Review of Vietnam Airlines flight Ho Chi Minh City Hanoi in Business

Airline Vietnam Airlines
Flight VN240
Class Business
Seat 3A
Aircraft Airbus A350-900
Flight time 01:40
Take-off 16 Jul 15, 12:40
Arrival at 16 Jul 15, 14:20
VN   #37 out of 96 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 229 reviews
Travip
By 14789
Published on 21st July 2015
***VIDEO FLIGHT REPORT IS BELOW

Vietnam Airlines has commenced its first Airbus A350 XWB recently in part of its ambitious plan in renewing the wide-body fleet with all Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Vietnam Airlines is also the first airline to operate both Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 at the same time in Asia-Pacific.

For long time, I planed to take a flight in this new aircraft. The experience was amazing. The A350's cabin atmosphere is nice, less noise. The new business class in this aircraft is great also with flat-bed seat.

I started my flight at noon. As I checked in online and printed out the boarding pass, I didn't have to go to check-in counter. I just showed my print boarding pass at the security gate and went straight to the business lounge. At the lounge, the staff let me in automatically without invitation card. Actually I didn't have to print my boarding pass. Tablet or smartphone is enough. This is not new to the world but quite new to Vietnam Airlines.

photo a350-09

I was dedicated to the Lotus Lounge of Vietnam Airlines inside domestic terminal but this lounge is usually crowded. I went to the lounge beside which is a serviced lounge for Priority Pass members, VietJet Air Skyboss (business class) passengers, Mobifone Gold Card customers. I have Mobifone Gold Card so I decided to go to this lounge. It's much quieter. The lounge food was good also.



The flight was on time. Business class passengers, Platinum, Gold, Titan members was boarding through a priority lane (Sky Priority of Skyteam). And I saw my ride. The first time I saw the Airbus A350 was the moment I felt something strange. It's new, beautiful and shiny.



Vietnam Airlines' Airbus A350 has 29 business class seats with 1-2-1 config. I chose the window seat. I love the new design of these business class seats. It would be great for long-haul flights. Vietnam Airlines will operate A350 and Boeing 787 on Europe and Notheast Asia routes. For domestic flights, Vietnam Airlines doesn't offer entertainment service. Inflight wifi hasn't been available yet. The seat is equipped with big screen, USB charging. Vietnam Airlines' new plane also has 45 deluxe economy seats and 231 economy seats.



While other passengers were boarding, newspapers, magazines, cold towel and welcome drink were served for business class passengers. You can see the new uniform of Vietnam Airlines cabin crew.

photo a350-17photo a350-27photo a350-30

I love the cabin atmosphere. When the plan took off, there was less noise and the cabin pressure didn't make me uncomfortable.



The new window was nice too. It was clear to take a look at everything outside.

photo a350-31photo a350-32

How beautiful is the wing ^^

photo a350-33

Onboard wifi is not available yet

photo a350-34

20 minutes after taking off, lunch was served. It was a full meal for 1:40 hrs domestic flight and it was good enough.

photo a350-35photo a350-36

The toilet:

photo a350-37

After lunch, I tried the flat-bed seat. Beautiful!



Landing in Noi Bai:

photo a350-41photo a350-42photo a350-43

Here is the video report for this flight:

See more

Verdict

Vietnam Airlines

9.0/10
Cabin10.0
Cabin crew10.0
Entertainment/wifi8.0
Meal/catering8.0

Southern Airports Services Company (SASCO) Apricot CIP Lounge

8.0/10
Comfort8.0
Meal/catering8.0
Entertainment/wifi8.0
Services8.0

Ho Chi Minh City - SGN

8.5/10
Efficiency10.0
Access10.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness7.0

Hanoi - HAN

6.2/10
Efficiency10.0
Access5.0
Services5.0
Cleanliness5.0

Conclusion

Vietnam Airlines has commenced its first Airbus A350 XWB recently in part of its ambitious plan in renewing the wide-body fleet with all Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Vietnam Airlines is also the first airline to operate both Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 at the same time in Asia-Pacific. For long time, I planed to take a flight in this new aircraft. The experience was amazing. The A350's cabin atmosphere is nice, less noise. The new business class in this aircraft is great also with flat-bed seat.

Information on the route Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) Hanoi (HAN)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 22 avis concernant 4 compagnies sur la ligne Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) → Hanoi (HAN).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Bamboo Airways avec 7.6/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 1 heures et 55 minutes.

  More information

26 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 142118 by
    Jetset 52 Comments
    Now this report is something really special! The first Vietnam A350. The paintwork is still so shiny.
  • Comment 142122 by
    fernousdu972 1074 Comments
    Thanks a lot for sharing.

    This plane looks really beautiful. With a nice wingflex like the 787 it would look perfect!
    Great comfort and meal for a domestic flight.

