Vietnam Airlines

Flew London to Hanoi Hanoi to Siem Reap Siem Reap to Ho Chi Min City internal flight in Vietnam then Hanoi to London. The flight service etc was great. Comparable with BA flights. Great value for money.

Flew LGW-SGN on 21st December. Having read a lot of reviews I was expecting to have some type of trouble with our booking. To be fair I could not fault VN one bit! Business class was not outrageously expensive and well worth the money. Yes the plane/cabin is a bit older and a touch dated but everything worked and the staff were incredibly friendly and helpful. The food was plentiful and the drink continued to flow throughout the flight. For those that care the plane departed and arrived on time. All in all a great start to our Christmas getaway.

We flew business class LGW-HAN-SGN-MEL-SGN-LGW. The seats on the Boeings on the London legs are not as nice as on the Airbus on Australia routes neither are fully flat beds. Food was better on the flights to Vietnam than on flights from Vietnam - this may be due it being classed as Lunch on inbound and Supper on outbound flights. IFE kept breaking up on SGN-LGW leg so I gave up.

Flew from CDG Paris to Hanoi. The flight boarded on time and the staff were very good. The seats were as normal for economy class. The seat back TV was good not a great choice of films but it was fine. The service was excellent very attentive. The food served was good and the selection was good.

HKG-HAN and SGN-HKG both flights with A321 both flights excellent on time with friendly staff. Food was delicious 2 options of meat (Western / Asian) and 2 options of fish. 2 servings of wine plus coffee or tea. What else do you want in a 2 hour of flight?

MEL-SGN-MEL on A330 in Economy. Undoubtedly two of the worst flights I can remember in recent memory. First time on VN and will be the last time. Can't think of anything particularly positive to say other than one of the two flights was on time. Other than that it was an awful experience. The A330 equipment is dated and falling apart. Masking tape used in several places to hold together broken parts. Problems with IFE on both flights which required resetting the screen - unsuccessful on all occasions - so no video either way. Food was unfit for human consumption. But even worse was a compete lack of warmth or professionalism by the cabin crew or ground personnel. Very few smiles cabin crew disappears for long periods at a time is gruff when approached with a small request. Having flown several of the carriers throughout Asia most of which are models of efficiency and great service VN sits rock bottom in my opinion. This is an airline from the dark ages. And to make the experience even worse we did a 'go around' before landing at MEL on a beautiful calm clear morning which didn't inspire much confidence from a safety perspective. Would avoid at any and all costs.

FRA-SGN on 21/12 in Deluxe Economy on B777. Flight was fully booked despite this the crew were always very friendly and helpful - even in the middle of the night and came very quickly after calling them. IFE does not have such a big choice compared to other airlines but it was ok. Most movies were available in different languages (e.g. English French German). Quality of food (dinner and breakfast) was good and the quantity was more than enough. Menu cards were given soon after departure and for both meals there was a choice between Asian and western food. Amenity kit was a small plastic bag with toothbrush sleeping mask ear plugs and socks.

I was very disappointed in the standard and grubbiness of the aircraft for a long haul flight thank goodness we booked economy delux because had we just booked economy it would have been even worse. The plane was so old only one toilet worked in our part of the aircraft and the inflight entertainment was non existent. The controls on the side of the seats were so worn we were unable to determine which was which. The staff seemed to be relaxed on the level of service that was provided. We were lucky to have a bottle of water half way through the 13 hour flight. I will never fly with this company again. Compared to the quality of Aircraft and Service using internal flights Vietnam Airlines need to get their act together and take some lessons from other carriers in the area.

SGN-FRA on 31/12 in Deluxe Economy on B777. Like on the flight from FRA to SGN the crew were very friendly and helpful - even in the middle of the night. They came very quickly after calling them via the call button. In Deluxe Economy there was only 9 pax for 2 flight attendants so the service was very personal. Menu cards were given soon after departure and for both meals there was a choice between Asian and Western food. The crew take the meal order personally and some minutes later the menu was brought directly from the galley to the seat (no trolley service). Quality of food (dinner and breakfast) was very good and the quantity was more than enough. Amenity kit was a small plastic bag with toothbrush sleeping mask ear plugs and socks. IFE has not such a big choice than other airlines but it was ok. Most movies were available in different languages (e.g. English French German).

ICN-HAN-KUL on 12/25 and SIN-SGN-ICN on 1/2. Both flights departed and arrived on time. Two hour layovers in each airport. I booked a SkyMiles award for these flights one month out at 45000 miles and $55 taxes. My friends paid for their tickets which were around 300 USD less than non-stop on Korean Air. HAN airport is extremely basic - lots of tired-looking souvenir stalls a random local restaurant that no one eats at and a Burger King. The terminal felt very empty at 2 PM in the afternoon. SGN airport is much newer but spotty wi-fi and the same assortment of random tourist junk and a few restaurants. Keep your layovers there as short as possible. The planes to/from ICN were very old. Think pink walls drop down TVs and a seat back TV smaller than most new cell phones. The movie selection was that you watched what they played no choices. They offered a meal but they all tasted the same. They also served supper after take off on the red eye to ICN which is frustrating because you only get around 3.5 hours of sleep by the time they turn off the lights. The narrow body jets to KUL/from SIN were much nicer and newer. People say Korean Air has a warm cabin but they haven't flown VN. Stiflingly hot the entire time. The cabin staff was kind to me during service but I didn't need them for anything else. Overall their service is a conundrum. They offer champagne and menus for economy meal service but their planes are dated. We arrived safely and everyone was polite. I would definitely continue to travel Korean Air first but the price is very nice if you're on a budget just don't expect a lot.