Vietnam Airlines review - by Pierre Deseyn
26 January 2007

Paris to Hanoi, back HCMC to Frankfurt. Clean plane (777), nice staff, good food, good entertainment, 11 hours in economy isn't a joy, but this all helps. Makes me think of SIA but without the champagne, but the wine is good. Horizontal on the way back cause there were many 3 seat rows free.

Vietnam Airlines review - by Andrew Fiebig
22 January 2007

I fly Hanoi-HCMC return fairly regularly as my wife's family lives in HCMC. These 777 flights are great and we have no complaints, except the WC's get messy very quickly and never cleaned during the flight - always a long wait for your baggage, even when tagged "Priority". We have just completed a marathon campaign trying to secure tickets HCMC - SYD return through Vietnam Airlines office in HCMC, our plan being to book and pay for the tickets and collect in 3 weeks when we are in HCMC. I sent a fax asking them to "hold" our tickets in safe keeping until we can call in personally to collect, any problems, please advise us in writing. After TT the money, my wife receives a phone call saying if we don't collect the tickets by 3.00pm that day, our tickets would be cancelled. So I send another fax to the Manager this time stating it's impossible for us to collect the tickets and their company policy regarding ticket collection needs to be reviewed, however, if they could not "hold" the tickets as requested, cancel the tickets and refund the money in full. We believe the fax may have been intercepted, as we received a call from reservations saying they would hold the tickets for a few days until we could arrange friend or family to collect. So a friend goes in to collect on our behalf and after waiting 1 hour, told they need another $20 before releasing the tickets - no explanation given. Very poor Public Relations indeed. Bring on "E-Tickets" ASAP, please.

Vietnam Airlines review - by B Saltzberg
19 January 2007

We flew within Vietnam on Vietnam airlines, many times over xmas vacation this past 2006-07 and the flights were on time. No problems with baggage. Would do it again in a heartbeat.

Vietnam Airlines review - by Tim Rogers
31 December 2006

Ho Chi Minh - Hue, Hue - Hanoi, Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh. No problems. All on time and efficient. The limited cabin service was good for an internal flight. Check in can be a little officious but no worse than UK or USA.

Vietnam Airlines review - by Hank Angert
17 December 2006

My wife and I traveled recently on Vietnam Airlines from Vientiane, Laos to Hanoi. When we arrived in Hanoi, we discovered they had not brought any luggage with them on the flight. Every passenger on the plane had to complete a lost luggage report. Now, two days later, we are still without our luggage and the customer service people at Vietnam Airlines have not been able to tell us when we might see our bags again. We have had to change our travel plans, at our own expense, and are still uncertain whether we will ever see our luggage. Within Vietnam, we have to fly Vietnam Airlines. However for international flights, I would strongly recommend using another carrier.

Vietnam Airlines review - by Peter Goddard
15 December 2006

Vientianne/Hanoi, Hanoi/Danang, Danang/Ho Chi Minh, Ho Chi Minh/Siem Reap. All of these flights on spotless Airbus 321's, left on time. Cabin crews friendly and helpful. Catering adequate but basic. No IFE. Overall very impressed and would not hesitate to use again.

Vietnam Airlines review - by Margaret Loughnan
10 December 2006

Melbourne to Saigon return, very cramped seating with very little recline, same film on both flights, no subtitles but the screens were so far away I doubt it mattered and yes, after lunch the window shades had to be put down and the lights were turned off so I couldn't read. Made for a long flight. I'll be looking at another carrier next time.

Vietnam Airlines review - by Susan Hills
10 December 2006

I am an expat living in Hanoi where I have travelled extensively internationally and domestically on Vietnam Airlines for the last four years. I envy all on this forum who have had positive experiences on this airline as it is my experience that while the safety appears to be good, the service leaves a lot to be desired! From check-in to boarding to meals I have bad service time and time again. Surly and inattentive staff who prefer to spend their time the galley eating and talking and inedible food are commonplace on flights. There is inevitably a problem at check-in and customer service is non-existent even when flying business class. Toilets are often in a foul state shortly after takeoff and I have never observed these being cleaned or checked during flights. There is often no warning of delays or stopovers (ie when flying Hanoi to Melbourne or Sydney it is ticketed and marked as a direct flight - really it is a domestic flight to Saigon then everyone off and you have to carry your own bags through the customs area, wait a couple of hours and board a flight to Australia - similar situation for Hanoi - Phnom Penh where there is no warning that there is a 1hr stopover in Laos). The staff seem to have the attitude that passengers are lucky even to be on the plane and should not waste the staff's valuable time by making requests for blankets, pillows, water etc. While within Vietnam there is no option for domestic flights - I would strongly recommend anyone considering a long haul to Vietnam to choose another airline.

