Vietnam Airlines

Customer Reviews

4 star Skytrax Rating
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Seat Comfort 12345
Staff Service 12345
Value for Money 12345
Customer rating from 709 reviews
6/10
4 star Skytrax Rating
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1/10

"will not be flying this airline again"

(Australia)

Verified Review | Sydney to Heathrow via Ho chi Minh City and Hanoi. Terrible airline. To start things off the Vietnam Airlines staff at Sydney Airport told me at check in that I needed to purchase a $300 visa on the spot to board the aircraft - due to the fact that Vietnam Airlines preys on customers that book their ticket online un-aware of the visa requirements for a domestic flight within Vietnam. They purposely make their aircraft stop twice in Vietnam in order for a visa to be necessary on the way to Heathrow airport from Sydney. Upon arrival at Ho Chi Minh City airport (Tan Son Naht Airport) I was approached by staff of the airport who charged me $120 for a photo and a stamp, not only was that a rip off but it was a number they came up with on the spot, as I was able to bargain it down to $80. To make matters worse this incompetent airline and their rude staff lost my bag during their unnecessary 2-stop stop over, and all they offered me as a follow up procedure was a childish sheet of paper to write my name and colour of the bag - hopeless! I will not be flying this airline again, and I warn whoever does choose to fly with Vietnam Airline that they are aware of the visa requirements to transit within Vietnam, and to buy their visas before flying (which only costs $10 funny enough) or be faced with a $400 visa and stamp fee at the airport prior to departure. Oh, and on a final note - the inflight entertainment was very poor and outdated, especially for a long haul flight.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteSYD to LHR via HCM / HAN
Date FlownAugust 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
9/10

"good service and on-time"

(United Arab Emirates)

A possibility of reserving seats while booking a flight would have been a great, but you may do so during online check-in 24 hours prior to boarding. Also good if the online check-in is possible 48 prior to departure as some travel many hours prior to the flight. Our flight from HCM to Hanoi was excellent, not much fancy but good legroom, clean aircraft, good service and on-time. Reading all reviews this came in as a surprise, the return journey was as good on an older plane. Food was also excellent and the overall experience was fantastic. Booked online and got a fantastic price with Vietnam Airlines.
AircraftBoeing 777 and A330
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteHCM to Hanoi
Date FlownAugust 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
10/10

"kind and helpful cabin crew"

(Vietnam)

Verified Review | Tokyo to Ho Chi Minh with Vietnam Airlines on a Boeing 787-9. Kind and helpful cabin crew. Two choices of meal, western and Japanese. 2 USB port, charger port, pillow, personal amenity kit and blanket available in the 6-hours flight. Ho Chi Minh to Tokyo on Boeing 787-9 too. Cabin crew fluently speak English. Courteous service and helpful ground service staff. There is a counter reserved for passengers who are late for their flight and have overweight luggage. Check in was very fast and efficient, the flight took off on time and arrived 20 minutes earlier than expectation. I recommend Vietnam Airlines.
AircraftBoeing 787-9
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypePremium Economy
RouteNRT to SGN
Date FlownAugust 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
6/10

"ignore the obvious safety hazard"

(Australia)

We've just returned from a trip to Vietnam, and flew SYD-SGN-DAD, HUI-HAN-SGN-SYD on Vietnam Airlines, all in business class. We didn't experience any of the delays that others complain about, and the ground-handling was efficient and maintained business-class/elite priority at all times. However, the business class seats on the Boeing 777-200 are horrible. It's 1990's business class, and it needs to go. From next year the Boeing 787-9 will be on the Sydney route, and the business class cabin is up-to-the-second modern. Until then, be warned - the 777 seat is OK on a day flight, but is exquisitely uncomfortable for sleeping. Our two short domestic A321 hops were comfortable enough, and the HAN-SGN sector on the A350-900 was fantastic. The crews were attentive and polite, but there was a very concerning lack of control over the cabin. Passengers were reclined for takeoff and landing, hand luggage remained on the adjacent seats for the entire trip, window shades remained closed, and passengers got up to use the toilets in the latter part of descent. None of these non-compliant behaviors was challenged by the cabin crew, who seemed to ignore the obvious safety hazard. If Vietnam Airlines wants to be a real threat to their A-grade competition from Singapore and Hong Kong, they need more than new aircraft and efficient ground-handling - they need to ensure that their crews can maintain cabin discipline to international standards. It's not enough to say, "That's just their culture"; crews from the "other" Asian airlines are from similar cultures where elders and customers are treated with reverence, and it is hard to imaging a Singapore or Cathay passenger being permitted to remain reclined for landing. So Vietnam Airlines got us there and back in one piece, but I'm not completely confident that the cabin crews would be able to maintain discipline and order in a true emergency. I wouldn't fly with them again.
AircraftBoeing 777-200 / A321 / A350
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeBusiness Class
RouteSYD to SGN
Date FlownJuly 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
9/10

"happy with all aspects of our flight"

(Australia)

