Vietnam Airlines flew its first nonstop between Vietnam and the Netherlands on 16 June 2026 — Hanoi–Amsterdam three times a week on the Airbus A350-900, with Vietnam Airlines business class in a 29-seat cabin up front — six months after opening Ho Chi Minh City–Copenhagen on the 787. With Paris, Frankfurt, London Heathrow, Munich, Milan and Moscow already served, the SkyTeam carrier now flies nonstop to eight European cities on twelve routes and holds about 44.5 per cent of Europe–Vietnam capacity, around 25,500 two-way seats a week.
For a European reader heading to Vietnam, or onwards to Bali, Bangkok or Singapore on the airline’s regional network, that is a direct alternative to the Gulf and Singapore connections at fares that usually sit below them. Vietnam Airlines business class is the honest part of the story: solid, warm and without doors. Here are the facts, what each aircraft offers, and how to pick the right one.
Vietnam Airlines Business Class to Europe: Key Facts
- New routes: Hanoi–Amsterdam from 16 June 2026, three weekly (Tue, Thu, Sat) on the A350-900; Ho Chi Minh City–Copenhagen from December 2025 on the Boeing 787
- European network: eight cities, twelve routes — Paris, Frankfurt, London Heathrow, Munich, Milan, Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Moscow — from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City
- Capacity: about 25,500 two-way weekly seats Europe–Vietnam, roughly 44.5 per cent of the market
- A350-900 fleet: 14 aircraft — ten with Safran Cirrus III business (29 seats, reverse herringbone 1-2-1, 21.5 inches wide, 78-inch bed, 18-inch HD screen, no doors) delivered from 2018, four with the older Stelia Solstys staggered cabin (29 seats, 76-inch bed) mostly on regional routes
- 787-9 and 787-10: staggered 1-2-1 business without doors on the Dreamliner fleet; the 787-10 carries 24 business seats in a two-class layout, and Copenhagen is flown by the 787-9
- Long-haul deployment: Cirrus III A350s on Ho Chi Minh City–San Francisco (the only US nonstop), Paris and Frankfurt, and Hanoi–London and Amsterdam
- Loyalty: SkyTeam since 2010; LotusMiles, with award space bookable through Delta SkyMiles, Flying Blue and Korean Air SKYPASS
- Reviews: Business Class Journal on the A350: one of the most distinctively local menus in business class and warm, personal service, against a cabin without doors, weaker outstation catering and seats showing wear after seven years
- Fares: one reviewer paid VND 64.8 million return (about US$2,500) for Ho Chi Minh City–San Francisco business, roughly 22 per cent below the Singapore Airlines routing; see below
A Good Seat Without a Door, and the Best Pho in the Sky
Long-haul Vietnam Airlines business class is the Safran Cirrus III — the reverse-herringbone 1-2-1 Cathay Pacific flew for a decade, in a 29-seat cabin with a 78-inch bed and an 18-inch screen. It has no door, the screens are HD rather than 4K, and the oldest aircraft are seven years into service; Business Class Journal’s 2026 review calls it a solid mid-tier product.
What lifts it is the soft product: a menu built around Vietnamese dishes — the reviewer called it one of the most distinctively local culinary expressions in business class — and crews who address passengers by name. Outstation catering, loaded in Europe or the US, is noticeably weaker than what comes out of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
The Copenhagen route flies the 787, whose business cabin is a staggered 1-2-1 of the same generation; the Solstys A350s, with the older staggered seat, are mostly kept to Asian sectors.
Amsterdam, Copenhagen and the Onward Network
Amsterdam was the missing capital: with KLM not flying to Vietnam, the Hanoi service is the only nonstop between the two countries, three times a week and timed for SkyTeam connections at Schiphol. Copenhagen, from Ho Chi Minh City in December 2025, gives Scandinavia its first Vietnamese nonstop. Both feed the airline’s Southeast Asian network — Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Denpasar — so Europe–Bali via Hanoi or Saigon is now a single-carrier SkyTeam itinerary, with Flying Blue miles on every sector. KLM’s own long-haul to Asia from Schiphol is a different story: my KLM business class review covers the Amsterdam to Bali flight, via Singapore, on the 777.
The aircraft check is the same as everywhere: on the A350 the Cirrus III cabin shows as reverse herringbone with seats angled towards the window, the Solstys as a stagger with alternating single and paired seats.
Tip: eat the Vietnamese menu on the outbound from Hanoi or Saigon and keep expectations modest on the return — the catering out of Amsterdam and Copenhagen is the weaker half of the round trip.
Southeast Asian Carriers, First-Hand
I have not flown Vietnam Airlines long-haul and this is a preview. My published reviews of regional and Gulf business class set the frame: Etihad’s 787-9, 3.5 out of 5 for an excellent seat at a Europe–Asia fare of about €2,500 return, marked down for catering and a crowded lounge — the mirror image of what reviewers say about Vietnam Airlines, where the food is the strength and the seat the compromise. A nonstop from Amsterdam to Hanoi in a doorless 1-2-1 with the best meal of the trip on board is a trade I would take on the right dates.
How Much Does It Cost?
Vietnam Airlines does not publish rack fares. Business Class Journal paid VND 64.8 million return, about US$2,500, for Ho Chi Minh City–San Francisco, roughly 22 per cent under the Singapore Airlines routing on the same dates, and Europe fares follow the same pattern — typically below the Gulf carriers and Singapore Airlines, particularly on the Vietnamese point of sale. LotusMiles awards are thin; Delta SkyMiles, Flying Blue and Korean Air SKYPASS all show Vietnam Airlines long-haul space.
Flight prices do move between platforms. The same business class seat on the same date is not always the same price on the airline’s own site, Trip.com and Expedia: point-of-sale currency, consolidator fares and what is bundled into the ticket can shift the fare by a few percent — and occasionally by much more on premium cabins booked out of Asia.
So before I pay I run the same dates through Aviasales, which scans dozens of booking sites at once, then check Trip.com (often the sharpest on Asian routes) and Expedia (strongest when you add a hotel to the same booking). One caveat: a ticket bought through a booking site is changed or refunded through that site, not the airline, so read the fare rules before you buy.
Vietnam Airlines Business Class: FAQ
Does Vietnam Airlines fly nonstop to Amsterdam?
Yes. Hanoi–Amsterdam launched on 16 June 2026, three times a week (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) on the Airbus A350-900. It is the only nonstop between Vietnam and the Netherlands.
Does Vietnam Airlines business class have doors?
No. The long-haul A350s use the Safran Cirrus III, a reverse-herringbone 1-2-1 with direct aisle access, a 78-inch bed and an 18-inch screen, but no doors. The Boeing 787 business cabin is a staggered 1-2-1, also without doors.
Which European cities does Vietnam Airlines fly to nonstop?
Eight cities on twelve routes from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City: Paris, Frankfurt, London Heathrow, Munich, Milan, Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Moscow.
Which aircraft flies Vietnam Airlines’ Ho Chi Minh City–Copenhagen route?
The Boeing 787-9, since the route opened in December 2025.
Eight European cities nonstop, a menu worth the flight and a fare that undercuts the hubs — Vietnam Airlines business class has quietly become the direct way to Southeast Asia from northern Europe.
Photos © Vietnam Airlines
This preview is based on official announcements — I haven’t flown Vietnam Airlines long-haul yet. Read more about how I review or visit my Work With Me page.
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