Our vegan Business Class experience with Vietnam Airlines

When planning our trip to Seoul, we decided on flying with Vietnam Airlines, allowing us to enjoy a city stopover in Ho Chi Minh City on the way home. Having never flown in the premium cabins with Vietnam Airlines, we were excited for a new experience, but of course also interested to see how they catered for their vegan passengers, or indeed anyone who selected their VGML (vegan) special meal option. With a short-haul flight from Singapore to Ho Chi Minh City followed by a longer onward flight to Seoul, we would be experiencing two aircraft types and two different food offerings in each direction. Below is an honest overview of our maiden business class experience with Vietnam Airlines from check-in through to arrival, allowing you to decide whether Vietnam Airlines is a ‘vegan-friendly’ airline that you should consider for your next vegan travel adventure.

Departing from Changi Airport, Singapore

Departing from Terminal 3, we were able to utilise the Vietnam Airlines dedicated business class check-in desks, which were professional and efficient. Our luggage was checked in for both of our flights and we received boarding passes for each flight also. With Vietnam Airlines not operating their own lounge at Changi, we were able to access the SATS Premier Lounge, which was where we first foraged for any vegan or plant-based options that might be available.

Everything was clearly labelled, which made it easy to realise there was very little for us to choose from. Salad, roast potatoes, cauliflower with black fungus and goji berries were the only items that we could have eaten with steamed white rice. There was delicious-looking marinated tofu but the sauce was not vegan, which was a classic case of ‘nearly, but not quite’. Our flight was delayed, which provided us with another option as new dishes were introduced to the buffet, including a black-eyed peas curry and kailan with fried garlic, which both paired perfectly with the aforementioned steamed white rice, making for a tasty and nutritious pre-flight bite whilst waiting for our delayed departure.

Our flight from Singapore to Ho Chi Minh City

Vietnam Airlines use their A321 on many of these regional flights, where business class offers a 2-2 configuration with spacious reclining seats, plenty of legroom and footrests. Unfortunately, even after changing from our pre-assigned seats, we had non-functioning seats. A combination of the recliner being broken, a headrest that didn’t stay in place and a footrest that didn’t extend meant that our short flight from Singapore to Ho Chi Minh City was not as comfortable as it should have been. Luckily, our VGML meal was a very tasty tofu in black bean dish that was full of flavour.

This was served with a mixed mushroom and tofu salad, which we didn’t eat but looked very good, also a bread roll with vegan butter and cut fruit. The main dish was delicious and one of the tastier vegan meals we’ve enjoyed on board in recent times.

Lotus Lounge at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Ho Chi Minh City

With a limited layover time, we were only able to visit the Vietnam Airlines signature ‘Lotus Lounge’ for a short visit, but that allowed us to utilise the facilities and refresh ourselves for our onward overnight flight and also check out the vegan options that were or were not available. Well, it’s lucky we were not hungry as there was nothing to eat other than fruit. Every dish on the buffet was not suitable for vegans and the staff were unable to help with anything as they were so busy. We found a comfortable seat in the corner, away from the crowds (the lounge was packed), and awaited our onward flight.

Our flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Seoul

Our next flight was on board one of Vietnam Airlines’ Dreamliner 787s, which was far more luxurious for our longer overnight flight as the 1-2-1 configuration allowed for more space throughout and the very welcome flat beds. With our late departure and an early arrival, we really wanted to sleep, but of course had to see what VGML offering had been loaded for us on this leg of our journey.

Well, we were served exactly the same as on the previous flight, mushroom salad and the tofu with rice that we had enjoyed so much just a few hours previously. The plating and presentation were better, especially for the salad, which may have been due to the extra space in the galley on board the 787, but the food of course tasted exactly the same. There was one welcome surprise, which was an actual dessert instead of fruit, which was indeed very welcome. A moist sponge cake with a berry sauce was the perfect way to end our meal before a few hours’ sleep was next on the agenda.

Korean Air Lounge at Incheon International Airport, Seoul

Before our return flight, we had access to the Korean Air Lounge located in Terminal 1. This is where we relaxed pre-boarding and completed our Vegan Food Quest on this recent vegan travel adventure.

The lounge was bright, modern and spacious with plenty of places to sit and showers for anyone who had a long layover. The buffet was quite small but did have a few vegan options including mushroom soup with perilla seed, sautéed mushrooms with rice and a pasta salad. Everything was clearly labelled and had been supplied by Grand Hyatt Seoul. But we had been given a wonderful breakfast box from Executive Sous Chef Mike and his team at Conrad Seoul, so chose to eat that instead. A flavour-packed fried rice with tofu and grilled veggies made for the perfect vegan lounge breakfast before our flight.

Our flight from Seoul to Ho Chi Minh City

Our return flight was back on board the Dreamliner 787, so we knew what to expect in terms of layout and seat / flat bed. It was a daytime flight, so we didn’t plan to sleep but the fully reclining seat in business class certainly made our journey more comfortable. We were intrigued to find out if we would be served the same VGML meal again, or actually get to try something else from the kitchens that prepare meals for Vietnam Airlines. Well, it was different but sometimes you need to be careful what you wish for as our previous repeat tofu dish was far superior. First were ‘canapés’ that consisted of a single fruit skewer, two cherry tomatoes, half an olive and some dried fruit which were all of course edible, but hardly creative or exciting.

Next was an unappetising appetiser which we sent back. It comprised a stuffed pepper with beans and vegetables that were so cold they were almost frozen and were served with no sauce, which meant no flavour. Our main course was also sent back, a mixture of beans that were dry and flavourless with accompanying vegetables that were overcooked. This was possibly the worst vegan meal in business class that we have ever been served and was very disappointing indeed. The crew were very apologetic as they could see that everything we were served was uninspiring and not of a comparable standard to what other passengers were eating. They managed to find some instant noodles that were vegan and prepared these for us which were very tasty, but we didn’t book and pay for business class flights to eat instant noodles.

In recent years, things have improved for vegan travellers with airlines globally adding to their plant-based offering with creative and exciting options available for pre-order. Only recently, Emirates announced they now have nearly 500 vegan recipes in rotation, showing that they are one of the airlines that are truly leading the way when it comes to catering for their vegan travellers.

Our experience with Vietnam Airlines was a reminder that the variety and quality that is offered still has some way to go. We encountered friendly and helpful crew on all three of our recent flights, and other than the faulty seats on our first flight, the hard product on the 787s, whilst not being ground-breaking, was very comfortable. The vegan food however was disappointing overall, two identical meals and one that was totally lacking in creativity and flavour. Being based in the region, we are likely to fly with them again and can only hope the vegan food that we are served is of equal quality to the crew that looked after us.

Paul Eyers

Paul Eyers is co-founder of Vegan Food Quest who write about luxury hotels and resorts in Southeast Asia with a focus on sustainable travel, eco travel and vegan travel. Currently based in Malaysia, Paul also writes about sporting events and some of the finest golf courses throughout the region.