    See you!
    • Comment 321282 by
      fernousdu972 1074 Comments
      Thank you very much for sharing my report, I am very glad you guys liked it.
      I will come back one day, there is too many nice places to visit there :)
    • Comment 321278 by
      Travip AUTHOR 108 Comments
      Thanks for reading my report. I read your report about VietJet Air yesterday. Very interesting. I shared your report to the group Vietnam Air Spotter on Facebook and everyone loves it. Thanks for promoting my country through your beautiful photos.
  • Comment 142123 by
    Airline Spotter 91 Comments
    I was thinking I would the first to report that aircraft, you were faster than me! I'm flying from HCMC to Hanoi on August! Did you see how the eco class looks like? Thanks for sharing!
    • Comment 321291 by
      Airline Spotter 91 Comments
      haha no problem! I'm only with Cathay Pacific for the moment but i'll ask for sure! Yeah I saw it when I was booking, but it was the double price so... Will I have to pay for Deluxe Eco?? Thanks for the reply!
    • Comment 321279 by
      Travip AUTHOR 108 Comments
      Hi. So sorry for report this aircraft first. :P The economy class seats are not so special. I think you should try deluxe eco seats. For domestic flight, there's no deluxe eco class but you still can ask the check-in agent to select the deluxe eco seat on A350 (row 10-15). Usually these rows are for Platinum and Gold Card members of Vietnam Airlines but you can try asking the agent. In August, there's also new Boeing 787-9 coming to Vietnam Airlines. You can also try to fly on it in August. B787 also flies on SGN HAN route. For B787, deluxe eco rows are from 10-15 also.
  • Comment 142125 by
    marathon GOLD 10117 Comments
    The wrong thing about this business seat layout is that every other window seat is far from the window.
    An interesting jumble of foreign planes in SGN ! (last picture on the ground)
    The silence of this new aircraft is good news for all passengers, in economy too.
    The plane is so spotless on your pictures, inside and outside, it looks like this was her first flight.
    Thanks for sharing !
    • Comment 321280 by
      Travip AUTHOR 108 Comments
      Thanks for reading :) It's very new and shiny. For business class seats, not all window seats are far from windows. Seats on row 2, 4, 6, 8 close to the windows :P I chose the wrong seat :P
  • Comment 142154 by
    socalnow 976 Comments
    Greetings Travip and thank you for this great look at VNs future. I must say the future looks pretty good. Flat bed seats with direct aisle access is the standard for J now so I'm glad that VN did this right.

    The airplane/livery are simply stunning. The colors and logo are elegant. It is among my favorite liveries but this could also be a byproduct of my affinity for the Country of Vietnam too...

    The meal looked more than adequate for a 1:45 domestic service.

    Thanks again for sharing this and happy flying.
  • Comment 142155 by
    Quirrow 155 Comments
    Thanks for posting the nice photos of the A350! IMO, it would be even better if VN used the reverse herringbone seats for this plane. Also you mentioned the 787, so I wonder how the ride in an A350 feels compared to a 787. I flew in a 787 for the first time this year and I found it to be not as great as Boeing has said. In fact I prefer flying on Airbus A380 anytime.

    Looking forward to fly on an A350 soon!
  • Comment 142181 by
    KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6668 Comments
    Thanks so much for sharing this first report on the VN A350. What a beautiful aircraft--it looks absolutely gorgeous in the new VN livery. Beautiful photos throughout. The new Business class looks great, though I'm not a big fan of the mustard yellow/green color of the seats. Looking forward to the report on the 787 to compare!
  • Comment 142204 by
    SKYTEAMCHC GOLD 10071 Comments
    Thanks for sharing with us this very exclusive flight ! The new cabin looks great and is so much better then the previous one. The meal seems correct but a bit disappointing but it's true it's a short flight. I like the new uniforms but thought they came in various colours ?
  • Comment 142361 by
    airtraveladdict 117 Comments
    Thanks for the trip report, its great to see other Asian airlines improving their fleet.
    This product will make Vietnam Airlines a lot of more competitive.
    I hope they will this plane down to Australia to replace their old recliner seat product.
    • Comment 321559 by
      Travip AUTHOR 108 Comments
      Well, eventually. I really hope that I could fly A350 or 787 to Australia soon. Vietnam Airlines will soon replace all old wide-body jets with new ones.
    • Comment 321606 by
      airtraveladdict 117 Comments
      It would be amazing if they did! because this product is better than asiana, thai and malaysia who fly old seats to australia. They will win more business class passengers looking to fly to europe and their business class fare is very cheap, $3800.
      But not many people fly VN because the old jets they bring to Australia have recliner seat :(
      I hope they have the best success because they are going in the right direction with new shiny planes!
    • Comment 321607 by
      Travip AUTHOR 108 Comments
      They will eventually replace all A330 and B777 with A350 and B787-9, B787-10 also. Very good news huh? The youngest fleet in Asia-Pacific. VN also has many new A321!
  • Comment 143067 by
    pokcay 70 Comments
    Man, what a lovely air craft! I really wished they trial run this plane for the route to Jakarta. Anyway, great report!
    • Comment 322210 by
      Travip AUTHOR 108 Comments
      Hello, thanks for reading my report. I think VN will not fly A350 or any wide-body aircraft to CGK soon due to demand. Even golden routes such as BKK, SIN, VN also use A321s only. :D
  • Comment 143363 by
    jah718 7 Comments
    Thanks for the great report! I was booked to fly on VN's new 787 to London a few weeks ago, but of course, it was changed to 777....

    I am now booked to try the A350 to Paris in December and I can't wait. You get the same basic seat as Emirates and Etihad for a fraction of the price. I also think that VN's service and food is excellent and considerably better than many top airlines. Hopefully you will try the 787 soon and post a report! :D

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