Vietnam Airlines review - by Kellie Spark
30 November 2006

MEL to HCM with this airline. No delays, good food and service, IFE lacking, but it is not that long a flight to be a bother. Given the cost of the tickets we always fly Vietnam Airlines - our four domestic flights were also great.

Vietnam Airlines review - by E McDonald
27 November 2006

MEL-PAR via HCMC business class half the way. Business class was OK but inflight system not working which was pretty ordinary. Staff were pleasant on this leg of the flight. Delay Taking off from HCMC to PAR with no explaination - 2 hours later we were off and were meant to be in economy but the had to upgrade us as we were travelling with a baby and the hadn't registered him and were going to put us on a standard seat without crib access for a 12 hour flight. I went bananas (we paid AUD500 taxes for a baby with no seat) and we were upgraded to deluxe economy - OK but nothing to rave about. Flight home was a disaster. Again - both mine and my husbands in flight entertainment didnt work - there was no apologies - just a "too bad" attitude. The food was very ordinary - the staff were rude on the PAR - Hanoi leg of flight. When we arrived in Hanoi all luggage was missing - including baby food, formula, nappies etc. The gave us USD30 each to buy what we need and couldn't tell us when bags would arrive. I will never fly them again!

Vietnam Airlines review - by Richard Doga
27 October 2006

Frankfurt to HCMC, we received an upgrade for the premium economy class, which was comfortable. Enough space, friendly and polite staff. The IFE was not as I expected it, but it was okay. On the return flight we were sitting in economy class - it was so narrow, there was almost no air for even breathing. This was surely the worst I ever experienced. Staff was polite. I wouldn't recommend economy class

Vietnam Airlines review - by Frans Van Vlem
30 September 2006

We flew recently from Paris to HCM and Hanoi. During our stay we took several internal flights before flying back to Paris. We had quite positive experiences, except for a delay from HCM to Siem Reap. Clean planes, good food, friendly crew, good service.

Vietnam Airlines review - by Elizabeth Richardson
6 September 2006

We flew to Vietnam in June and in total boarded 4 different flights. We were very happy with the service, meals and cleanliness of the aircraft. On our way home we were delayed in HCMC for 2 hours and the cabin crew served dinner at the terminal, then we were served another meal shortly after take off. We would fly with them again and thought they were good value.

Vietnam Airlines review - by Kaustubh Sagdeo
6 September 2006

SGN-PNH and REP-SGN on VN. Short 45 min flights on both legs. SGN-PNH flight on an older ATR-72. No meal service - only a drink on the way even for a lunchtime flight. Cabin crew friendly enough - no complaints there. Thankfully it was an A320 from Siem Reap back to SGN - served a boxed sandwich combo with a drink. Nice clean aircraft as well. VN was a pleasant experience - a pretty good value with convenient flight connections throughout SE Asia.

Vietnam Airlines review - by James Halley
28 August 2006

VN had an unbelievable fare from BKK-HAN-BKK that I couldnt resist. I paid my money and took my choice. Flight delayed by 6 hours with NO information as to what was going on. We were served a thin ham sandwich and a coke. No staff ever manned the departure gate desk until the inbound aircraft arrived. They had switched an Airbus 320 for a 777 and operated two flights in one. Once on board there was probably more room thanks to the wide bodied jet and the meal was adequate. But the lasting memory is the total lack of information of when we might actually leave BKK and the refusal of the VN staff to come anywhere near the departure gate until there was an aircraft at the gate. I've been back to Vietnam since and flew Thai and Lufthansa.

Vietnam Airlines review - by Jake Mansfield
28 August 2006

SYD-SGN-SYD Economy Boeing 777-200ER. This is the second time I have flown Vietnam Airlines to SGN in the last 3 years for leisure purposes. Both times the aircraft have left and arrived on time. On board the aircraft are clean and there are plenty of staff to attend to your needs. During the 8 hour flight we received 2 hot meals of good quality and plenty of opportunities to get a beverage. Noodles are available during other times should you need a snack. IFE is a little lacking with only one movie shown and then a couple of short programs (some in English, others in Vietnamese). The airline offers a good service and I would certainly fly again.

Vietnam Airlines review - by Gabriel Meyer
18 July 2006

Siem Reap to Saigonand Danang to Hanoi, economy on both flights. Both flights, operated with A320-series equipment, departed and arrived on schedule. Even though our flights were short in duration and during non-meal times, a small sandwich was served on each. All staff we encountered were courteous, professional, and spoke English. Although the Vietnam Airlines’ website could use some improvement, our travel agent in the US had no trouble obtaining flight schedules and booking our tickets.

