Which airline to travel to Vietnam

[Angela R]

Hi we are travelling to Vietnam in March - Melb to Hanoi and then Ho Chi Min to Melb. Looking at either Qantas ($1000 pp rtn) or Cathay Pacific ($700pp rtn). Which is the better airline and do they give you the same stuff eg: food, seating, entertainment, comfort packs?

i am currently a qantas ff and also qantas club member. Is it worth the extra $300pp to have access to these?

 

[Mattg]

Qantas doesn't fly to Vietnam using its own aircraft, so what's the routing with them? Is it via Singapore (with an intra-Asia connection on Jetstar) or on the Vietnam Airlines codeshare?

So far it sounds to me like you'd be better off saving the $300 and flying Cathay Pacific. IMHO CX is about on par with Qantas anyway.

 

[Dr Ralph]

Does qantas fly direct to vietnam? Is it a code share maybe?

 

[puppysparkes]

From MEL, without dates and at that price I'm guessing MEL-SYD-BKK on QF. BKK-HAN on VN.

 

[Longtoo]

I would only consider QF if you really need some SC to get to gold.

Your best option is to fly with Vietnam Airline. QF does not fly directly to Vietnam, if you book through them you get Vietnam airline anyway or you have to have 1 stop over. You will not be able to use your QF Club in Vietnam.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Qantas club will get you access to the business class lounge in Australian if you fly on a QF flight number. For non-stops this will however be operated by Vietnam Airlines. From Melbourne this will give you brand new jetliners (the 787).

Qantas fares of $1000 compare favourably to the Vietnam Airlines fare in march which is also just shy of $1000 for the non-stop. You'll have to check if the Qantas fare is also non-stop (or if not, if you are willing to forego non-stop for lounge access).

I would recommend Cathay however. Saving $300, the flight time to Hanoi will probably be more or less the same. Coming back will be longer as you'll have to fly via Hong Kong again instead of non-stop home. Economy on cathay is good with excellent IFE.

 

[Angela R]

Thanks everyone, even though it said $700 by the time I went further in the booking and selected times etc. the Cathay pacific flight magically ended up about the same as qantas. I think the cheaper flight must have been the one that left just after midnight in AUS - no way was I doing that.

qantas flys Melb, Syd, Bangkok, Hanoi and returns HCMC, Singapore, Melb. It's qantas up to Bangkok and then Vietnam air to Hanoi. On rtn it's Jetstar to Singapore then qantas home. Very very short stopovers - 1- 1 1/2 hours for all except Bangkok which is 3hours.

vietnam air ended up about same price as well, 1 stop in Singapore on way up, direct back. Decided to go qantas only because I know them, can use my qantas club, will get the ff points and the stops are not so bad, gives me a chance to explore new airports LOL.

 

[puppysparkes]

Thanks everyone, even though it said $700 by the time I went further in the booking and selected times etc. the Cathay pacific flight magically ended up about the same as qantas. I think the cheaper flight must have been the one that left just after midnight in AUS - no way was I doing that.

qantas flys Melb, Syd, Bangkok, Hanoi and returns HCMC, Singapore, Melb. It's qantas up to Bangkok and then Vietnam air to Hanoi. On rtn it's Jetstar to Singapore then qantas home. Very very short stopovers - 1- 1 1/2 hours for all except Bangkok which is 3hours.

vietnam air ended up about same price as well, 1 stop in Singapore on way up, direct back. Decided to go qantas only because I know them, can use my qantas club, will get the ff points and the stops are not so bad, gives me a chance to explore new airports LOL.

Is the BKK-HAN flight a QF flight number on VN? If not you won't get lounge access in BKK. If not then hopefully you have a credit card that gets you lounge access.

 

[Angela R]

Just checked and it's a vn code. I think I will just chuck a hissy fit At the lounge. I do have a priority pass lounge access membership as well (a free one with 2 lounge visits) so worst case I drag that out. But first I'll try the I booked it all on qantas route and see if I can get anywhere with that.

 

[Mattg]

Just checked and it's a vn code. I think I will just chuck a hissy fit At the lounge. I do have a priority pass lounge access membership as well (a free one with 2 lounge visits) so worst case I drag that out. But first I'll try the I booked it all on qantas route and see if I can get anywhere with that.

You'll have access to the Qantas lounge in MEL if flying VN on a QF code, but expect to use a Priority Pass lounge in Vietnam.

 

[mannej]

Just checked and it's a vn code. I think I will just chuck a hissy fit At the lounge. I do have a priority pass lounge access membership as well (a free one with 2 lounge visits) so worst case I drag that out. But first I'll try the I booked it all on qantas route and see if I can get anywhere with that.

A Hissy fit is the quickest way to get turned away in a situation like this...

The purchasing it on the QF site also won't get you far as it's the flight code you purchased which is the important factor here.