Hanoi In, Ho Chi Minh City Out

An open-jaw ticket (flying into one city and home from another) helps when your trip runs from north to south. You land in Hanoi, travel down the country, and fly home from Ho Chi Minh City. You skip the day that a return to Hanoi would cost you, which matters when you only have a few days of leave.

When does an open-jaw ticket make sense?

It makes sense when both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are on your plan. A trip that only touches one of them gains nothing from it.

It also suits friends travelling together who want to see the north and the south, and first-timers who would rather end the holiday on food and shopping than on a long transfer back to the start.

Which airports and airlines serve each end?

Hanoi’s Noi Bai Airport has the code HAN⁵. From Kuala Lumpur it is listed with AirAsia, Batik Air Malaysia, Malaysia Airlines and VietJet Air¹.

Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat Airport uses the code SGN⁶. It is listed with Malaysia Airlines, VietJet Air, Vietnam Airlines and AirAsia on the Kuala Lumpur route². Check current schedules on the airline sites before booking.

How does the fare comparison work?

Compare the whole journey on the same basis. Put both options in one table before you decide.

Line to compare	Open-jaw	Return to the same city
International flights	Hanoi in, Ho Chi Minh City out	Same city in and out
Domestic leg	One direction, between the two cities	Two directions, or a long land return
Baggage on the domestic leg	Check the allowance on that ticket	Check it twice
Hotel nights	No night lost to backtracking	One extra night may be needed
Change terms	Two sets of rules	One set

Our Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City comparison covers the flight, train and bus options for the domestic leg. The baggage rules guide explains the add-ons.

What should you check before you book?

• Whether your departure airport has a direct flight to the city you want to leave from.
• The baggage allowance on each ticket, especially the domestic one.
• Whether the domestic leg is a flight, a train or a bus, and what time it arrives.
• Whether the saving still holds after you add that leg.

Penang and Johor Bahru each list Ho Chi Minh City as their only direct Vietnam route³⁴. If you start from either, plan your routing around that.

What if the saving is small?

Then keep it simple. A plain return ticket is easier to manage, and one booking is easier to change if your plans move.

Try the travel-day checker to see how much leave each routing uses. For the full picture of arrival airports, see KL to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City or Da Nang. General transport advice is in Getting around Vietnam.