Want to know the worst thing about flying on VietJet, whose slogan is “Enjoy flying” (Bay là thích ngay!)? No, it wasn’t the spoiled little princess in back of me kicking my seat, putting her tray table up and down like clockwork, and blabbing nonstop like the budding extrovert that she is. (We had to speak to Mommy and Daddy about the incessant kicking. I used my trusty ear plugs to solve the other problem.) That’s not VietJet’s fault; it can happen on any flight.

No, it wasn’t the fact we had to pay for food and drink on an international flight. It’s a discount airline, after all. You get what you pay for.

It was the sorry state of its bathroom at the back of the plane. Filthy, smelly – wreaking of urine, and just downright disgusting. I didn’t have my phone with me when I used it once in a 5.5 hour flight; otherwise, I would have snapped a couple of pics and posted the evidence here on my venerable blog. Use your imagination.

On the other side of the wall in the last row was a banner that said, “VietJet Makes Me Smile”😂. (Substitute🤮 for “smile” and you’ve hit the nail on the head.) I saw a foreign (non-Vietnamese) boy waiting in line in his socks. I was going to warn him but he went back to his seat. Just like poor doesn’t have to mean dirty, selling yourself as a “discount” airline doesn’t have to mean dirty toilets.

What were the hot boys and girls in red, i.e., flight attendants, doing at the back of the plane? Shooing passengers away from their area, no doubt a security precaution, and watching videos on their dumbphones, of course. What do Japan Airlines (JAL) flight attendants do during flights? They WORK, ensuring the comfort of the passengers under their charge and, yes, cleaning the bathrooms, be they in economy, premium economy, business class, or first class. This is one of many ways in which Japan is a role model for Vietnam. It’s the difference between professional and amateur, civil and uncivilized.

I wish Ms. Nguyễn Thị Phương Thảo, Viet Jet’s owner and one of six Vietnamese billionaires, would have to experience these deplorable conditions. As a US Southern phrase goes, things would change right quick. The buck stops with her.

Madam Thảo and Viet Jet – up your game! Make your passengers “enjoy flying,” not complain about VietJet. VJ doesn’t want to end up with a Facebook page like the one about American Airlines aptly called AMERICAN AIRLINES SUCKS. Here’s one recent comment and a response: JS – American airline ABSOLUTELY SUCKS !! Fcking terrible service and even worse customer service. JC – That’s their entire business model. Make as much money as possible while providing the worst service imaginable. (MAA: This sounds like the “business model” of a lot of companies, including in the education industry.)

Shalom (שלום), MAA