Vietnam Airlines Business Class Review

Naturally we all know that Vietnam Airlines flies all over Vietnam but did you also know that they also fly to a lot of Asia and to some major cities in Europe too? Come along on this airline review as we test out Vietnam Airlines’ business class product on flight VN772 from Sydney to Ho Chi Minh City or Tan Son That airport!

Vietnam Airlines operates 97 routes across 21 domestic and 29 international locations. It was founded on May 27, 1995 and Vietnam Airlines is a member of the SkyTeam Alliance. It has been over 10 years since I last flew to Vietnam with Vietnam Airlines and in that time the business class offering has changed. On this flight, business class passengers start their experience in the SkyTeam lounge at Sydney airport and then board the Airbus 350-900 plane. The design of the plane is in a 1x2x1 configuration so that everyone gets easy aisle access for 29 flat bed seats. The seat pitch is 42 inches and the seat width is 21 inches.

The cabin is about half full this morning and I take my seat, 7A on the left hand side of the plane while everyone is busy settling themselves in for the almost 9 hour flight.

The Service

Vietnamese service culture is polite and they often guide you to your seat or open doors for you. When I get to my seat and start taking out my pyjamas and toiletries from my bag and arranging myself at a leisurely pace, I then notice the flight attendant behind me. He has been waiting patiently for me to get my things out of my bag! Embarrassed at making him wait he smiles and places my bag in the overhead compartment above. He will be the one that is mainly looking after me and he is very lovely and helpful.

The Seat

The seat measures 21 inches in width and can fully recline to meet the footrest at the end. There is a small, triangular compartment to store things plus an arm rest that pops up when you push a button. Another button pops the television screen out to face you while seated. On the side there are noise cancelling headphones, a USB plug and a jack for the headphones. There is an international power point to charge laptops that is slightly hidden away near the bottled water. There are also seat controls and entertainment controls although these can also be controlled by touch screen.

Entertainment

The choices for television and movies offer a lot of Vietnamese and Asian content with some English speaking choices. There are also podcasts to listen to as well as music. What is nice is that the movies and tv shows don’t show any ads at all and go straight into the show. I flick through everything before ending up watching The Idea Of You. Ever since I watched a horror movie on a plane and screamed really loudly during the flight I have avoided this genre!

Amenities

The business class amenity bag is by Samsonite and features a range of items from a brush, socks, toothpaste, toothbrush, eye mask, ear plugs as well as a lip butter and hand cream by Oslo brand Sprekenhus that smell fantastic. There are also some comfortable fluffy slippers provided as well as a seat cover, pillow and a very soft doona style blanket to keep you warm.

The Bathroom

The bathrooms for business class on this flight are located on the left and right at the front of the plane. They are kept clean and fragranced using bags of scented rocks. There is a Genetre branded lotion and toner mist too.

Drinks

As soon as I settle in they bring a tray with glasses of orange drink and Marquis de Sade champagne (I had no idea that this was a brand!!!). There are no Bloody or Virgin Marys on board but instead Vietnam Airlines have some classic and three signature cocktails on offer like the "Hello Vietnam" which is an orange fruit juice based cocktail, the "Beloved Hue" with whiskey, apple juice, lemon and diced ginger pieces or the coffee based "Gongs Dance". I try the first two with only a tiny amount of alcohol in them and they’re both good and not too sweet at all. I have these with the peanuts, cashews and wasabi peas that they provide with the cocktail.

Throughout the flight they offer drinks and I also try the Vietnamese Iced coffee which is delicious.

The Food

I was very interested to see what the food was now like on Vietnam Airlines. The food menu, like the drinks menu isn’t located at your seat. Rather they come around and present a menu to you and wait for you to choose what you want so you do need to make a decision quickly for the main. The duck rillette entrée is sold out so I don’t need to make a decision on that and order the salmon.

The first course arrives along with a choice of garlic bread, French brown bread, ciabatta and a dinner roll. The garlic bread is very good, not dry at all and spread with plenty of garlic butter. The ciabatta is nice although next time I’ll just get more garlic bread. The smoked salmon roulade is filled with cream cheese with cocktail sauce on the side and with a shredded daikon and capsicum salad and both are very tasty. There’s also a couple of slices of salami as well. I also enjoy the garden salad with French dressing and the cream of broccoli soup with garlic croutons.

For the mains there is a choice of four but the salmon with cream sauce is sold out by the time they got to me which is fine as I like the Vietnamese option. After I finish my starter, they bring out the main and it’s a generous portion of Vietnamese stir fried beef fillet with steamed rice and stir fried vegetables like carrot, baby corn and capsicum. I really like the garlic and black pepper sauce with this and end up buttering the ciabatta and make a little sandwich out of the beef after eating the vegetables.

On Vietnam Airlines the dessert is presented slightly differently. They set down a plate and a new set of cutlery on the tablecloth and then come by with a platter of cheese, dried fruit and crackers before presenting a platter of fruit and then a platter with ice cream and macarons.

I have a wedge of smoked gouda, some crackers, dried apricots, prune and walnut log, some watermelon and pineapple and a scoop of ice cream with strawberry sauce. It is all very nice but the absolute highlight is the raspberry macaron which has the perfect texture and is filled with buttercream and a centre of raspberry filling.

During the flight you can get drinks and instant noodles although I was too full to test out the noodles.

A couple of hours before landing, the lights come on and it’s time for our meal. Again I ask the flight attendant for his recommendation and he points me towards the satay chicken which I order with a Vietnamese iced coffee. There isn’t garlic bread but I try a linseed roll which is soft and tasty when spread with the butter. The satay chicken is made with chicken thigh and is very tender, juicy and moreish with a delectably spicy peanut sauce. I finish the meal off with some sweet fresh pineapple.

So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever flown Vietnam Airlines and what did you think? And have you ever screamed or cried while watching a movie on a flight?

NQN was a guest of Vietnam Airlines but all opinions remain her own.

Vietnam Airlines

Vietnam Airlines offers 23 flights per week connecting Sydney, Melbourne and Perth to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Vietnam Airlines is continuing to add new routes having recently announced new flights to Milan, Munich and Delhi.

https://www.vietnamairlines.com/au/en/home