Vietnam Airlines review - by Geoff Gaylard
18 July 2006

Economy class Melbourne to Paris via Ho Chi Minh City and returned from Paris in early July via the same route. All four legs of the journey were undertaken upon different aircraft (all Boeing 777s) and Vietnam Airlines provided me with a visa, transfers and accommodation on both stopovers in HCMH (all I had to pay was a departure tax of US$14). The transfer buses were air-conditioned and the stopover accommodation was a comfortable 3-star Chinese hotel on both the outward and return journeys. Given that four aircraft were used, standards varied slightly. On the first leg of the journey, I found the seat slightly cramped. On all of the other legs I was quite reasonably comfortable. Indeed, on the second leg from HCMC to Paris, my seat was upgraded to Economy Deluxe, and as the aircraft was only partially filled, I was able to move about the cabin quite comfortably. I found the inflight entertainment was varied (a selection of movies, music and computer games), and the cabin staff excellent and friendly. Meals of an acceptable standard and a choice of two meals was provided.

Vietnam Airlines review - by H Tran
18 June 2006

I've visited Vietnam Airlines' website for the fist time and must say I was not impressed. The site is poorly designed and it contains virtually useless information. Links to "news" led to broken links (page not found)! If the people of this airlines are as incompetent as the company's website, I would not consider flying with them.

Vietnam Airlines review - by Anh Tom
18 June 2006

SGN to BMT and back on ATR-72. Everything satisfactory, except one aircraft suffered nose gear issues upon landing in Buon Ma Thuot. This did not result in an incident. Everything else was satisfactory on this short domestic flight.

Vietnam Airlines review - by Daniel Nguyen
20 May 2006

I agree with you that the website is poorly designed and update. I have found another site in which you can find the flight schedule. Hopes this will help you with the time schedule. But don't count of being ontime especially SGN-HAN route. http://nro.vietnamair.com.vn/

Vietnam Airlines review - by Hoa Tri
18 May 2006

Have you ever logged to website of Vietnam Airlines - the information was published since 2004. It is unbelievable and impossible for an airline which is targeting to be competive with regional airlines. I am a Vietnamese, and of course I always preserve priority to fly with VNA, but because I can not find its flight schedule from its website, I have to book other airlines which have available online schedule.

Vietnam Airlines review - by Kevin Folkes
15 May 2006

We travelled from Brisbane to Hanoi via Sydney & HCMC. We were quite surprised to have flown into HCMC as the travel agent told us we would be going direct from Sydney - Hanoi. Flight to Vietnam was quite interesting on a 777ER. Plane looked great on the outside, another story for the inside. As been posted previously, there was no inflight entertainment, not even a tv screen to look at, the audio didn't work, and some seats didn't have a recline button to press for recline. I have seen in other posts that the planes lacked good air conditioning, at times this is true but at other times it was quite comfortable. Seating was quite firm, head rest solid plastic same as lumber support not like other airlines. The flight crew, even though very young, seemed to do a good job and very friendly. To rate this trip taking everything into consideration, It wasn't too bad for an 8 hour flight. Vietnam Airlines internal flights were as good as any I have travelled on. They were on time, clean, comfortable, and very good staff and service.

Vietnam Airlines review - by John Zdarek
24 April 2006

I have flown with a few Asian carriers and yes - Vietnam Airlines is not Singapure Airlines or Cathay Pacific - but that is not surprising given its young age. Its flights to Europe (Paris and Frankfurt) from Hanoi and Saigon have a very good standard. Surprisingly, the times I have flown with them, I did not find any major drawback. I believe the staff of an airline is the backbone and VA more than fulfilled my expectations there.

Vietnam Airlines review - by Peter O'Brien
20 April 2006

I have flown on Vietnam Airlines (as part of a code share with Qantas) four times in the past 6 months between Sydney and HCMC. The service and meals on the flights have been of a good standard. I do have one gripe though, the entertainment provided on these flights has been poor or non- existant. When provided the majority of films shown were Vietnamese (no problem with that since it is a Vietnamese airline) but some subtitles would be useful since a lot of passengers cannot speak Vietnamese (including me). Overall not a bad service, but on an 8 hour flight only having the map showing your location on the globe can be a bit tiresome.

