The Details

• Flight: VN19
• Aircraft: A350-900
• Class: Business
• Seat: 5G
• Route: Noi Bai (HAN)-Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG)
• Distance: 6,374miles
• Duration: 13hrs 1min
• Departure: 12:01AM
• Arrival: 7:02AM

The Preflight

After spending a relaxing week in Vietnam, visiting Hanoi and Ha Long Bay, it was time for my fiance and I to return home. Our journey would involve Vietnam Airlines from Hanoi to Paris, Air France from Paris to Chicago, and United from Chicago to Indianapolis. We arrived at Noi Nai International Airport, which serves Hanoi, about three hours before our scheduled departure time of 11:55PM.

All international flights depart from Terminal 2 and we had to pass through an initial passport check before entering the airport. There was a dedicated Sky Priority and business-class check-in area was ample agents to help us check in without a wait.

Business-class passengers were also invited to use a fast-track security lane, which got us through to border control in less than 10 minutes. After a quick stamp out of Vietnam by the border control, we were on our way to the Vietnam Airlines Lotus Lounge located on the second floor of the terminal.

The Lotus Lounge was one large rectangular room with a variety of sofas and tables wrapping around a buffet in the center.

Next to the buffet was a smaller room where all the drink options were located. There was an extensive canned and bottled soda/water selection, tea, and coffee, as well as a few bottles of medium-shelf liquor and wine.

There was also a staffed food station that had hot ramen, pho, or udon noodles.

Other hot options included fried vegetable rolls, stir-fried shrimp, stir-fried bok choy, tofu, hard-boiled eggs, fried noodles, fried rice, beef, tofu, and fish.

Cold options included spring rolls, roast beef toast, sliced chicken, as well as ham. There was also an assortment of vegetables, fruit, and salads.

The dessert selection was fairly limited with two cakes and some pudding. Overall, for a national airlines hub in the capital, I found the food and beverage options to be very disappointment.

Our A350-900, registered as VN-A892, was one of the 12 active A350-900s in the Vietnam Airlines fleet. This particular aircraft, leased from DAE Capital, was delivered to Vietnam Airlines in March 2017. This was the same aircraft that had flown us from Paris to Hanoi on our inbound.

Boarding for our flight began at 11:08PM with business class passengers and Sky Steam elites in Zones 1 and 2. We were held on the jet bridge for another 15 minutes before finally being let on board via the first door. Premium Economy and Economy passengers were boarded through the second door.

The Flight

Vietnam Airlines has two separate configurations for their A350s. The first four A350s delivered to VN have staggered Stelia Solstys business-class seats arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration while the newer A350s feature the better Safran Cirrus III business-class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration. Our A350 luckily had the Safran Cirus III seats which were all located in a single business class cabin between the first and second set of doors.

For this flight, my fiance and I were seated in the center seats 5D and 5G.

Each seat was equipped with a 14.4″ touch screen which folded out from the seat in front. This screen was actually worse than the screen I had in seat 8A on the previous flight as the touchscreen function did not work at all.

At seat had an individual reading light, a basic IFE remote, a USB-A port, and seat controls in the console. There was also an open cubby with a headphone hook.

Underneath the countertop space was a 110V outlet and water bottle holder.

The bi-fold tray table was also stowed underneath the countertop.

Along the aisle was an adjustable armrest as well as a small storage bin.

Unlike on our flight from Paris to Hanoi, where we received a nice Samsonite amenity kit, on this leg we were provided with a Ceruti 1881 branded amenity kit. The contents were the same, including Payot creams, socks, an eye mask, a comb, a dental kit, and earplugs.

Once we were seated, flight attendants also came through the cabin to set up the mattress topper on each seat. Passengers were also given a nice thick blanket and firm pillow.

Additional amenities included a pair of generic headphones and slippers.

Pre-departure beverages were also served with a hot towel. Options included champagne, water, or orange juice.

We pushed back at 11:49PM and took off from runway 11R one-minute past midnight.

Twenty minutes after take-off the flight attendants came through the cabin to take meal orders. There were no individual menus, rather the menu was presented to each passenger individually as the flight attendant went down the aisle. I was still a bit hungry given the disappointing lounge food so I decided to have dinner. My fiance decided to go straight to bed and skip the meal service.

I decided to have the Vietnamese-style supper, which started with a delicious beef, lemongrass, and papaya salad. A warmed bread basket was also offered, and I chose a bread roll. To drink, I had the signature “Beloved Hue” cocktail, which was a blend of whiskey, apple and lemon juice, and ginger cubes. The dessert, a sweet soup, was also included on the tray.

The main course was a generous bowl of Mi Quang-style rice noodles with chicken, lettuce, and crispy chicken skin. It was a phenomenal dish, and the soup base was extremely hearty. I also enjoyed another glass of champagne, accompanied by two slices of delicious garlic bread.

The entire meal service was finished after about 90 minutes. After the meal service, flight attendants passed out bottles of water.

I made my bed and managed to sleep for over seven hours on this flight. The comfortable mattress topper, thick blanket, and firm pillow definitely contributed to how well I slept.

There were a total of two business-class lavatories located behind the cockpit. Each lavatory was basic without any special amenities.

I woke-up about nine hours after take-off with about four more hours until landing in Paris. I did order a coffee and enjoyed a few movies in the dark.

The breakfast service was actually started fairly early, in my opinion, about three hours and 30 minutes before landing. First, flight attendants came through the cabin with orange juice and hot towels. Next, they came down the aisle with the menus again asking for our choices for food and drink.

Thirty minutes later, the food came out on one tray. I decided to try the Vietnamese-style noodles with pork ribs and pork meatballs. Again, this was an excellent dish bursting with flavor, thanks to the abundance of scallions and peppers. There was a side of fruit and yogurt. Additionally, I decided to try a coffee cocktail, which was Vietnamese-style coffee with vodka.

We landed in Paris Charles de Gaulle 32 minutes behind schedule at 5:57AM in the morning.

The taxi to gate M44 took twenty minutes, and soon we were off towards the Air France lounge before our flight to Chicago.

Vietnam Airlines again offered an excellent soft product with comfortable bedding and delicious food. I managed to sleep over seven hours on this red-eye flight which allowed me to arrive in Paris refreshed. I only wish the seats were better maintained as the touchscreen IFE screen was not working properly.