Vietnam Airlines

Ticket purchased week before travel (Christmas period) Sydney to London via Saigon and it was thousands less than the next closest player. First time flying Vietnam Airlines and was pleasantly surprised. Boeing 777 flights on old style recliner seats but comfy enough for an 8 hour trip, plus got a good sleep on the way home. Boeing 787 comfort, service and catering is up there with the Middle East carriers. Long stopover in Saigon in both directions but all transfers, 4* hotels and meals handled by VN. Yes, when flying for business it is a pain as you want to just get there and back but for the fare, it is bearable. VN was never on my radar before but will happily fly with them again in a few weeks when heading back to London for a few days.

Flying from Frankfurt to Hanoi on Vietnam Airlines new Boeing 787. Check in at Frankfurt was quick with friendly staff. Boarding was organized. Crew service was very friendly, flight attendant welcomed at the door and takes me to my seat, offers boarding drinks, amenity kit and headphones. The menu cards and winelist was given before take off. The meal was more than enough and had a very good taste. After meal, fruit, cheese, ice cream and cakes together with coffee or tea. A full flat seat meant I could sleep most time of the flight until breakfast service. The entertainment is limited in the choice of available films, but there were enough movies or series available.

Splendid journey from Ho Chi Minh City to London Heathrow on Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787 in economy deluxe. Service was attentive and helpful, food was average but in line with most long haul economy class. The seat has a 10.6 inch TV which is located in the armrest. Economy deluxe seats have decent stretch and are comfortable in a 2-3-2 layout. Vietnam Airlines provides a wash bag and slippers which is a nice touch as many airlines have replaced slippers with socks. I would recommend Vietnam Airlines on their new aircraft.

I had a pretty disappointing experience with Vietnam Airlines from Paris to Kaohsiung via Hanoi. Firstly, the fares were not among the most affordable we could find, which can then lead the customer to expect a certain quality. The 777 flown between between Paris and Hanoi was in need of some care, my seat had a broken table so I was asked to change to a different seat which then had a damaged armrest. The seat was at the end of its life too. The entertainment system was an old generation one, with no on demand programs and a small screen. Noise in the cabin was too loud - like on most B777's. Service was pretty good though, with friendly staff, and food ok. Overall I wouldn't recommend it.

Travelled Vietnam Airlines domestic Hanoi to Hue on 9 December 2015. Flight in Hanoi was delayed 1 hour which was informed by email 10 hours prior to departure. Arriving in amble time prior scheduled departure I easily managed to change my flight to an earlier departure without any penalties nor other problems. Thus, arrived 3 hours earlier than scheduled. Domestic Lounge is old, but cozy and quite efficient. It provides a good view to lanes and motor-highway, has hot food, snacks, and drinks though no spirits nor wines. A321 business class seats provide full comfort. Cold snacks, beers, and sparkling sodas provided. Priority luggage, boarding, shuttle, and check-in lanes for business class passengers. Miles for my Flying Blue were inserted the following day.

I booked a one way Vietnam Airlines ticket to Hanoi from Kuala Lumpur, I was having trouble checking into my flight so I emailed the customer service team which replied to me within and hour and helped me check in. The flight crew were all very nice and we were served a light meal which was fish and rice, served with red wine, fresh juice and water. The plane was clean and we were given pillows and blankets. Arriving in Hanoi on time and ready to explore my new country. I highly recommend Vietnam Airlines for the cheap fares, free luggage allowance and great service.

On November 18th I arrived at Heathrow at 8am for a 3 hour check in process with Vietnam Airlines. Flight due to depart 11am. On checking in I was informed the plane would be delayed till 8pm. The plane had not arrived the night before (due at 9 pm) so it was already known that the delay would be significant - yet on their website it showed on time and no delay. Based on that info I set out for the airport at am. The staff gave out no information and when pestered said operational reasons. No apologies. The fact that the airline knew the plane had not taken off the other end seemed be irrelevant. We were shipped off to a hotel in Feltham and spent till 8pm before checking in again. The plane eventually departed 11.5 hours after schedule. There was no mention of this delay once onboard and the cabin crew looked as fed up as the passengers. The inflight entertainment was bad and dated. The food passable but not great. All my internal flights with Vietnam Airlines were also delayed with no apology. This airline ruined my holiday as I missed out on several planned trips.

Ho Chi Minh City to Frankfurt on Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787 was a great trip, on time and good service, slept most of the trip. The return flight on 28 November was a different story. Instead of the scheduled Boeing 787, it was an old Boeing 777-200 with well worn, old business class seats, entertainment system not operating throughout the plane. At origin they offered compensation but had no cash or checks. Cabin crew tried hard to please. Flyer beware.

Unfortunately our Vietnam Airlines flight from Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City was repeatedly changed. Eventually it was scheduled 1 hour later than originally booked. Boarding was delayed for another 30 min and after we made some extra loops, we arrived more than 1 hour (or 2 hours after original booking) late. The service was basic, but that's OK for a domestic flight. Nothing unusual.

We flew economy class London to Hanoi and returned Saigon to Heathrow, both trips on the Boeing 787. Quiet, and there appeared to be more leg space than normal. Pleasant crew. What a shame that the inflight entertainment could not match. Many people on our flights were unable to watch/listen to films/TV/Music because of the poor quality of picture and/or sound. There would be a few minutes when everything was good and then the picture would break up and sound totally incomprehensible. It seemed to affect screens in rows of 3. Should you have been fortunate enough to watch films there was a total lack of modern or recent films. We spent 24 hours of flying time only being able to access Soduko or the Flight map (which is very good!). The food we were served was cool but this may have been due to us being towards the end of the servings. 4 internal flights were fine but were basically just up and down short hops.