Flying PVG-SGN on Vietnam Airlines on an A321
• Arrival at Tan Son Nhat Airport (SGN)

Author's note: Yes, it's weird that I have a VNA segment in this itinerary. It was an AA fare where the rules allowed for a connection onto VNA from AA's PVG flights.

The check-in hall at PVG.

We take good old reliable UberX from our hotel to Shanghai Pudong Airport (PVG). Our driver, with a clean and fully-optioned Nissan sedan, spoke decent English, well enough to crack a couple of jokes, then quietly and efficiently got us to the airport, even offering us bottled water along the way. 

UberX is my preferred way to travel to/from PVG, definitely over taxis, but with 2 people and luggage, it was nearly the same price and more convenient than the maglev train, which requires walking about 250 meters to transfer to the Shanghai Metro subway system.

43USD and 45 minutes later, we find ourselves in the terminal. 

First order of business is to retrieve the bags we had deposited at the left luggage counter. We pay our remaining balance of 25CNY (~4USD; 200CNY [32USD] paid from before) and grab our bags and boxes from the back room, untouched from where we left them the previous day. I'm quite pleased with this service and would totally use it again... it made our short visit to Shanghai so much easier.

We load our luggage carts (free at PVG) and head upstairs to the central check-in area. 

We find the Vietnam Airlines (VNA) counter, which has plenty of staffing but no one in line, even with 2 departures to Saigon (SGN) and Hanoi (HAN) within 1.5 hours. The counters are actually staffed by China Eastern (MU) employees, overseen by VNA managers... the boarding passes are even printed on MU paper. 

While the employees obviously know how to work the computer system, they don't seem to be authorized to do anything beyond basic functions. Our agent speaks English well enough, and to her credit we are checked in very quickly, in under 5 minutes. When the boarding passes (BPs) are printed showing seats in Row 33 on the A321, we politely asked to move forward. On the map below, you can see why:

Click for: VNA's Airbus A321: The Most Accurate Seat Map Available

This is where the fun really started. The agent says that there aren't any other pairs of seats available. I ask about seats by the emergency exit, and she says that it was VNA's policy of not assigning exit row seats on flights that are not full, so the the system blocked her from assigning those seats.

Read more: Vietnam Airlines' Boeing 787: New Lie-Flat Seats in Business, 2 Different Economy Configurations

At this point I know I wasn't going to get anywhere, so I ask to speak with the VNA manager. He is very friendly and tries to help (or so I think), but he repeats the policy of not being able to assign the exit row seats, and that there are no other seats available for us.

After a few minutes of going back and forth, we give up and proceed towards security.

We first go through exit immigration, which is first come-first served. It only takes about 5 minutes since crowds were light, but I can see how it may get backed up during busy times.

Nice architecture at PVG.

Next is security screening, and I notice that in the middle of the area, there is a designated priority security line for VIPs, elites, and premium passengers. Regular lines are about 10 people deep. Yes, I know I'm bad, but I decide to press my luck and hold out our AA Platinum cards with our MU boarding passes for a VNA flight in economy class. By all rights, we shouldn't have been allowed to use the line (no relevant status, no premium cabin, different alliance), and I figure the worst that would have happened would be getting shooed away into another line.

Read more: 8 Simple Tips for Preventing Theft on Your Next Flight

I had guessed correctly that the line attendants either weren't knowledgeable or didn't care, and we are allowed in with no problems whatsoever. I would label this a YMMV (your mileage may vary) situation. We scan our BPs (which, my guess, only checks to see if we have a valid BP or not), had our bags X-rayed (shoe removal not required), and we are through to the gate area in less than a minute.

Passengers milling around  Gate D82
before departure.

We take a couple of people-movers to get to our gate, D82 for the day. The gate area is full of waiting passengers... I guess they showed up 3-4 hours before departure. No signs of gate agents yet, so we find a place to sit and eat some of the snacks we brought along in preparation for being in economy class for 4 hours.

At about 1h15m before boarding, the gate agents show up to start processing the flight. Being the persistent type, I approach another agent about seating. This time, nothing about the policy about not assigning exit row seats, but rather that the seats are already assigned.

Boarding is about to start.

I thank her and step away... and no, I'm totally not satisfied with this answer. When she walks off, I speak to another agent, and her reply is that the seats are open, but they can't assign them at the gate!

If one thing's clear to me, it's that VNA just doesn't want to assign these seats, instruct the agents to not assign the seats, but leave the agents to rely on their own creativity on why the seats can't be assigned.

Finally, I spot another VNA manager who shows up, and I start chatting it up with him. I ask him about the seats, if there was any possibility of getting an exit row seats, and he asks for our BPs and walks away (score!). 

He comes back with the same BPs, but he had scratched off our original seats and handwrote 14A/14B. I inquire about if this was ok, and he assures me that he blocked out those seats for us, so it will be fine.

The happiness of succeeding through persistence is short-lived when we finally get on board...

Next: Flying PVG-SGN on Vietnam Airlines on an A321

Hello World!

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Thank you for joining me for my first blog entry! VNAflyer was started in hopes of providing independent, comprehensive, and updated information about the carriers serving Southeast Asia, especially Vietnam Airlines (IATA code - VN; ICAO code - VNA). I hope that VNAflyer will become the authoritative source on all things VNA.

The region is experiencing a meteoric economic boom, and air travel is quickly becoming a popular mode of transportation. In fact, Southeast Asia is seen as one of the top potential markets in the world for new airlines and aircraft.

VNA itself has been quite busy lately, but much of the activity has gone under the radar for many outside the region, including a landmark initial public offering, new airport construction, improved airport operations, route expansion, and new/upcoming aircraft deliveries.

The national flag carrier of Vietnam is fending off ever-increasing domestic competition from new privately-held low-cost carriers, and has its sights set on becoming the dominant airline in the region by modernizing and expanding its fleet and building up Vietnam's economic center, Ho Chi Minh City (SGN), as a premier international gateway hub.

You can count on VNAflyer to follow the airline industry in Southeast Asia closely and give you the news and developments you need and want.

TEASER: Come back around 9am Pacific Time on Thursday, January 22 for some pretty big exclusive news.