A few weeks ago, I travelled from Frankfurt to Hanoi with Vietnam Airlines in Business Class. I already flew with Vietnam Airlines in Business Class last year, but that was a night flight with their A350. This time a day flight, so more attention to food and service. Please read what Vietnam Airlines will be like the second time around.
Seat Configuration
The business class configuration in the 787-9 Vietnam Airlines is using for most of its international flights, is a 1-2-1 herringbone configuration. Very common and it’s almost the same as the configuration in the A350. Having said that, it does feel that the legspace is a bit more generous. If you’re familiar with the Business Class seat configuration Air France is using on their 777-300 planes, you’ll recognise the set-up since it’s exactly the same. That means that it’s certainly not the latest and greatest business class product, but it’s also not the worst. Seat width is 21.5 inches and fully flat, the seat measures 78 inches (198 cm) which is really generous.
Amenity Kit & Menu
Before departure, the menu is handed out. A little bottle of water as well as an amenity kit is already at the seat. The amenity kit bag, this time, is from Samsonite and is pretty decent. It contains everything you would expect. The cosmetics are from French brand Payot.
The menu displays 4 main courses to choose from. I cannot decide between the sea bass and the shaking beef. ‘Luckily’ the choice is made for me because when the flight attendant comes to my seat to take my order, the shaking beef is already sold out! So I hope the sea bass will be half decent!
Vietnam Airlines doesn’t hand out a wine menu. Instead, the flight attendant quickly flashes the wine menu when the meal order is taken. Seems this is the way Vietnam Airlines is always doing things since the same happened to me on my previous flight with Vietnam Airlines in Business Class. So don’t expect that you can study the wine menu in great detail by yourself!
For the pre-arrival meal, of course I ordered the Pho Bo. After all, when flying Vietnam Airlines, you should at least try their Pho!
Meals
The main course started with a potato salad. Various bread options were presented, and I picked the garlic bread which was brilliant. The entree was the highlight of the course though. The Sea bass was prepared perfectly and together with the sauce and potato’s, it was an excellent combination. Desert consisted out of fruit with a selection of mini-cakes.
All in all, this meal exceeded my expectations. Question was, would the pre-arrival meal be able to beat this? After roughly 10 hours of flying, the Pho Bo should be the prefect dish to energise me again.
It surely did! I felt like I was in Vietnam already. The fruit, croissant, and cereal were great supplements. This pre-arrival meal together with the main course, was great and there are not a lot of airlines that do a better job in business class.
Seat
One item which I think should be standard in business class, is a clean, fresh seat cover. If it’s padded for more comfort, it’s even better. Also in that department, Vietnam Airlines doesn’t disappoint. At your seat you’ll find, besides a nice, thick blanket and comfortable pillow, a clean seat cover wrapped in plastic. I initially installed the seat cover myself, but when the flight attendant saw the messy job I made, he quickly came to the rescue and neatly put the cover in place. With sufficient space to move, this made for a comfortable bed and I was able to get a few hours of sleep.
Conclusion
My flight with Vietnam Airlines the second time around exceeded my expectations. Especially the food was really good. In fact, I would recommend to fly Vietnam Airlines when flying to and from Vietnam since they beat majority of the European and North American offerings. If the price is right, there is no reason not to consider Vietnam Airlines.
One of the best platforms to compare prices in my opinion is Skyscanner. Skyscanner is searching all the major travel sites and you can still book directly with the airline itself if that’s what you prefer. Check out Skyscanner yourself using this link!
Please also have a look at the review I made for my Youtube Channel. Don’t forget to subscribe to the channel if you haven’t done so yet if you like the content!
https://www.youtube.com/@FrequentBusinessTraveler
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