Vietnam Airlines review by Robert 2013-02-15

A colleague and I were travelling on business in Vietnam a couple of years ago. We had booked a flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, ETD approx. 0930.When we arrived to check in we noticed that the flight had been delayed for 12 hours with technical difficulties! After quite a bit of hassle we were able to scrounge our way onto a flight which went from HCMC to Hanoi via Dalat. While we waited we were put into the Business Lounge for a couple of hours and then boarded and departed. The trip was great although in Dalat we had to get off the plane and then re-board. (I still have a photo I took of the Russian pilot hanging out the window of the cockpit waving at us!!) We arrived in Hanoi about 3 hours after we were originally due, so all was good. The next day we were at the Australian Embassy talking to one of the staff and when we told her of our experience she said her husband was booked on the same flight and it was actually delayed by 18 hours! The problem is not technical difficulties but actually Financial difficulties in other words Vietnam Airlines will not operate a flight that they lose money on so if they do not have enough passengers they simply wait until the do! The secret is to note the delay time if it is 6, 12, 18 or 24 hours then there are not enough passengers. I also found out that most hotels are linked to Vietnam Airlines computer system and the best thing you can do is get the hotel to check that the flight is operating before you leave the hotel. Sure beats kicking around the airport for hours. A good side of flying Vietnam Airlines is that a lot of their planes have cameras mounted near the nose wheel and they show the approach and landing on the cabin video system Awesome for someone like me who loves flying but it does spook a lot of people, especially when it is a bit of a dodgy landing! Internal flights in Vietnam are best booked in country. A recent flight from HCMC to Danang, was going to cost $US290 booking though an agent in Perth. Booking through an agent in Vietnam cost $US94. Same flight, same day, same time etc but huge saving. A final word of warning when Vietnam Airlines need extra planes they charter in from China usually on China Southern. One of these planes that I flew on had not a word of English anywhere in the cabin, not even the safety instructions in the seat pocket. Not sure if this complied with International regulations!!