Verified Review | We flew London to Sydney via Ho Chi Minh in April and returned in July. We were more than happy with all aspects of our flight, but the plane on the shorter hop (Boeing 777) was old and some repairs were needed, my seat did not recline fully. The food was beautifully presented and delicious. The planes were all clean and the staff were polite and friendly. The downside were the long stopovers in Ho Chi Minh, 8.5 hours outward journey and 11.5 hours on return journey. On the return journey, Vietnam Airlines arranged to collect us from Ho Chi Minh, provided visas, and took us to a nice hotel. They provided lunch and dinner and also a tour of the city. What more could we ask for!
AircraftBoeing 787
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeBusiness Class
RouteLHR to SYD via SGN
Date FlownJuly 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
10/10

"like a breath of fresh air"

(United Kingdom)

We switched to Vietnam Airlines following Vietjet messing us about terribly (moved our flight 5 times, poor customer service). Moving from the Vietjet desk to the Vietnam Airlines desk was like a breath of fresh air. The customer service agent for Vietnam Airlines was friendly, professional, and helped us to get booked and checked into the flight that was leaving in one hour's time. When we checked in the representative was equally friendly and helpful. We were given the emergency row seats at no extra cost so we had lots of leg room. The flight left 10mins late but an apology and explanation was given. Flight crew handed out water, refreshing towels and blankets, which for a 1hour flight was lovely. Our bags were off very fast. I would not hesitate to book with Vietnam Airlines again.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteDAD to SGN
Date FlownJuly 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
4/10

"captain hardly made any announcements"

(Malaysia)

Verified Review | On 22nd June, I took a domestic flight VN 1186 (12.50pm) from Ho Chi Minh to Haiphong. First of all, the flight was delayed for about an hour. But that is not the complaint. The complaint was when the flight was re-directed to Danang without any information broadcast from the captain. In fact, I noticed the captain hardly made any announcements or gave any info regarding the flight. The only words from him were "Crew, get ready for landing or taking off", that's all. On 22nd June, I heard the captain announce to the crew to get ready for landing. I was a bit surprised because it was too early for the flight to have reached Haiphong. Suddenly, after landing, we were told by the crew that we were in Danang. The captain did not make any announcements that we had been re-directed to Danang. I saw a lot of passengers in confusion as to why we landed in Danang without warning. Some asked the crew and were told that the weather in Haiphong was bad and that was why the flight had to be diverted to Danang.
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteSGN to HPH
Date FlownJune 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
8/10

"flights on time"

(Vietnam)

Verified Review | Travelled Hue to Hanoi twice in June and July 2016 and Hanoi to Hue once in June with Vietnam Airlines. All flights on time. A321 aircraft. Cheap tickets bought under campaigns for less than 100 USD (3 trips). Flights on time. A postponement (of only 50 minutes) on the most recent trip was announced well in advanced by SMS and with a reissued ticket through email. Check-in within seconds. No service on board apart from a bottle of water and a tissue. If you bring your own coffee or tea sachets, then they give you a paper mug and hot water to consume it. Generous luggage allowance.
AircraftA321
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteHUI to HUI via HAN
Date FlownJuly 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
1/10

"expect lengthy delays"

(Australia)

I feel the need to warn anyone considering flying Vietnam Airlines from Sydney to London. Spend extra and fly with a better airline. Vietnam Airlines flights from Australia to the UK have 3 legs, which wouldn't be an issue except for the fact that you need to fly domestically in Vietnam and end up having to go through 4 different airports within Vietnam alone. Your luggage will not be transferred either, so be prepared to collect and check in bags numerous times. Because you go from international airport to domestic and then domestic to international a visa is required to enter Vietnam (which will set you back $500 return). Expect lengthy delays on domestic flights which adds a good 10 hours on an already very long journey.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteSYD to LHR via HAN
Date FlownJune 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
8/10

"attendant always awake to service us"

(Thailand)

Verified Review | Bangkok-Tokyo Narita via Hanoi in Business with my father. We checked in without hassle, no baggage, and got to the overcrowded third-party lounge which was average. Boarding was quite slow, Since they only used one door instead of two doors. A321 seats similar to that of Long-Haul Premium Economy. Food was up to quality, but presented in more of a Premium Economy manner. For a short flight, That's fine. Arrival at Hanoi surprised me with the new T2. Lounge was modern and new, but food seems to be not-so-fresh. 5 hour layover in Hanoi got me very board along with my father. Once we did finish, Priority boarding for us, the seats were not what we were expecting, In a positive way. I at first expected the product to be the same as the A321, But the A330 deserves a thumbs up. The amount of privacy in the window seat is good. In flight entertainment not working, So they gave us iPads. I had a pretty fine night's rest, and the breakfast was a bit dry, but presented with quality. Crew didn't disappear for the duration of the flight, with one flight attendant always awake to service us. In-flight entertainment is acceptable. On the return, The only problem I had was the food. In the Hanoi Lounge in the afternoon, there is minimal choice, with dry foods and sandwiches which looked like they had been made the night before. The food choice on the return trip HAN-BKK was average, but we opted out since there was only meats that we didn't like (Shrimp, Chicken and pork) but since I got both tickets for less than $2000USD it was worth it.
AircraftA330-200, A321-200.
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeBusiness Class
RouteBKK to NRT via HAN
Date FlownAugust 2015
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes