Booked: Vietnam Airlines A350 Business Class

Last week I asked you how I should get home from Ho Chi Minh City.

Votes were fairly divided between JAL, Korean Air and Vietnam Airlines/Virgin Atlantic.

After weighing the options, I decided to try Vietnam Airlines in business class on the 787-9 or A350-900. Reasoning that I do not get to Vietnam all that often and this would be a helpful review, I began searching for the ideal routing.

Vietnam Airlines currently does not fly to the USA. You know me—you know I like to maximize mileage awards as much as possible. Since I did not feel like waiting around several days in Ho Chi Minh City for the London Heathrow flight, I shifted to Paris. No space…at least not from SGN. There was space from Hanoi, but that would require obtaining a visa to Vietnam and still more time than I wanted to spend in Vietnam.

Frankfurt, operated by an A350, had space. That seemed like a good option and for 80K Delta miles I could have even added a connection to Bucharest on a TAROM A318, another airline (and aircraft) I have never flown.

But as much as I love trying new airlines and love Bucharest, it was 22ºF and would mean I’d be gone an extra day.

Next, I thought why I am thinking about using Delta miles? It would take 80K Delta miles to fly from Ho Chi Minh City to Frankfurt, but for 100K Flying Blue miles I could fly from Ho Chi Minh City to Frankfurt, Frankfurt to Paris, and Paris to Los Angeles. That seemed like a great option and finally an opportunity to fly Air France longhaul business.

But there was no space on Air France. I could have gone into Chicago, but I only wanted to fly the new 777-300ER with lie-flat beds. Plus, a domestic connection after such a long trip would be annoying.

Problem “Solved”: I’m Going to Austria, Malta, Switzerland, and the Netherlands…

Then I received a text from John, my business partner in my other venture. We need to meet with two new suppliers, deal with an issue in Zurich, and meet with a handful of companies in Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

My heart sank. We were going to do the Zurich/Amsterdam trip in a couple weeks, but the issues in Malta and Austria required immediate attention.

So in the end I just booked the Vietnam Airlines A350 from Ho Chi Minh City to Frankfurt.

CONCLUSION

If there is one upside to this extension of my trip by another week, it is that I’ll be home for the rest of the month and for most of next month. I’ll actually end up spending more time at home. I miss my wife and son, but am thankful for the opportunities I have been given to provide for them and for frequent Facetime calls.

And you can now look forward to an upcoming Vietnam Airlines A350 review.

image: Русский / Wikimedia Commons