AIRWAYS TRAVELER Vietnam Airlines Airbus A350
DIEGO DELSO / DELSO . PHOTO 14 this carrier to still not offer Wi-Fi service on such a modern fleet , not even for a fee .
Luckily , it is the only main drawback . In every other aspect of its services , Vietnam Airlines is outstanding . It is surely working very hard and investing heavily to deliver a passenger experience that ’ s this good . The question is , is it worth it ?
The large majority of the passengers who shared Economy Class seats with me on this 12- hour flight were young tourists who looked like they were flying to Vietnam to explore its urban and rural corners . These kinds of passengers generally do not have any great expectations in relation to the transport modes that enable them to reach their destinations .
Moreover , a large proportion of these passengers were unlikely to have ever heard about the airline , and would not consider their journey to and from Vietnam to hold any particular relevance in their holiday . Most of the details included in the product — like metal cutlery , hot towels , and a separate wine service — are characteristic of a Premium Class product , not Economy .
Given that the lowest-paying passengers usually have the lowest expectations of their flights , the omission of any of these otherwise appreciated aspects would certainly not be noticed by Economy Class passengers . It ’ s just not what they expect to get for what they are paying .
Vietnam Airlines has the opportunity to launch a long haul basic economy product that would enable the airline offer a more affordable economy product catered to serve low-fare paying passengers and thus compete with better fares .
14 The fauna , flora , and , above all , the people and culture of Vietnam have transformed this country into one of the most visited by European tourists in the last decade . This is an aerial view of our destination ; Ho Chi Minh City .
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