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Flight Review: Vietnam Airlines – London Gatwick to Ho Chi Minh City

November 6, 2014 By James Clark Leave a Comment

Flight: Vietnam Airlines VN 50
From: London Gatwick (LGW) To: Ho Chi Minh City (SGN)

Vietnam Airlines - London Gatwick to Ho Chi Minh City

I flew with Vietnam Airlines from London Gatwick to Ho Chi Minh City, booking online via Skyscanner.

This was the only direct option available, and it also happened to be the cheapest, so it was an easy decision. Other options were flights via Paris or Hong Kong.

Having spent over a year and a half of my life in Vietnam I had never flown with Vietnam Airlines before, so I was curious finally to try them out.

Vietnam Airlines operate out of Gatwick Airport and fly on alternative days to Hanoi and HCMC. On the day I flew the Hanoi flight from the day before was delayed a day, so the two flights were going out on the same day. This meant that there was no gate available for the Ho Chi Minh flight, so the flight was boarded via bus to a remote stand.

Upon takeoff the usual welcome drink and snack was served.

Vietnam Airlines - Welcome Snack

A lunch of chicken and potatoes was served. I can’t remember if there was a Vietnamese option but I wouldn’t have taken it if there was as I was already dreaming of eating proper Vietnamese street food. I can live with western airline food but Vietnamese style airline food wouldn’t end well.

Vietnam Airlines - Lunch

The flight is from midday to 6am, flying through the night. Breakfast was also of the western variety, with an English breakfast being served.

Vietnam Airlines - Breakfast

Vietnam Airlines are a member of the Skyteam alliance so theoritically I should have been able to collect points on my Delta account. My points weren’t credited and I heard nothing back when making a missing points claim.

Filed Under: Flight Review Tagged With: ho chi minh city, london, vietnam airlines

About James Clark

James Clark is the founder of Nomadic Notes. He has been a digital nomad since 2003, and Nomadic Notes features trip reports, train travel articles, and where to stay guides. He writes about transport and urban development at Future Southeast Asia. Subscribe to the weekly travel newsletter.

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James Clark from Nomadic Notes

Hi, I’m James Clark, and I've been travelling the world since 2003 while running a location independent travel business. Nomadic Notes is a travel blog featuring travel guides and notes from my travels.

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