Business Traveller Asia-Pacific Edition — October 2017

businesstraveller.com OCTOBER^2017

Tried & Tested Flight I 23

more legroom, although there are bassinets in place here,

so seats are allocated on the day as appropriate. It is not

possible to pre-book or pay extra for these.

THE FLIGHT Fifteen minutes after take-off, cabin crew

came around with menus and headphones, which were

the same as those distributed in economy class and were a

little uncomfortable to wear over long periods. The drinks

trolley appeared shortly afterwards, offering a variety of

wines, spirits and cocktails alongside juices, soft drinks,

Vietnamese green tea and coffee. Lunch was served at

1225, with a choice of beefburger with mash or Szechuan-

style chicken and steamed rice. I chose the burger, which

was tender and flavoursome.

After dinner I settled down to watch a film – there was

a good selection of new releases, classics and TV shows

along with a number of new albums. Vietnamese subtitles

feature on all programmes, but I didn’t find this too

distracting. There was no wifi on board.

At 1250 the windows turned to dark blue, plunging the

cabin into darkness. This was off-putting, as I had hoped

to do some work while there was still daylight and, as

frequently complained of in our online forum, passengers

are unable to individually adjust the tint of the window.

Instead, I had to work with my individual light on. Later in

the flight sandwiches and juices were brought around, and

pot noodles were available from the galley.

At 0315 local time the lights came on, and breakfast was

served 15 minutes later. I was offered a choice of poached

egg with hollandaise sauce, grilled bacon and hash

browns, or chicken with stir-fried vermicelli. The Asian

option was tasty and featured fresh, succulent mushrooms

and bok choy, served alongside strawberry yoghurt and

fresh fruit. The crew were friendly and responsive.

ARRIVAL The lights went out for another 40 minutes

before the captain announced at 0440 that we would be

starting our descent. Headphones were collected, so I read

until we landed at 0512. After taxiing for ten minutes, we

disembarked at a remote stand at 0525 and boarded an

air-conditioned bus. Fifteen minutes later I had cleared

passport control and passed my bag on to Vietnam Airlines

staff, who loaded it on to the domestic flight I was about to

take to Danang.

VERDICT An excellent product

with a number of features that

made long stints seated quite

comfortable. Most notable,

however, was the service,

which was exceptional thanks

to a number of minor yet

thoughtful touches such as

slippers, hot towels and regular

offers of food and drink.

Marisa Cannon

DEPARTURE TIME

1110

FLIGHT TIME

12hrs 35mins

AIRCRAFT TYPE

B787-9

CONFIGURATION

2-3-2

SEAT WIDTH

18in/46cm

SEAT RECLINE

7in/18cm

SEAT PITCH

42in/107cm

PRICE Internet rates for a

return premium economy

flight from London to Ho Chi

Minh City in mid-November

start from £984 (US$1,267)

including tax and surcharges

CONTACT

vietnamairlines.com

BUSINESS

ECONOMY

PREMIUM

ECONOMY

window seat near the front of the cabin. It was spacious
and comfortable, upholstered in teal fabric with lotus
flower-shaped stitching and a cushioned headrest that
provided extra support. There was plenty of legroom
(42 inches, compared with 32 inches in economy) and seven
inches of recline (six in economy). The 18-inch width was
the same as in economy. A footrest unfolded from the seat
in front and a legrest was released from a lever on the right
armrest. The 10.6-inch touchscreen IFE monitor was stowed
in the left armrest with a handset recessed underneath,
while the tray table unfolded from the right armrest. It was
a little rickety, and just about large enough to hold a slim
laptop. There was a USB port beside the screen, plus two
universal sockets under the middle armrest.

WHICH SEAT TO CHOOSE? Seats in the middle
and back of the cabin avoid noise from the washrooms
and galley, but that aside, there is no huge difference
between any of the seats. The bulkhead offers slightly

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