Vietnam Airlines

Flew from Melbourne to HCM return (8.5 hours each leg). The plane (Airbus 330) was full going over and it left and arrived on time. It was an uneventful flight with the crew efficiently serving meals and regularly coming around with drinks (water juice etc). The entertainment was reasonable although we flew three weeks apart and the movie selection had not changed in that time. On the return trip (mid week) the plane was only one third full. I am 6 foot tall and found the seats / legroom okay for an economy class seat. I would fly with them again.

I travelled with Vietnam Airlines three times. Although the airplanes I flew in were not brand new ones they were well equipped and offered enough leg space. Inflight entertainment could be better AVOD system is available on the long-haul flights but there were not many interesting channels available. Staff service especially on the long-haul flight was superb much better than on many European airlines I travelled with. Finally I now know that it is possible to serve delicious food onboard even in Economy class. I can really recommend flying Vietnam Airlines.

I travel to Vietnam almost every 12 months and take senior school students on tour there every two years so I have had many internal and international flights with VNM. Last two trips were on cramped A320s no leg room at all and my taller students some well over 6ft had to sit bolt upright all night and even then their legs were jammed into the seat in front all trip. Even I at 171cm could not recline seat enough to be slightly comfortable. If someone in front reclines their seat it's in your face literally! They used to fly 777s on the Melbourne and Sydney routes these were quiet and comfortable. Their scheduling suits going either way and I used to think they were a good airline and recommended them to friends. No longer. I'd rather travel via Singapore or Hong Kong and spend more time in transit than fly with them again. They seem to have a contempt for their international customers' comfort. Internal flights by contrast are usually fine except that Vietnam Airlines is developing a habit of "rescheduling" flights due to some inscrutable problem really probably because the flight isn't full and they cancel it so you can sit around airports for hours waiting for the next plane and no reason or apology offered.

HCMC-Hanoi 27th June VN 1140. Very enjoyable short flight good inflight food - tasty and fresh. Cabin crew attentive and interacting. Seating very good. Despite being a short flight overall very pleasant to travel with. Only suggestion would be to have also water handy on the pre-drink tablet currently only sweet juices offered water must be asked for.

LGW-SGN 9.6.12 return SGN-LGW 22.6.12 Deluxe Economy - we were advised of a change of flight times but not told why and were informed when got to check in that we were going via Frankfurt both going out and on the return. The reason we booked with Vietnam Airlines was due to the direct flights between LGW and SGN. We travel with our son who is 3 and previously flown Singapore Airlines which is only a 55 min transfer at Singapore unlike the almost 2 hours spent in Frankfurt. We would have chosen to fly Singapore Airlines if we had known that the flight would not be direct. Apart from the non direct issue the flight itself was comfy we were in deluxe economy which is comfortable and spacious and just what was needed on a long flight. There is plenty of leg room and the seats recline a long way. This was worth the extra money. The child's meal on the way out was good but on the return all the food was below standard. Our 3 year olds child meal was prawns wrapped in noodles and salad for breakfast. Our own meals on the return were again not great and only just warm. The entertainment system did also not work on the return trip which is a huge disappointment.

Flight: In last month. An excellent trip with lovely attentive staff. Modern A330 aircraft and more than adequate AVOD. Terrific vegetarian food offered (a nice surprise) and many drinks rounds.

London Gatwick - Bangkok via HCMC. Plane was Boeing 777. Smooth check-in in London. Our plane had a technical stopover in Paris for 2 hr to pick up more passengers and refuelling. Even with the technical stopover we still arrived 1hr early. Inflight food and drink service was very good. I pre-ordered Asian Vegetarian meal which arrived and was tasty. Seats are a bit hard but ok. Inflight entertainment ok but old and on loop. On arrival in HCMC airport we were guided by ground staff to international departures to catch our flight to Bangkok Thailand. Luggage was transferred automatically. I would use this airline again.

SIN-HAN on A330. Older style but comfortable seats with good pitch. Food tasty staff helpful. IFE disaster and no apologies for its absence. Seemed to be on older aircraft with tatty carpet and missing or broken panels. VN has a way to go to catch up with other Asian carriers but they have good prices.

I took 2 domestic flights during May both on A321s. Seats are comfortable especially as I was able to secure a seat in the emergency exit row so enjoyed a few inches extra leg room. Both aircraft's clean and well kept. Both flights were on time which was good. However you only get a bottle of water on these flights and the crew did the minimum. On both flights once they had handed out the drinks the crews disappeared until just before landing. I also thought that their attention to ensuring passengers had seat belts on and had stopped using their electronic devices at the time requested was minimal. At least baggage claim at both destinations was prompt but all in all I was not impressed and would avoid them if I went to Vietnam again.

Flew return Sydney-Hanoi via Saigon. Everything was on time and the luggage arrived. There was an army of staff waiting in Saigon to direct the Australians catching the connecting flight to Hanoi. They collected our luggage for us to transport it to the Domestic Terminal and they drove us in a bus even though it was a short walk. I found all meals onboard delicious. The 9 hour flight went by extremely quickly because there were plenty of movie choices. My only disappointment was when I flew VN from Saigon-Bangkok last year they gave us bottles of water for the Sydney flight they were filling up very small cups only.