Vietnam Airlines review - by Andrew Fleming
7 April 2006

I have made several flights a year with Vietnam Airlines both domestically and to destinations within Asia (e.g. Phnom Penh and Hong Kong). I consider quality of service is slowly improving though the serving of beer in economy on internal flights (except Hanoi - HCMC) seems to have ceased. Overall I have a good opinion and if their prices were a little more competitive I would consider using them to Europe. My most recent flights were in January/February 2006 and I would say all were perfectly acceptable. Check in to international flights can sometimes be a bit fraught but that is true of most international departures from Vietnam. The airline are (quite reasonably) strict in enforcing the weight limits for baggage that are printed on the booking (or charging excess); however, you seem to be able to occasionally get off of this if you book with a code share partner. Service on longer international flights is perfectly adequate, there are generally two meals to choose from even on the relatively short Hanoi to Hong Kong route and, unlike one previous person who has posted, beer has always been chilled where it is available. The domestic flights are certainly more comfortable than the equivalent in many countries in Europe and I have even been given upgrades on occasion (though a business ticket is relatively reasonable and most planes have larger business seating).

Vietnam Airlines review - by Marinus Kluijver
30 March 2006

Paris-Hanoi and Saigon-Paris on one of their new B777 planes. Seats quite comfortable in economy, but neither the food nor the cabin crew's attitude can be called good. Was especially shocked by the fact that on the SGN-PAR leg none of the cabin crew seemed to speak comprehensible English or French. Wonder how this would come across in an emergency? Panic and pandemonium, I'm afraid! The two internal flights we took were both grossly delayed, like some hours, which wreaked havoc with our schedules. On these, the seats were less memorable and the "food" as strange as was mentioned by one of the other correspondents, with an undefinable sandwich and a beaker of water.

Vietnam Airlines review - by W Hollands
27 March 2006

Cam Ranh (NhaTrang) to Danang on one of their A320 Aircraft. Airport was terrible. Flight was more or less on time and we were bussed out to the waiting aircraft and boarded at either rear or forward airstairs. Seats were quite comfortable and cabin staff very friendly although slightly lacking in English language skills. Food was served in a box with a small cup of water and a strange sandwich with some kind of processed meet inside, tasted quite strange but certainly edible. 5 Days later flew DAD-SGN on Vietnam airlines expecting one of their A321 aircraft and was shocked to be bussed out to a waiting China Airlines A300. My mother became quite anxious when seeing this as she had heard of China Airlines' safety record. Upon boarding the aircraft we found the cabin staff to be from Vietnam Airlines as well as the food. Pilots were from China Airlines however. Aircraft was very clean and comfortable and had some of the most comfortable seats I ave ever experienced. Now that China Airlines has cleaned up its act I ould fly them again, as would Ifly Vietnam Airlines again.

Vietnam Airlines - by John Trinh
25 March 2006

LA -TPHCM and back. The flight attendants were quite nice, but sadly it is the only good thing I can say about VN Airlines. The plane was so warm and so the kids cried loudly the whole flight. When I went to VN Airlines office at 116 Nguyen Hue to book my ticket back to the States, the sale clerk told me there were no more seats for the whole month but if I paid 100 dollars I would have a seat on the day I wanted to fly back. I asked why. She told me it was an "upgraded kind of ticket". I asked her if that meant I would fly business class instead of economy. She said no. I paid and looked at the receipt and saw that it was a fine for a "returned ticket", not an "upgraded ticket" like she told me. It is a fishy conduct of business.

Vietnam Airlines - by Ned Hopkins
10 February 2006

SGN-PNH, REP-HAN, HAN-HUE in Economy and Business class. Both economy flights were miserable. SGN-PNH was delayed over two hours. Though I'd booked REP-HAN in August (and had a paper ticket), and I arrived at the airport over two hours early, I was told there was no seat available. I was put on the next flight, five hours after I'd been scheduled to leave. Check-in was a nightmare both in SGN and in REP, with waits in line as long as an hour. On board the service was fine, the snacks all right. Business class was a different matter. Special check-in lanes meant virtually no wait. And class seemed to matter more in this classless society than elsewhere. Onboard service was excellent, the snacks more like full meals. The bus taking passengers from the plane to the gate left as soon as all business class passengers were on it - and business class luggage was the first onto the carousel, both in Hue and in SGN. The 1st/business lounges in both HAN and DaNang are within the boarding area and offer nice selections of snacks and drinks.

Vietnam Airlines - by Helen Messenger
7 February 2006

Having just flown Vietnam Airlines twice recently (Paris/Hanoi and HCM City/Paris) I was impressed. I was dreading the flight, but both my flights were both clean and comfortable with good food and excellent entertainment.

Vietnam Airlines - by Daniel Nguyen
20 January 2006

I agree with Tom Pham that the Vietnam Airlines website is very bad. Never gets updated. I fly between TPE-SGN and KHH-SGN almost once every month and the service doesn't seem to be improving. If Vietnam Airlines do not improve the services, then it's very difficult to compete for passengers from the US especially the Vietnamese Expats.

