ProfRB

I've been a loyal Delta Diamond for several years, and have done my share of travel to SE Asia. There's a good chance I will relocate on a 1-2 year contract to Hanoi. While in Hanoi, I'll likely return to the US at least a couple of times a year, and plan to do a lot of long-weekend trips throughout SE Asia. I'd love some advice from anyone who has it on (1) booking flights and accruing miles with Delta v. Vietnam Airlines under these circumstances, (2) using Vietnam Airlines v. the myriad other low-cost Asian airlines (for travel comfort, price, and FF advantages) on flights within Asia, and (3) any other advice you might have.

mot29

No experience yet, but I'm flying VN LHR-HAN-SGN-MEL/SYD-SGN-HAN-LHR on a very good business fare in August/September. Booked with a 5 day stopover in HAN outbound and an overnight in SGN on the return. About 4 weeks in OZ.
Will post my experiences then.
Miles scheduled to post to DL.

pvn

VN is group 3. Earning (both RDM and MQM) is variable.

https://www.delta.com/content/www/en...-airlines.html

RealHJ

VN is one of the best airlines in SkyTeam when it comes to in-flight service. The medium and long haul J class food is probably the best (selection, quality) in the whole alliance. Service is attentive and courteous. Esp. VN A350s and 787s are a good ride. Look at the near vertical takeoff...too bad they only do that at airshows and not with pax aboard.
The Vietnam airport arrival/departure experience, that is another matter...long lines and slow. But, in terms of airlines, I would stick with VN, esp. if you are flying medium or long haul on VN and in J. Plus, VN flies to every destination you could imagine in Asia, all major and many of the secondary destinations also. Just the typical relatively short overnight flights out may be a nuisance..

RRDD

Group 1 partners are the way to go. It worked well with China Eastern when I spent many months in China.

WhiskeyBravo

On the long haul front I think you'll be well served with 1-stops into many markets with SkyTeam via ICN, TPE, NRT, PVG, CAN, etc...
Short-haul you'd be foolish not to price-check discount carriers. My experience with Asian 'discount' carriers meant you got a decent hot meal on a 90 minute flight -- not sure what was discount about it.

RealHJ

Why do that, when VN serves so many long-haul and esp. medium-haul destinations directly (0-stop)? VN has an excellent network and is often the best airline to go from N. Asia to SE Asia (or to anywhere in the region from it's Europe destinations), for example, given that it goes to all major and many if not most secondary destinations in the region.

But yes, Asia LCCs offer far better service than the likes of Ryanair and Easyjet in EU, that's for sure.

bennos

-1 to any suggestion to transit China on a 1-stop from Vietnam, unless the destination is also in China and there are no other routing options.

MSPeconomist

I agree. If you must connect on SkyTeam in Asia, go through Japan, ICN, or TPE.

Most foreign carriers don't offer a lot to their own elites flying them versus partner elites, so it's hard to imagine why the OP would want to switch FF credits from DL to VN (or some other Asian partner such as KE), although one must be careful about discount fares that earn few if any MQMs. The OP might have a hard time maintaining DM status from Vietnam unless he/she makes enough trips back to the USA or other long haul partner destinations. In addition to using KE for this purpose, now that it's getting closer to DL, think about V and VS for longer trips, although I suspect that this might mean connecting through HKG or SIN, both of which are excellent airports even if there isn't much of a DL/SkyTeam presence.

exwannabe

Because the OP presumably wants to fly home to the US, and VN does not run TPAC flights.

The obvious answers as are in the message you replied to. The VN flight will only be short haul, and hardly matters.

For the non return home flights, I agree with you.

RealHJ

...or VN through HAN or SGN. VN flies to a lot of destinations that other airlines don't and has good service, adequate lounges, and the transit experience is sure a lot better than China, though not quite up to par with TPE or ICN.

You're right, unless the OP wants to route to US via CDG. VN A350s to CDG are one of the best ways to get from SE Asia to Europe.

For connections in Japan and Korea (to major destinations like TYO, OSA, NGO, SEL) VN uses twin aisle aircraft for most flights, only to smaller destinations like FUK, PUS, etc. it's single aisle. So, that will be still pretty good medium-haul service. At least personally, if I have to go N. Asia to SE Asia, VN will be one of my top choices for the connection of any airline/alliance, along with GA (both are really top notch for in-flight service).

mnredfox

When I lived in China somehow I managed to stay top elite with DL flying CZ and MU. It was painful though.

SoroSuub1

If you do move or temporarily relocated to Vietnam, be sure to update your address / country on your Skyteam profile. So that you hopefully don't have to worry about MQD's anymore.

airmotive

You'll need a LotusMiles account.
Trying to manage flights on VN online can be...umm...time consuming. Downright impossible without a LotusMiles account. That said, booking flights was painless.

Domestic flights on VN I experienced were on rather shoddy aircraft in 2016 (A320s). That said, it appears they have since retired them. I saw one A320 with a VietJet engine cowl, while sitting in a very tired A320 with several broken seatbelts and broken emergency floor lighting. Legally, not airworthy. Which probably explains why VN's hopes of establishing direct flights to the USA by the end of 2017 are on hold.
Service was outstanding. But aircraft are switched out at the last minute depending on loads. I learned the hard way that VN will not fly a half-full 787. I got pushed to an A321 and didn't get to take my first Dreamliner ride. (grrrrr)

VietJet (and from what I could tell, every other airline in the country) use the term "schedule" rather loosely. VN is definitely the only carrier that placed any importance on timeliness, but their tickets are more expensive. Domestic flights are dirt cheap on alternative carriers, however. If you miss a connection, you may be better off just buying another ticket rather than expect customer service to do the right thing.

Cheapest way to get from Vietnam to the US is via China. Easy and surprisingly seamless.

If you've not been to Vietnam yet, you can practice crossing Vietnamese streets by simply wading across shallow rivers. Wade in and don't stop moving until you reach the other side!

Lots of internet restrictions, as far as what websites could be accessed. I don't recall specifically about FT, but Facebook and most other chat forums were blocked.

No, the country is not flooded with billboards and banners for KFC.
That's not Colonel Sanders.

ProfRB

Many thanks for all the advice. Am I correct that the general consensus here is that I should (1) keep my SkyMiles status by using Delta and its partners for TPAC flights back home, (2) open a VN account for VN flights that are not Delta codeshares, and (3) keep my eyes open for budget airline deals in/around SE Asia?

Also, a follow-up question: several folks in this thread mentioned VN Lotus Lounges. Will all of those lounges be available to me as a Delta Diamond, or will I need to qualify independently on VN?

Thanks again.