Vietnam/Malaysia airlines

[Kemik]

Hi guys,

Flying to Vietnam in a few weeks and am looking to book the flights. Does anyone have experience with Vietnam/Malaysia airlines?

It's about £750 for direct (13 hr) flights with Vietnam Airlines, £775 with Malaysia (16 hrs), or £900 with Emirates (16hrs).

Cheers

 

[Dunks]

I've just done a 16 day trip to Vietnam, flew back Sunday morning, 1am flight!

We flew with Vietnam Airlines in economy direct from Heathrow to Hanoi in the Dreamliner.

It was pretty average to be honest. In-flight entertainment was so-so, the usual dubbing of swear words and some scenes removed but the annoying thing was hard-coded Vietnamese subtitles, but there was some pretty recent stuff on it.

Food was ok, you get two options to choose from, Western and Vietnamese with two meals being served. The Western option is pretty bland, and it was the only option for us as we sat at the back! Instant noodles and sandwiches are available on request.

Not stingey with the drink though, and there's a decent selection.

But the annoying thing is that the Vietnamese seem to generally disregard their booked seats and just sit wherever they want. We had people in our seats (we were a party of 5) which we had booked to get a nice selection of aisle seats but the flight attendands didn't seem to willing to move them so we ended up sat elsewhere, which luckily was acceptable.

I plan on going back but will probably fly with Emirates.

 

[VincentHanna]

I thought it was against the rules to move seats in case there was a fatal crash and they needed to try and identify the bodies?

 

[Kemik]

I plan on going back but will probably fly with Emirates.

Thanks for the feedback. Emirates would be my default choice, but £150 and 3hrs each way... is it worth it?

 

[Gaijin]

I've only had experience of Malaysia Airlines out of that group and have flown with them multiple times, and they've obviously had some issues in recent years, but before Flight 17 and Flight 370, they were a 5 star carrier and were rated in the top 5 airlines for economy class.

I'd have no problems flying with them again.

 

[Raikiri]

I've generally heard nothing but good things about Emirates, is it just a different route to account for the extra 3 hours? Seems odd a more premium airline would take a slower one.

 

[Gixer]

I thought it was against the rules to move seats in case there was a fatal crash and they needed to try and identify the bodies?

I flew Malaysian Airlines earlier this year. A380 to KL and back. The flights I took were so empty even before take off the flight attendants said I could go and sit where I like. That seemed odd to me for the reason you mention. I thought after takeoff they usually let you swap around but never prior.

Malaysian Airlines was OK. Food was OK, entertainment was OK apart from the usual censorship. Oddly the cabin crew came round and took the headphones for the entertainment about 40mins prior to landing so all you could do was watch the entertainment unless you have your own headphones. In general it was OK, just not as good a service as BA for example. I did however find the economy cabin more comfortable on the Malaysian Airlines plane over the BA one.

 

[Dunks]

Thanks for the feedback. Emirates would be my default choice, but £150 and 3hrs each way... is it worth it?

To be fair I've never flown Emirates but it seems they're generally one of the top airlines, but I guess all economy flights are rubbish and an extra 6 hours of flying time is quite a lot

I thought it was against the rules to move seats in case there was a fatal crash and they needed to try and identify the bodies?

Really? The flight back was reasonably quiet so people moved all over the place to grab some empty rows.

It also meant they kept asking me if I had moved seats because the person who was meant to sit in my seat must have had special dietry requirements as they were offering my seperate meals...

 

[Dunks]

I've generally heard nothing but good things about Emirates, is it just a different route to account for the extra 3 hours? Seems odd a more premium airline would take a slower one.

I don't think Emirates fly direct, Vietnam Airlines do from Heathrow but it was closer to 11-12 hours rather than 13.

 

[antran]

I travel to Vietnam once a year to visit family. I prefer Emirates, everything is a lot better then Vietnam Airlines. The last time, I flown with them was in Boeing 777-200 with their outdated interior with no usb charger and service wasn't that great but they got new dreamliner 787 should be a lot better.

With Emirates, you'll be in a Airbus 380 stopping at Dubai for few hours then in a Airbus 330 to Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh. If you're lucky, the flight from London to Dubai is half empty.

If it's down to price, I probably choose Vietnam Airlines.

 

[martin363]

We have lived in Vietnam for 4 years.

Vietnam Airlines is the only direct route, can 1 stop Thai, Qatar, Emirates, Air France etc.

We still fly Emirates via Dubai,

takes 17 hours against 12 direct, but much better and safer... Rules don't apply in Vietnam, or on Vietnamese airlines.

Often see their pilots in a bar at 3am, and they then fly the next morning

 

[bingham67]

Im flying in October chose the direct route with Vietnam Airlines from Heathrow in 787 did not fancy 17 hours of flying with stopover.

Out of interest if you fly via Dubai with Emirates do you have to get a transit Visa?

I paid £400 for a return flight with Vietnam Airlines which I thought was a great price for Economy

 

[martin363]

Im flying in October chose the direct route with Vietnam Airlines from Heathrow in 787 did not fancy 17 hours of flying with stopover.

Out of interest if you fly via Dubai with Emirates do you have to get a transit Visa?

I paid £400 for a return flight with Vietnam Airlines which I thought was a great price for Economy

It is a great price for Economy. VN Airlines is fine, just that expats take some persuasion when you know how Vietnam works.

3.5 hour lay over in Dubai, no visa, just stay in the terminal, it is like a good Shopping Centre

 

[mid_gen]

In order of quality : Emirates -> Malaysia -> Vietnam

Vietnam is fine, the food and entertainment is a bit crap but it's just a flight....

 

[Rifte]

Emirates = awesome
Malaysian Airlines = pretty good

Vietnamese = no idea

 

[jamoor]

Malaysian are just as good if not better than Emirates IMO.
Out of those, I'd choose Malaysian.

Emirates talk a lot, do little.

 

[Amp34]

I thought it was against the rules to move seats in case there was a fatal crash and they needed to try and identify the bodies?

Pretty sure its to do with weight distribution on take off, which is why you can move after take off.

Someone that actually works airline can correct us on that i'm sure.

 

[Destination]

I've only had experience of Malaysia Airlines out of that group and have flown with them multiple times, and they've obviously had some issues in recent years, but before Flight 17 and Flight 370, they were a 5 star carrier and were rated in the top 5 airlines for economy class.

I'd have no problems flying with them again.

Same.
No issues flying with them, their only problem now is crashing stock and loss of profit, as that russian missile put paid to many peoples desire to fly with them.

 

[Bonjour]

Malaysian Airlines are very good.

If you're lucky you'll get on their A380, which is superb.

 

[bingham67]

Anyone flown with Qatar Airways to Vietnam and do you have to have a transit Visa to stopover in Doha?