Vietnam Airlines

Flew four sectors with Vietnam Airlines at the end of August 2015, KUL-SGN return and SGN-HAN return. The KUL-SGN sectors were rather uneventful - the flights were on time and there were no problems retrieving checked in luggage. The inflight meals were tasty. Wine served to those who wanted it. The flight attendants worked hard but were rather robotic. Overall, it is not a bad flying experience on this international route. My main reason for flying the domestic SGN-HAN sector was to sample Vietnam Airlines new products on their Boeing 787-9 and A350-900 aircraft. I was on the Boeing 787-9 on the SGN-HAN sector and the aircraft was new. However, the IFE was not operational as it was a short domestic sector. The seats were a tad too narrow for my liking (3-3-3 in economy class) but legroom was sufficient. Cabin service is similar to Vietnam Airlines domestic flights - a light snack and nothing more. The flight ended on a sour note - my checked in luggage was contaminated by prawn/fish oil paste from other customer luggage. VN did not redeem itself too well and it was the airport workers who helped me clean up my bag. As it was close to midnight, I did not lodge any complaint with VN. The HAN-SGN sector was more disappointment. I did not manage to get on the A350 and was on a regular B777-200 ER flight. The aircraft was old and tired and some LCD screens onboard have seen better days. The original A350 flight that I was booked on was changed once already - the airline switched me to an earlier A330 flight. I wrote back and declined that flight and explained that I needed an A350 flight. They then switched me to an even earlier A350 flight. I thought that all was well and good at the time and looked forward to the flight. Unfortunately, the aircraft allocated to my flight was switched. All I can do was watch the A350 flight from my aircraft as it was on the next flight, 10 mins behind us. All in all, Vietnam Airlines is okay if you are on a budget. I do not think I will be flying them to Europe, based on the experience above.

Vietnam Airlines offers deluxe economy service for European routes only. For domestic routes, deluxe economy cabin is for economy class passengers. As I’m a Gold member I was upgraded to deluxe economy. The check-in procedure was quick with Sky Priority counter. The VN lounge at HAN is not too big and crowded sometimes. The food is so so and not impressive. The wifi was not too fast, not too slow, enough to surf. This lounge does not serve fresh noodles. The deluxe economy seats are arranged in 2-3-2 configuration with a seat pitch of 42 inches, foot rest and leg rest. Power and USB are provide. My feeling when seating in this seat was very comfortable. It’s almost the same with regional business class seat on Vietnam Airlines’ Airbus A321. The windows are impressive also. The inflight service started long take-off on this 1:40 hrs domestic flight, dinner was served. The meal tray came with hot meal, soft drink and tea/coffee. I love this new aircraft and its deluxe economy seats.

I had a terrible experience with Vietnam Airlines. First, their website if you're buying in Vietnam doesn't support credit cards from the US. Second, when I went to the office in Quinhon to buy my ticket, they couldn't speak a lick of English. So, I buy a flight to Kuala Lumpur. Baggage lost in Saigon. They gave me a tiny piece of paper that was supposed to be my ticket claim for my bag but I lost it. So, basically it was a huge pain and I spent a week without my suitcase. Then, flying from Kuala Lumpur to Hanoi, they closed the counter one hour before I was supposed to fly and I missed the flight. They were entirely unhelpful. I don't recommend Vietnam Airlines. To make matters worse, all their employees speak poor English.

Frankfurt to Singapore via Ho Chi Minh City with Vietnam Airlines. The check in and flight from Frankfurt to Ho Chi Minh City was ok. Then the trouble started. During boarding for Singapore crew insisted that I must buy a return ticket and that I will have trouble in Singapore without one. Complete nonsense. They did not let me board the aircraft. Only after all other passengers were boarded and a hefty discussion with the head of the crew I was finally allowed to board the plane more than 1hr later. This time I was hold back in a transit aisle, kind of nowhere. No problems entering Singapore, just as expected. Except that my luggage was lost in Ho Chi Minh City. It was found after some phone calls but then took 3 days to get it to Singapore. The service during this time was just miserable : no call back, wrong or misleading information, just no one had a clue.

Melbourne to Frankfurt via Ho Chi Minh City/Hanoi in Vietnam Airlines Business Class. Flights excellent as was service and food. On return trip from Paris to HCMC great trip with service and food of a high quality. Flight home from Ho Chi Minh City to Melbourne was again excellent. We were in seats 4A/C on all legs of our trip. Didn't have a problem being near the galley and managed to sleep well on all flights. We have flown Vietnam Airlines Business many times and never had a problem with flights, food or service. We are happy to recommend them as an alternative to other airlines that charge more.

There was nothing special about Vietnam Airlines inflight experience. However, ground service and check in was a joke. There was no service for business class passengers. Doesn't matter if you were business class passengers or not, you would still have to wait for business counter to check in coach passengers before you. Top off, check in staff were errogant and didn't know about service. 4 of us travelled together, however only one of us waited in line. Once I got to the counter, the check in clerk told me everyone has to wait in line with their luggage. I told them that it was a family traveled together and I was holding all passenger passports to check in. Neverthless, she insisted we all had to wait in line together.

We flew Melbourne to Ho Chi Minh return plus 4 internal flights with Vietnam Airlines . My expectations for an economy fare is to be fed, have something to watch and sleep if it's an overnighter. Every flight was on time, the food was good, there was in flight entertainment - not great but enjoyed some good movies. The plane was half empty so got to stretch out and sleep due to so many empty seats. I found staff pleasant and helpful. Okay, they're not overly friendly and some of the ground staff didn't crack a smile at check in, but they did their job and in economy I guess that's what you get.

The first flight is the code share flight with Vietnam Airlines partner, it was not smooth because of the small aircraft. But generally, it is acceptable since it is not delayed. The second connecting flight from Ho Chi Minh to Osaka was quite good, the pilot did a very good job with the typhoon. However, Vietnam Airlines should work on improving its served meals and the in-flight entertainment. The food was not good, I mean it is not Asian taste. And the inflight magazine was kind of boring, most of the contents are in Vietnamese, I couldn't understand most of it. The video and audio seem so boring.

Flew with Vietnam Airlines yesterday (3rd September) from Melbourne to Ho Chi Minh City. Take off was excellent. For the price, it was good for this time of the year. Cabin Crew did their job well. The entertainment was okay, not much to do, but the sky map was what I stuck to the most. When we got to Vietnam, the landing was smooth.

This is my first long haul flight. Overall, flying with Vietnam Airlines was a pleasant journey. The flight attendants were nice and my food was served early due to the special request I have made. The seat condition was acceptable, I did not expect much for the fare that I had paid. The screen resolution of AVOD on B777 was satisfactory while the A321 was only equipped with an overhead screen. The Lotusmiles point was credited into the account few days after flying which is very fast.