Vietnam Airlines - by Frank Lauterbur
3 January 2006

Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Penh on an ATR-72. Plane was in excellent condition, and the flight was on time despite rain. I also flew on VN from Vientiane to Hanoi on an older F70 and from Hanoi to Hong Kong on on a new A321 in Business Class. As with previous flights, the plane was spotless and the crew very professional. Lunch service was of high quality.

Vietnam Airlines - by Rod Hocking
19 December 2005

HKG-HAN Aircraft 5 hours late out of HKG Given HK$50 vouchers by ground staff, barely adequate for a meal in the airport terminal outlets. Service by FA quite good, food OK, sufficient leg room. Also had 2 x internal flights through Vietnam on the same holiday; airline appears to be about 1-2nhrs late by 1000 (daily) Also appears any relationship between the ETD/ETA on ticket and actually flying is a coincidence. Do not plan any activities on the day you fly in Vietnam, you will probably miss them. Apart from punctuality airline is acceptable to fly, aircraft OK and clean.

Vietnam Airlines - by Tom Pham
11 December 2005

Vietnam Airlines web site is the poorest. There is little information on arrival, services at Vietnam airports. The online "schedule" does not work. We tried very hard to find out the time table for flights. Vietnamese fonts are mixed up. There are no emails for contacting anyone in Vietnam Airlines. Inflight services are above average and most of the flight attendants are nice people.

Vietnam Airlines - by Brendan Docherty
10 December 2005

BKK-HAN, HAN-HCMC, HCMC-Siem Reap in Economy. 3 flights over a period of 11 days were in general okay. Flight attendants seem to be efficient but it's not trying to be first class service. Boarded A320 at Hanoi already delayed 1.5 hrs only for it to sit on tarmac for further half hour before French pilot announced that the aircraft was going nowhere due to a technical fault. These things happen and in fairness to Vietnam Airlines they did everything they could to keep people happy. Eventually left 7hours late on replacement aircraft with same crew. Whether it was normal company procedure or not I don't know but it was certainly a nice touch that the captain was standing at the door as everyone disembarked and apologised for the delay!

Vietnam Airlines - by Kellie Spark
18 November 2005

Service is still good for the cost of the ticket. A little patience is required but the food is good and you are not freezing with too much aircon. I would like to see more movie options and screens but all in all good value from Melbourne through to HCM.

Vietnam Airlines - by Neil Keene
6 September 2005

Sydney-HCM City: unfriendly service, awful movies on screens that didn't work properly and too-hot cabin temperature. A morning flight, but after serving an early lunch staff made everyone close their window shutters and turned off all lighting within the aircraft. Are they trying to give us jet-lag? Only about one-fifth of the passengers slept and many people ended up at the back of the plane, peering out the one porthole near the toilet that remained open. HCM City-Tokyo: three hours late and no in-flight entertainment, and same story on the way back. For some reason though, domestic flights in Vietnam had great, new planes and TVs in the back of every seat. Why they use these for short, one-hour hops rather than intercontinental flights is beyond me. Maybe to make up for how often they are running late.

Vietnam Airlines - by Graham Peleg
1 September 2005

Just returned from HCMC to Melbourne - tired. The flight was delayed 2 hours in HCMC due to technical problems. I went searching for a VN Air employee everywhere - to no avail. The announcement about the delay said that the flight would leave at 11.00pm but that dinner would be served at 10.00pm. Nothing about where or how. I asked what that all meant and was told that it meant that dinner would probably be served somewhere at 10.00pm. Serves me right for being such a busybody. It turned out that the dinner was dragged off the plane and served in front of one of the departure lounges - we had barely found out what was going on when the flight was called. No need to fear though - VN served a second dinner on board after take off. Makes you wonder why they bothered. Finally I have to comment on the very high temperature inside the aircraft. I asked the FA if the heat could be turned down but she returned with two blankets for me instead. Silly me. As the flight is codeshared with Qantas you have to ask why Qantas dont put some effort into getting simple things right. They overcharge and make no contribution at all. This was my second round trip on VN Air to HCMC & I like the direct flight rather than spending extra time flying to places I don't want to go. I hope this airline get their act together soon, as I have plenty more flights coming up & it's knocking me about a bit.

Vietnam Airlines - by N Farez
24 August 2005

Kuala Lumpur to Seoul. The journey was pleasant. Upon Transit in SGN airport, one of the airport personnel suggested me to have a short visit to the Ho CHi Minh City. The transit time was spent with a wonderful short visit to the city. I enjoyed travelled with Vietnam Airlines and looking forward for future trip on VN.

