Vietnam Airlines: The Flag Carrier, Honestly Reviewed

Vietnam Airlines is the country's flag carrier, majority state-owned, and the only Vietnamese airline in a global alliance (SkyTeam). It flies a modern mixed fleet — A350s and 787s on long-haul, A321neos domestically, and ATR72 turboprops on a few thin regional routes — across roughly 20 domestic destinations and around 30 international ones. If you've flown Air France, KLM, or Korean Air, the product will feel familiar.

It is not the cheapest option in Vietnam. It is, most of the time, the most reliable.

What do you actually get on a Vietnam Airlines ticket?

Economy fares (except the stripped-down "Economy Light") include a checked bag, a drink and meal or snack sized to the flight length, seat selection, and no nickel-and-diming on carry-on. Short domestic hops (Hanoi to Da Nang, Saigon to Nha Trang) get a sandwich or wrap; longer ones (Hanoi to Phu Quoc) get a hot tray. It is not exciting food. It is included food.

Business class is where the airline earns its reputation. On widebody metal — the A350-900 and 787-9/10 — you get lie-flat beds, direct aisle access in 1-2-1 on the A350, solid bedding, and a proper multi-course meal service. On A321neos, "business class" is a recliner with more legroom, not a bed; fine for a 90-minute Hanoi-Saigon run, overpriced for anything longer.

Fare classes, simplified

Fare	Checked bag	Changes	Seat select	Meal
Economy Light	No (paid)	Fee	Paid	Snack
Economy Classic	23 kg	Fee	Free	Included
Economy Flex	23 kg	Free	Free	Included
Business	32 kg ×2	Free	Free	Full

Exact inclusions drift — confirm at booking — but this is the shape.

Is Vietnam Airlines actually better than Vietjet and Bamboo?

On time performance: yes, consistently. Publicly reported OTP tends to sit in the 80s percent, a meaningful gap over Vietjet which routinely runs in the 60s-70s on peak days. Delays still happen — Tet holiday, typhoon season, Hanoi fog in January — but the average experience is noticeably more predictable.

On product: not even close. You get a real bag allowance, you board without paying for a seat, crew are better trained, and the aircraft interiors are newer on average. Vietjet wins on price; Vietnam Airlines wins on almost everything else.

On price: this is where it gets interesting. Book two to six weeks out and Vietnam Airlines is often only $10–25 more than Vietjet for the same route, once you add Vietjet's bag and seat fees. Book last-minute and the gap widens fast. See our full domestic flights guide for a routes-level breakdown.

How to actually book

Three honest options, best to worst for most travelers:

1. Vietnamairlines.com directly. Prices match or beat OTAs, cancellation is straightforward, and you can manage the booking without a middleman. English site works fine.
2. Google Flights → direct booking. Use Google to compare, then click through to Vietnam Airlines' own site.
3. OTAs (Trip.com, Traveloka, Expedia). Occasionally cheaper by a few dollars. In exchange, good luck if anything goes wrong — the airline will point at the OTA and vice versa.

Avoid third-party "cheap flights" aggregators you've never heard of. The savings are rarely real once you add fees.

Routes worth using Vietnam Airlines for

• Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City — the country's busiest air corridor. Frequent A321neo rotations and a few A350 wide-bodies if you want the upgraded product.
• Hanoi to Da Nang — reliable hourly-ish service; much better than the 17-hour train if time matters.
• International connections via Hanoi or Saigon — SkyTeam interlining is genuinely useful for complex itineraries.

Who should pick Vietnam Airlines over rivals

Pick it when the flight is load-bearing in your itinerary: a missed cruise transfer, a same-day international onward, a family with checked bags, or anything involving elderly travelers who'd struggle with Vietjet's queueing-and-boarding chaos. Pick it on long-haul widebody routes regardless of fare — the hard product is a tier above.

Skip it on ultra-cheap short hops where you're carry-on only and your schedule has slack. Vietjet's $25 Hanoi-Da Nang fare, when it doesn't go wrong, is unbeatable. See how to get around Vietnam for the bigger-picture mode comparison.

The honest downsides

Schedule changes happen, sometimes without much warning. Their app is functional but not great. Telephone customer service is patchy in English. And on regional ATR72 routes (Con Dao, some Central Highlands airports), cancellations cluster in bad weather because of single-aircraft rotations. For those specific routes, have a backup plan.

Still — if you want one Vietnamese airline to trust with a tight itinerary, this is it.