It’s common to see airplanes fly for multiple carriers over the course of their life (it’s one of the reasons I love tracking the history of planes). However, I just saw a plane that caught my attention more than any other that I’ve seen in quite some time…
Hey, this Vietravel Airlines A321 looks familiar!
While sitting in a Priority Pass lounge at Ho Chi Minh City Airport (SGN) rather bleary-eyed, I couldn’t help but gaze out at the apron and runway, given the views. I loved the traffic, from the EVA Air Boeing 777-300ER, to the Korean Air Boeing 787-10, to the Starlux Airlines Airbus A350-900, to the… wait, what the heck is that (sorry for the picture quality, but I don’t control the airport’s window cleaning)?!
When I saw the above school bus-looking monstrosity taxi by, I thought I was in Fort Lauderdale (FLL) for a moment. Nope, instead it was a rather beat-up looking Vietravel Airlines Airbus A321. As you’d expect, I immediately had to look up the registration code. There’s no way this plane didn’t recently come from Spirit, right?
Well, my speculation was correct (I mean, don’t give me too much credit, I’m pretty sure my three-year-old would’ve commented “papa, is that a Spirit Airlines plane?”). Anyway, this was the 11-year-old A321 with the registration code VN-A129, and it entered service with Vietravel Airlines in July 2025. To state the obvious, Spirit Airlines is currently going through its second Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and the airline has been shedding some planes.
What is Vietravel Airlines, anyway?
With the first mystery solved (yes, that yellow thing used to fly for Spirit Airlines), I wanted to solve the second mystery — what on earth is Vietravel Airlines?
After doing a bit of research, it appears the airline has a fleet of three aircraft — there’s one ex-Spirit A320, one ex-Spirit A321, and one ex-Niki A321. It’s funny, because the carrier commenced operations in 2021, and the first A321 (the ex-Niki one) actually has a respectable-looking livery, while the two latest planes look like the above.
The airline primarily operates domestic flights within Vietnam, which… is a pretty competitive market. So after looking up the route network, I had the next logical question — who gets to fly in the former Spirit Airlines Big Front Seats? So I looked up some fares, and it seems like Vietravel Airlines does have “premium” fares on flights operates by the two former Spirit planes, which book into those bigger seats.
I found it interesting what else is included with these fares, including…private car service?!? Move over, Lufthansa First Class Terminal!
Goodness, I’m kind of sad I’m just passing through Vietnam, or else I would’ve booked a ticket on this airline! Maybe next time…
Bottom line
With Spirit Airlines having offloaded some planes, understandably leasing companies have found new homes for these aircraft. However, I wasn’t expecting to see one taxiing in Ho Chi Minh City, flying for Vietravel Airlines, an airline I hadn’t heard of. Man, isn’t the airline industry interesting?
Am I the only one who wants to fly the Vietravel Airlines Big Front Seat?!