Vietnam Airlines - by Tracy Dickens
12 August 2005

Ho Chi Minh City to Melbourne. I am unable to sleep during a long journey and find the in-flight entertainment of great use to me. During the flight, THE movie was switched off half way through. I asked the cabin crew to explain why, and she advised that it was "the Captains orders because everyone was asleep". I found this response very annoying, especially as it wasn’t true. Both my husband, myself and a number of other passengers were watching the movie and remained awake for the entire journey. All expressed disappointment with the lack of service that was provided – how could a captain possibly know that everyone was asleep! We were also asked to turn our lights out so we couldn't even read! Go elsewhere, choose another airline.

Vietnam Airlines - by Evan Li
1 August 2005

Coach on KHH-SGN-SYD-SGN-KHH in May and June respectively. having heard some awful stories about this carrier, didn't expect much from them. Both journey turned out uneventful, by saying so I'm referring to punctuality and safey. lacking of AVOD is a disappointment, but can't complain for the price I paid (much cheaper than CI or BR). There wasn't anything special to comment about the crews and the services. It's just I didn't see why VN wouldn't provide liquid soap, lotion, and cologne in the toilets as every other carrier would do. The cabin was shabby enough and the seats were filthy too. VN ought to pay more attention to their inflight hygiene. And on one occasion, I had a severe heartburn, thus I approached the crew for help. guess what? The crew told me they don't even carry any medication! It left me wonder how would VN deal with passengers who requires first aid? So I had to suffer the pain all the way until I arrived in Sydney. A word with wise - Come prepared when flying VN. bring whatever you think you might need. Don't count on them and keep your fingers crossed!

Vietnam Airlines - by Warren Hamilton
1 July 2005

Flew in June from Taipei to Paris return via Saigon (outward) and Hanoi (return) in C class. Food was truly exceptional, but no choice of wines on any flight (just red or white, albeit good ones). Their champagne tasted awful. Vietnam Airlines appear to be incapable of serving cold beer, and this is the first time I have encountered this problem in any class on any airline. Four sectors of warm beer. Cabin attendants generally OK, but apart from the Hanoi-Taipei return leg, all a bit surly and hard to get hold of. Surprising for an Asian airline and a big contrast to people I've encountered in Vietnam. Legroom excellent on the Paris leg and shockingly poor on the Taipei-Vietnam legs, but what is it with the cabin temperature on the 777 flights (Vietnam-Paris) ? Absolutely boiling and the 777 has no individual air conditioning vents. That would put me off flying in one again. I was also not impressed with the blinding cabin lights for four hours out of Paris. When am I allowed to sleep? The Paris-Hanoi sector was one of the most unpleasant flights in my life. I even checked out Economy to see if it was cooler. It wasn't. Absolutely no ground service at all. You are left on your own on arrival in Paris. I had a connecting flight on Air France and had to mill around CDG helplessly until I finally found some AF personnel. Same on return to Hanoi. Transfer desk? Where's that? What a hassle. For that reason as well I won't be flying them again - there are far better alternatives. I would much prefer EVA Economy Deluxe from Taipei to Europe that VN's "business class". EVA cabin crew are all smiles, and I can do without VN's wonderful food in exchange for onward connecting flights on the same ticket and proper ground support. I don't think VN have given it much thought. It appears to be a perk for government officials or something rather than a premium product for business or rich leisure travellers. Although, my ticket was massively discounted, and that has to be borne in mind. If you're travelling VN-Paris only it would be an excellent value ticket. If I fly VN again it will be to Frankfurt.

Vietnam Airlines - by C Buck-Kauffman
6 May 2005

If you are going to be in the Saigon International Airport lounge for more than a short time I recommend that you pay US$20 in the store for a pass into the Biz class lounge next to the store which has very comfortable couches, hosted (free) bar, a variety of food and drink, internet, newspapers and magazines and a gracious, generous staff. Pretty civilized, especially if you are there for hours and hours you only have to pay once as far as I know.

Vietnam Airlines - by Ray Elliott

22 April 2005

SGN-NRT C class B772. I've finally had a very good VN flight experience. Boarding was a pain bec we had a bus gate in SGN. This is a late night flight (23:40) & I just didn't feel like carry my bags up those stairs. But it was really no big deal. I'd requested seat 1A. The seat pitch is fine (52"). The seats are reasonably comfortable though the leg rest doesn't rise enough. IFE is 10.4" AVOD except that the pause, rew, ff doesn't work on movies. The movie & music selections were very good. VN has some 763s built for CO that have 1st generation CO BizFirst seats. Those CO seats are better than these new VN seats. But the new ones are still just fine. The controls are peculiar and have no back lighting. Curiously the center seat arm slopes forward a bit. The FA brought me a glass of red wine. I looked at the armrest & thought "my wine will sooner or later fall over". It was sooner. The FA was very attentive to my spill. Menus were passed out before departure. The FA took my breakfast order and then asked me a question that I truly appreciate: did I want to be awakened for breakfast? The amenity kit was satisfactory. I quickly fell asleep & woke just as breakfast service was beginning. I momentarily considered going back to sleep, but the meal looked good so I ate. It was quite excellent (as good as an airline breakfast can get) & there was a lot of it.

