The government of Vietnam is controlled by the Communist Party of Vietnam.
Strange, therefore, to read that Vietnam Airlines, the flag carrier, wholly owned by the government of Vietnam, has a business class featuring better seats and food, a private lounge, and a private bus to take you to the plane.
A socialist-oriented market economy, eh?
I suppose one could spin this so many different way: VietNam was never really communist it was anti-colonialsist; communism is a failed strategy, here’s the proof; socialism, ditto; fill-in-the-blank has never been tried; virus theory of capitalism; there were always classes under Communism now it’s more open; and doubtless more.
Why would you find this odd? There is nothing in communism/socialism that says things can’t cost more, or that everything must be the same price.
What you suggest would only be potentially odd if, in Vietnam, the State-owned airline allowed everyone to travel for “free” as a benefit of being a citizen of Vietnam accorded the benefits of being Vietnamese. Under THAT system, it would be odd that everyone is equal, but some are MORE equal, but under the actual system in place? Rightly or wrongly, there are always people who are more of less successful in communist/socialist societies (capable of taking advantage of higher quality benefits), and in the modern world (barring maybe the “Democratic” Republic of North Korea) people from outside societies are also part of the mix. Vietnam certainly wants to cater to a business class that expects and demands better service than the basic cattle-car model afforded by economy air travel. For a number of obvious reasons.
Am I missing some piece of information you didn’t share?