Vietnam Airlines

Flew from London Gatwick to Hanoi to Saigon to HUE to Nha Trang and back to Saigon and back home and I would say that Vietnam airline is a good airline if you want a cheap flight to Southeast Asia. Staff are friendly and the food is at a good standard. Seat comfort is what you would expect for economy. Entertainment is okay but on the first flight the entertainment broke so had to entertain myself for 12 hours but overall if you want a cheap flight to Southeast Asia then I would recommend Vietnam Airlines.

Flew Melbourne to Paris return in business class. Extremely mediocre food and service on all legs bar the Paris back to Hanoi flight where they attempted to offer you your next course only once you had finished eating the one before. On all other flights the trays were presented in their entirety with offers of a first glass of wine along with tea or coffee - this on an 11 hour daytime flight. Still the cost was cheap and much lower than other airlines. It still wouldn't convince me to travel again with Vietnam as on every sector my arm rest was held together with duct tape on one flight part of the overhead panels were also being held together with duct tape and on the 2 different aircraft's I flew on the seats were uncomfortable. The foot rests only raised off the ground marginally so even when the seat back was in full recline your body is at a crazy angle - not conducive for sleeping. One positive note - ground staff in Hanoi and HCMC (Saigon) were first class.

We booked our flight in April to fly direct from Gatwick to HCM. The inflight entertainment was hit and miss - I'd say about 50% on the back seat screens probably had some sort of problem. Food on the flight out was better than the return and the staff although polite on the way out were friendlier on our return. The seats and leg room were what you would expect from economy class. Both of our flights left and arrived on time. My only real gripe with VA is that nowhere through the online booking process did it state that we needed a visa for Vietnam. Having looked again at their site it is still very unclear.

SYD-SGN-SYD. Really nice flights. The food was fairly good but some meals were just plain. The seats were fairly wide and had a larger than usual amount of leg-space which I appreciated. Unlike some other airlines the seats didn't make me fidget or get up as often as others and they were quite comfortable to sleep in for economy. Overall a great airline to fly to SE Asia.

London Gatwick to Bangkok via Hanoi. No online check in but can check in at least 5 hours before flight at London Gatwick. Food ok. Staff friendly and Hanoi airport is cheap. Some shops don't except Pounds. A great airline at a great price. The fare was only £80 but with tax and fees it came to £480.

Flying Gatwick to Bangkok: First flight cabin crew stingy with drinks and coffee. All crew seemed miserable and keen to get lights off so that they could ignore you. My sons entertainment console locked up and despite repeated requests crew did nothing. Crew managed to ignore the attention light for a good 30 minutes. Second flight eating tray was broken so could not sit together as a family. Return flight entertainment console broken so either sit apart or no entertainment. Same level of miserable service. When meal served one side of the plane got top up drinks and other didn't suggesting lax systems. Would avoid unless cheaper than any other airline.

SYD-SGN-CDG and returning CDG-HAN-SGN-SYD. Food in-flight movies and service of a good standard for price. Australia-Europe travellers be aware that the return journey had a domestic Hanoi to Saigon leg that added hours to the journey and required a transit visa. Vietnam Airlines provided a Hanoi hotel for the 10 hour stopover - making it bearable - and arranged for transit visa with US$25 cash on arrival. However aggressive Air France staff in Paris attempted to block us boarding as we had no written evidence of a transit visa. Only after a series of frantic phone calls was clearance given.

VN921 from VTE to SGN. Vietnam Airlines have monopolized this route and despite charging top dollar didn't even provide food or alcoholic beverages. The flight stops off in PNH where everybody has to get off and wait and we were delayed. Staff were generally friendly and welcoming although the purser was very unreceptive when I asked why food and alcoholic beverages were not provided.

Travelled from FRA to SGN in 777 and SGN to SIN in A321. Flight from FRA to SGN was good and the service was excellent. For dinner and breakfast there was a great choice between different meals food tasted good and was more than enough. The transfer in SGN was easy. The staff at the transfer counter were friendly and had already my boarding pass to SIN and the lounge invitation ready for me. So no waiting time at the counter. The 2 hours flight from SGN to SIN was eventless and good. For lunch there was a choice between 3 different meals and staff was friendly.

Travelled from Melbourne to Hanoi return the flight over was very good on an A330. Service was great and very comfortable seats. Unfortunately the return flight was on a B777 the economy section was crowded with very old seats with no personal entertainment screens. Seats had a particularly hard section (meeting your lower back) and did not recline at all. The internal electric's were not working so our section could not turn on or off personal lights contact service crew etc and to make matters worse one light was permanently on and could not be turned off. My partner had a small box for some sort of wiring in his foot space. We were very pleased with the flight over and the two domestic flights but the return trip was the worst flight we have been on the staff did their best but the economy section in the B777 needs to be refurbished asap.