Vietnam Airlines - by Dave Arrow

11 April 2005

Travelled economy from Sydney to HCMC, and on to Phnom Penh, then back from Siem Reap via HCMC to Sydney. This is my 2nd time on Vietnam Airlines, and aside from the IFE (overhead monitors only) the airline is great. It certainly feels like there are a few cm's extra in seat width, and between seats compared to Qantas for example. Touches like hot/cold towels are appreciated and my other requests to the flight crew were dealt with promptly, and efficiently, and with a smile. Food choices were a little limited for me - as I am allergic to fish. The non fish option had run out when it came to me on the outward journey. On return journey - I made my allergy known, and was served first to ensure the non-fish option. Unfortunately Breakfast choices were either a fish congee, or a quiche - with salmon - so not much luck there. On check in for our flight back to Sydney - we were asked whether we wanted 2 seats up the front, or offered 3 seats up the back. For a night flight we took the 3 up the back - and we got them - and our spare seat didn't get filled before boarding. All in all a pleasant experience - we even saved money by not booking through Qantas (+ $300 for the same codeshared flight!)

Vietnam Airlines - by Michael Meier

6 April 2005

FRA-SGN and SGN-HAN on B 777-200 and HAN-HUI on A 321 in economy last month. Generally I was very satisfied, especially with the service and the meals. Cabin crew was very nice on all the flights and very attentive although they sometimes seemed a little disorganized. A real disappointment was the IFE. While the B 777 on the 14 hours flights FRA-SGN-FRA had only overhead monitors, the B 777 on the 2 hours flight SGN-HAN was equipped with PTV in every seat, with video on command and computer games. Why not operate the long haul flights with PTV equipped B 777? I would have enjoyed some entertainment on the long and sleepless fights.

Vietnam Airlines - by Juli Robertson

7 February 2005

My husband and I flew Vietnam Airlines from HKG to Hanoi on 6 Jan and returned to HKG on 10 January 2005. We were very impressed by the professional and extremely friendly cabin crew. The plane was immaculate and seats were extremely comfortable. Seats were wide and South African Airways would be wise to take note of this as their new Airbus seats are at least 1/3rd narrower than Vietnam Airlines' seats. (African people are generally bigge than Asian people!) Although the flights were only 2 hours both ways, we felt that it reflects their general standard. If we could fly Vietnam Airlines to other destinations from South Africa, believe me we would.

Vietnam Airlines - by Tony Gerber

4 January 2005

Recently flew SYD-SGN-HAN-REP, then PNH-SGN-SIN on VN, managing to sample almost all aircraft types in the fleet. Old, tired ex-LA 763 on SYD-SGN (disappointing substitution for regular 772), then the newest of the 777's on SGN-HAN, old A320 for HAN-REP, ATR72 for PNH-SGN, and brand-new A321 for SGN- SIN. All flights departed and arrived on time. Cabins all clean, except SYD-SGN. Food, where served, was tasty and reasonable (I have no expectations where airline dining in Y-class is concerned) except ex-SYD, where, perhaps, VN's budget didn't extend to the purchase of something better? By contrast, meals ex-SGN and ex-HAN were much better. Service mostly ok/good, including a few special touches: on takeoff at night, cabin lights are dimmed, but as this is being done, the stewards move through the cabin turning on the reading lights for all pax who are reading. On the other hand, immigration papers for Cambodia were only distributed haphazardly on the HAN-REP sector: we got none initially. When I asked for these, I was given one form. Only after landing and standing in the immigration queue did it become apparent that two forms are required - so we enjoyed an extra half-hour in the immigration queue at REP thanks to VN, being forced to go to the back of the queue after getting the missing form. The only real drawback with VN is the non-existent IFE (on all sectors except SYD-SGN, where they may as well not have bothered - sound and video quality were poor) - so take a good book. At least there are plenty of newspapers made available, including English. (Also note: the airline magazine is only published every 2 months, and articles are not exactly cutting-edge.) Ground staff were always helpful - no complaints. Would happily fly with them again domestically or regionally - would explore other options for long-haul.

