Vietnam Airlines

Due to fly to Hanoi via Frankfurt on 20th Sep 13 at 1010hrs. Flight cancelled until 21 Sep 13. Reason given was aircraft U/S in Germany awaiting spare part. Put up in Hilton Hotel. Note pushed under our door at 2200hrs saying Flight was now 0640hrs on 21 Sep with check-in at 0500hrs! On arrival at check-in at 0500hrs no one there! Eventually turned up at 0520hrs. Flight delayed boarded at 0700 but didn't take-off until 0835hrs. Landed in Frankfurt to be told we could not leave the aircraft. The crew left the aircraft and the cleaning staff came on board to clean the aircraft. Spent nearly 3 hours on the plane no refreshments offered we had to ask for a drink. Some people helping themselves as nobody on board. Eventually the new crew came on board followed by the German passengers who found that the seats had been double booked! Told to sit wherever they could. Took-off at about 1320hrs. I suspect 2 half full flights had been turned into 1 full one! No inflight entertainment either going to Hanoi or coming back. Food and service poor. Never travel with them again.

Bought Vietnam airlines flight as it was the fastest to Hanoi. Travelled on VN0144 from LGW to Hanoi. First the plane said it was delayed until 12.30 and there was nobody to be found in the Vietnam Airlines help desk until around 1. They said that the plane had been delayed until tomorrow giving us a £5 meal voucher for a decent meal in Gatwick £5 does not go far. We got put up in the Gatwick Hilton and fed which was good but what was bad is that they gave us no information until around 10 at night by a note under the door. Vietnam Airlines had no customer service rep sent to the hotel. We finally got on the flight the next morning at around 10.00 (24hrs later). The first leg was to Frankfurt which on arrival we found out that the seats had been double booked. Also we were not allowed to get off which was annoying as I wanted to get some liquid duty free items as we were told that we were not allowed to take them to Frankfurt. The long haul stretch was uncomfortable for me as there was very limited leg space and the in flight entertainment was broken. Also the air crew let the passengers run riot over the drinks. This meant that people on board got rowdy and Vietnam airlines crew just sat at the back of the plane doing nothing. Plane safety - I didn't feel safe on-board because of the amount of disorganization and chaos from the airline. They also had no emphasis on safety and didn't show the safety videos on it's hurried take off from Frankfurt.

Flew Ho Chi Minh to Frankfurt 4 Oct on Boeing 777 200 series in business class. Although seats are a little on the old side the were reasonably comfortable. The inflight entertainment system did not work and only one film offered on the main screen which is not acceptable in business class! Otherwise food and was excellent. Again no showers at Ho Chi Minh airport business class lounge.

The pros: plane took off and landed safely seats were relatively spacious. My boyfriend and I traveled from Ho Chi Minh City to Phu Quoc and back in the last week. You'd think there'd be minimum hassle on a 50 minute flight. Outbound our flight attendants completely ignored a phone that was ringing and people snapping pictures and listening to iPods during take off and landing. The flight back from Phu Quoc was even worse. One of the main points of interest is fish sauce made on the island. We bought two small bottles hoping to send it in our luggage and were told that was not possible. It's a Vietnam Airlines-specific regulation. A group of passengers were sitting stewing because they were also not informed they could not transport fish sauce. Our flight was delayed and an announcement repeatedly said to contact a representative with questions but to do so I had to walk out of the gate and check back in again. Luckily it was a small airport and was not too busy. Still I will never fly Vietnam Airlines again.

Just arrived home from my trip and am appalled at the lack of service I received after our flight from Gatwick to Hanoi was delayed over 24 hours on 21st Aug! Left in the Airport from 1.30pm until 10pm not knowing what was happening and only updated every 2 hours. At 10.30 told that we were going to the Sofitel for the night and we should fly out at 11am the next day. Upon arriving the next morning we were told that the flight was delayed again and should leave at 1.30pm. During this whole ordeal we were only given two $7 meal vouchers! Once we boarded we were given a letter to explain the delay to our insurance companies but this letter only stated that we were delayed 23 hours! I finally got the chance to try and get some information when I was flying out of Hanoi to Melbourne and to see if I could get the time on my letter changed. I was waiting for over an hour at the help desk while they tried to find out what time we left as the records showed we left at 9am! Told there was nothing they could do. I can't complain about the price of the flights and the in flight meals. If you don't mind delays and are on a budget - go with Vietnam Airlines.

I have just returned from a trip to London from Melbourne via Hanoi. Vietnam Airlines provided the cheapest flight on this route. I understood that when booking a cheap flight that I would get what I paid for. Better than I thought there were personal screens with a choice of about 2 dozen movies and the food ranged from very good to ok (depending on leg). It was the little things which let it down Hanoi-London my screen did not work London- Hanoi my seat did not recline Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh they had double booked my seat so I was moved to another seat. Was I unlucky? - maybe. The biggest issue however was the Vietnam Visa issue. My travel agent (and I) had not arranged a Vietnam Visa (as the Hanoi-HCM flight is a domestic flight and requires transfer to domestic terminal) so when I arrived at Tullamarine for the first leg of my flight I was asked to step to the side and made hurried and stressful arrangements for a last minute Visa pre-approval letter. The Vietnam Airlines customer service officer on hand was very helpful but it would have been better if (i) the need for a Visa had been clearer at time of booking or (ii) there could be some arrangement meaning that Visa is not required for transit.

TPE-SGN (Ho Chi Minh City). Economy class. Great experience. Friendly flight staff dressed smartly dressed in uniforms. Pleasant lunch and they offered me an extra (free) beer. In flight entertainment isn't much but who needs that when you have a good book or a tablet.

Just back from the UK flew Sydney - Ho Chi Minh City - London and back the same way. SYD-HCMC flight was better than HCMC-LHR plane was newer and more comfortable and in-flight entertainment was better. HCMC-LHR plane was older and due a refit/upgrade as in-flight entertainment was very limited for a 13 hour flight. Food was better than we imagined offering a choice of western or Asian style and staff were very attentive and pleasant serving drinks frequently. Only thing that got our goat was the 8 hour layover on the way out and the 13 hour layover on the way back although VA provided meal vouchers for the wait in the airport we felt somehow spoiled by Emirates who provided a hotel room in the same circumstance. You can leave the airport provided you get a letter from the Vietnamese consulate prior to arriving in the country we were not aware of this. All in all for the price we paid ($1500) each Sydney-London return it was value for money and would use Vietnam Airlines again but would sort out a visa first. Give them a go if your on a budget or pay double and fly a brand airline the choice is yours I have been as honest as I can as I myself read these forums before travelling and was pleasantly surprised.

Just flew Hanoi - HCM - Sydney. Flight delayed out of Hanoi. Also delayed 40 mins or so coming out of HCM (for some reason that we were not told) - we sat on the tarmac getting hotter and hotter as the aircon wasn't working well. Very limited choice of inflight movies. I could not watch any because the sound wasn't working on my system and staff said there was nothing they could do. Plane was old and seats very close together and hard. Woman next to me was texting after takeoff and staff said nothing. Staff were pleasant and tried hard but couldn't really compensate for overall poor customer experience. Would suggest avoid this airline if you possibly can.

Flying SGN-KUL on 18 August with old parents. Manage to upgrade the business class via option town. Special meal requested during the booking and special meal was confirmed. I took my own initiative to double confirmed on the special meal. It printed clearly on the boarding pass. No special meal is served. The reason given from the Leading Steward "We do not received any information regarding your request".