From ANA and Japan Airlines to Korean Air, Aegeana, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, and so many more.

With such an extensive assortment of world-class carriers, one sometimes forgets those that do not have the largest footprint on the world map.

And one of these carriers is Vietnam Airlines.

On our trip from Europe to Australia, we first chose to fly on China Airlines from Vienna via Taipei to Hanoi to see if their Airbus A350 is as great as it was before the pandemic, which it was, and we wanted to see if their new A321neo is as good as people say it is, and it definitely is.

The Brutally Honest episodes that I just spoilered are already available on our channel, so make sure to check them out.

From Hanoi, we're now continuing on to Sydney aboard Vietnam Airlines' Airbus A350, and let's see if they can keep up with the rest.

Hello, and good day from Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport.

We're at the 2015 opened Terminal 2 right now, which handles all of the airport's international traffic, while the older Terminal 1 solely caters to domestic flights.

Hanoi is Vietnam's second largest airport, having handled 29 million passengers in 2019, with Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat Airport being the largest at 41 million passengers.

Despite that difference, both airports serve a similar role in Vietnam Airlines' network, and many of the airline's long-haul routes are available from both hubs.

Looking at Vietnam Airlines' long-haul network, they fly from Ho Chi Minh City to Frankfurt, London, Paris, San Francisco, Sydney, Melbourne, and soon also to Perth.

And from here in Hanoi, the airline offers the exact same network, minus San Francisco and Perth.

Check-in was super quick and easy, with many staff members proactively assisting you during every step of the way.

Unfortunately, baggage drop-off was only available from 4 hours before departure, which is why I had to begrudgingly take my little suitcase with me instead of checking it in, as I didn't want to wait in the departure hall for hours.

Down here, you can already see our plane, a 2017-built Airbus A350-900, registered VNA-892.

Our flight to Sydney is an overnight flight departing at 11.35 in the evening.

And ironically, our A350 flight has the flight number VN787.

Vietnam Airlines has two different kinds of A350s.

All the way back in 2015, they were the world's second airline to put the type into operation, and those old A350s feature the stelia solstice seats in business class, which offer full recline but limited space overall, and they don't have a real premium economy class, but rather just a section of extra legroom economy.

The newer batch of A350s, which includes the one we're flying on tonight, has the more spacious and modern Saffron Zeros III seats in business class, which is a type of reverse herringbone business class seat that can also be found on Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

These newer A350s also feature a real premium economy class with the Saffron 5810 seats.

Overall, as of October 2023, the airline operates a widebody fleet of 14 Airbus A350-900s, 11 Boeing 787-9s, and 8 Boeing 787-10s.

Economy class, though, is the same on all of their A350s, featuring a 3-3-3 configuration of Collins Aerospace's Pinnacle seats.

My seat on this 10-hour flight to Australia is 33K.

Each seat features an adjustable headrest, as well as a personal entertainment screen with a USB port and an audio port right beneath it.

Coathooks are available on the side of the seats, and there's a tray table which can be used half-opened or fully opened.

Waiting on the seat for us already were a pillow and a cozy blanket.

The legroom is phenomenal.

Being 183 cm tall, it almost feels like premium economy, despite the overloaded seatback pocket in which you could also find a pair of headphones.

Beneath the seats, you'll find universal power ports, two per each three seats.

One thing to note is that there are hardware boxes for the entertainment system, which will slightly reduce leg space beneath the seats for aisle and middle seat passengers.

Parked right next to us is one of ANA's Boeing 787s.

Did you know ANA actually owns a 5% stake in Vietnam Airlines?

While they're finishing the cargo loading, let's take a brief look at the in-flight entertainment system.

Vietnam Airlines' long-haul planes feature the Tally's AventUp system.

You will find a good variety of movies and TV shows, music, and games to view on demand.

A standard 3D mapping application is installed as well.

Before takeoff, the crew handed out hot towels, and being a rather premium amenity, those are rare in economy class, so I appreciate it greatly.

I'm also really in love with Vietnam Airlines' safety video.

Right after takeoff, the crew handed out the immigration cards needed to be filled out to enter Australia.

The airline provides amenity kits, even in economy class, containing a toothbrush and toothpaste as well as a pair of slippers.

So far, this flight feels almost like premium economy, also because the seat next to us stayed empty, so we have even more space.

And now, dinner is served!

Two choices were given, either some fish with mashed potatoes, or what we've got, stir-fried pork with cabbage and white rice.

For dessert, a fancy-looking piece of orange cake, as well as a warm bread roll with some unsalted butter.

I also got a cup of water and some red wine, which came in a real glass.

And metal cutlery is provided too.

So all in all, despite the fact that the meal is lacking an appetizer, it was tasty and each individual element was very high quality, so overall, a phenomenal meal service.

While we're cruising above southern Vietnam, what might look like cities is actually the Before the lights were dimmed, the crew also handed out bottled water, which is a thoughtful I woke up after some turbulence near the Barataya Islands in southern Indonesia, shortly before East Timor.

The lavatories were kept spotlessly clean during the entire flight, and inside you'll find some air refreshers and a couple of additional amenities, such as razors.

Welcome to Australia!

After cruising over the outback for a while, around 90 minutes before landing, the crew handed out some more hot towels.

After that, breakfast was served, and the options being scrambled eggs with bacon, or beef noodles with vegetables, which I didn't even waste a second to pick.

For both meal services, the crew briefly handed you a card with pictures of the meals, similar to what ANA does on their long-haul flights, which makes deciding a lot easier.

So here we have the stir-fried beef with steamed vegetables and noodles, accompanied by some fresh fruit, and another warm bread roll with butter, as well as a cup of yogurt.

Metal cutlery was provided once again.

Another phenomenal meal service.

After that, it was already time to start our descent into Sydney.

Vietnam Airlines can certainly keep up with its competitors across Asia, and arguments can be made that they are even better than a lot of them.

The airline is unfortunately somewhat held back by the duality of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in that it has a limited network available from both cities, instead of focusing their entire fleet on just one hub like Thai, Cathay Pacific, or Singapore Airlines can.

But if you come across an itinerary on them, which are also often affordable at that, I certainly recommend you choose to fly with them.

From their professional staff, the great cabin, the delicious meals, and the wide range of all around phenomenal flight.

I would have to try really hard to even find something to criticize them for, and I'd only be able to fault them for the lacking appetizer during the dinner service, and possibly the content variety of the ISV isn't up to par with the likes of Singapore Airlines, but both of those are very pedantic things to even mention, so overall the journey was just fantastic.

As we're welcomed to Sydney with this breathtaking view over the Harbour Bridge, I want to thank you for watching this episode of Brutally Honest.

I hope you've enjoyed it and will join us again next week on another trip.

If you want to help us support our mission to share first-hand insights into as many airlines as possible, please consider becoming a channel sponsor right here on YouTube for as little as 2 Euros per month.

It's thanks to people like you guys that we are able to pay for the most interesting way to get to places, getting window seats on every flight, and continuously expand the Thank you once again for watching, welcome to Australia, and I'll see you again for another trip very soon.

From Sydney we continue to Perth aboard Qantas Boeing 737-800, a domestic flight across the entire country, so if you're up for another flight, take a look at that video too.