Vietnam Airlines - by Erik Soholt

23 December 2004

I flew VN from Saigon to Sydney and the flight was 21 hours late in departure. At no time did the airline staff tell the passengers why the flight was late. Instead they chose to come up with all kinds of strange stories, all fictitious as it turned out. The waiting lounge in Saigon is extremely uncomfortable with very hard plastic bucket seats, and not a very good place to while away long hours. They did finally bus us to a hotel around 2 am and woke us again at 6 am to be bussed back to the airport, where we waited for another 12 hours before departing in mid afternoon. That was something like the third time we had boarded the aircraft just to be told some time later that we had to disembark again. When finally in flight a service technician from Boeings appeared and I found out the real reason for the delay was that an oil pump had failed and they didn't have any spare parts at the airport so they had to fly a new pump in from Seattle. So why couldn't the airline staff have told the passengers this straight away so everybody could have gone somewhere more comfortable to spend 21 hours? (Actually, in my case it was 24 hours because I had come early to the airport after having had the experience of missing my VN flight in Hanoi due to slow check-in service, and I didn't want a repeat of that experience. You just can't win with some of these airlines!)

Vietnam Airlines - by Vuong Tuan Hao

12 October 2004

I have just taken another Vietnam Airlines' flight from Saigon to Bangkok (VN853) 08 Oct 2004. The flight was nearly full, check-in was too slow because of the crowds of group travel gather disorderly. Departed and arrived on time, but the plane was old and not very clean, seats are worn out, during take-off, I had the feeling that the aircraft was to fall apart! A320 seems to be very quiet on my previous flights but this time it was noisy. Food was eventful and I did not have a chance to choose from the 2 options. Flight attendant were not very friendly, they worked robot like.

Vietnam Airlines - by Andres Morinigo

17 September 2004

I flew Vietnam Airlines quite a few times during my stay in Asia for the month of June, 2004. My first trip on VN airlines was from Tokyo to Hanoi on June 20, 2004. Vietnam Airlines uses a B 767-300 for this route, and on the morning of the 11am departure, the flight was about half full, making it rather comfortable. My only complaints were that the IFE was an old tv monitor located in the aisle and the audio set was very low in quality and almost impossible to hear. Domestically within Vietnam I also flew Vietnam Airlines from Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi, where they use a B 777 300. Still, this aircraft had no PTV'S despite the fact that it was brand new. On the way back to Tokyo so that I could head back home to the U.S., we departed Hanoi at 1am after a two hour delay. The B767 used for this route was an utter disgrace. The cabin was filthy and falling apart. I sat in economy and the TV monitors (which were ancient and half of them were not even working) had the logo for AirEuropa - last I checked I was supposed to be flying Vietnam Airlines!! The crew members upon take-off were attempting to open one of the lavatory doors that was stuck...it took 4 crew members to bust it open!!! It seemed as though even they felt embarassed to be serving onboard an airplane that made such frightening rattling noises during take-off and was literally falling apart. For a flight of more than 5 hours, I find it unacceptable for the aircraft to be in this bad of shape. For this reason alone I would not fly with them again until they upgrade their aircrafts. Thankfully, the very polite crew members made up for it, as well as the nice meals served on board (which is a welcome change from the cheap/overrated US carriers with old, surly FA's that should have retired years ago).

Vietnam Airlines - by Ray Elliott

12 September 2004

HKG-SGN VN763, A320, Aug 15. Y class. I fly VN several times a year, usually in C. But this time I had a cheap connecting fare (I'd flown IAH-EWR-HKG on CO in J, so I was a bit spoiled to begin with). It was probably the worst flight I've ever had. The plane was disgustingly filthy. 2 of the 3 toilets were broken (of course, the one that did work was in C & we couldn't get to it.) The FA's were emotionless & completely inattentive. However, I must say that the smelly seat was quite comfortable on the short 2 hr flight. Everytime I fly VN I think that this flight cannot possibly be as bad as the last. But so far, it always has been.

Vietnam Airlines - by Weide Tsai

6 September 2004

Taipei to Hanoi and then to Siem Reap (Cambodia) and back to Taipei with a flight change in HoChiMinh City. The flights sercive was mediocre, especially the flight between Taipei and Hanoi, not a single smile seen on their flight attendants, the worse part happened just before arrival in Hanoi that I was woken from sleep because someone "kicked" hard twice on the back of my seat. And it turned out to be a way of telling me to get my seat up and straight by my flight attendant. I just wish they could have been little more gentle to passangers. No more Vietnam Airlines in the future.

Vietnam Airlines - by James Pham

6 September 2004

Hong Kong to Ha Noi, Ha Noi to Ho Chi Minh, Ho Chi Minh to Nha Trang, and Nha Trang to Ho Chi Minh and I can draw typical conclusions as follows: The food was plenty and good. The flight was smooth and on time. What missing were the smiles on the faces of those flight attendants. Those pretty women looked so tired and aloof. I've been on so many airlines and would say Vietnam Airlines flight attendants were the worst of all. A little warm smile, and a "thank you" or "cam on" would definitely fix the problem.