Flying International with VietJet Airlines and unable to check in online using https://vietjetair.com/

Question

I was unable to check in online for an international flight with VietJet Airline or https://vietjetair.com/en/checkin/select-flight Has this happened to others?

I was flying with VietJet Airlines on an international flight from Fukuoka Airport (FUK). Japan to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK), after booking through Trip.com on the date of 2/8/2024. I visited https://vietjetair.com/ online on the same day, to confirm the ticket purchase and prepare for the 24-hour check-in. There was a request from VietJet Airlines to register in order to check in online. Of course, wanting to check in on time and not miss the flight, I complied. After doing so, VietJet Airlines was requesting a payment for purchase, even though online it shows a green check mark for being already paid. The https://vietjetair.com/ website was highlighting purchase additional services “Book your seat – Select your baggage/ Transit service – Priority Check-in”. The flight was scheduled for departure on 2/18/2024, at 9:40 am Monday morning. The date was now 2/17/2024, and it was now under 24 hours before departure time. I was still unable to check in online with https://vietjetair.com/ and unable to contact customer service, due to the international telephone number for an outgoing call and it was Sunday, the office for administration was closed.

At this point, I visited the Fukuoka Airport information desk and requested some assistance with the online check-in at https://vietjetair.com/. The customer service representative was kind in assisting with the check-in issue. But, after making a call to an unknown agent, the CS representative was informed that the office was closed on the weekend and no one from the VietJet Airline company was available to assist. Nor were there any departure with VietJet Airline with the service counter open. The Fukuoka Airport customer service representative then advised me to come back in the morning before the departing flight, VZ811. At this point, I was reaching for any measure to check in online, then revisiting the Vietjetair.com website https://vietjetair.com/en/checkin/select-flight I then paid Vietjetair.com’s third-party company “Galaxypay” at payment.galaxypay.vn/payment/ 498 JPY for a seat selection of 32F, just to see if this would open the boarding pass for printing. It did not open the check-in or allow the printing of a boarding pass. The instruction provided by VietJet Airline’s website was to print the boarding pass for no additional charges or fees.

This meant that less than 24 hours before a departing international flight I was not checked in and had now paid two separate companies, in order to receive a boarding pass. The Fukuoka Airport opens at 5:30 am and international check-in for this flight is 6:30am, 3 hours before the departure time. The VietJet Airlines service counter did not open until after 7:00 am. VietJet Airline issued a boarding pass for the flight with an unassigned seat. I then mentioned to the VietJet Airline agent that I prepaid for seat 32F with the online website and made more than one attempt to check in online, and was unable to do so, after multiple attempts since 2/17/2024, and 24 hours prior to the flight. The VietJet Airline agent authorized the boarding pass exchange for the correct seating arrangement that was paid.

Answer 1

that has happened to others?

Yes, that's unfortunately fairly common if you book through a 3rd party.

after booking through Trip.com

That's your problem. There are many different airlines and many different booking sites and some play nicely together but others do not. Many airlines specifically state on their website, that their ability to manage 3rd party bookings is limited.

Hence you should always book directly with the airline if any possible. 3rd party bookings often leave you in customer service limbo: the airline tells you talk to the booking agent and the booking agent points you to the airline.