American Confirms 1st 787 International Routes to Beijing, Buenos Aires

American Airlines (AA), which took delivery of its first Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner (B788) last month, officially announced today the first revenue flights for the new advanced widebody aircraft.

AA's B788 will be based at Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), AA's headquarters and main hub. On May 7, it will initial fly domestic familiarization and training flights to Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) twice daily.

On June 2, the B788 will make its inaugural international flight from DFW to Beijing, China (PEK). After its return from PEK, on June 4 it will then fly to Buenos Aires, Argentina (EZE).

These flights will be available for booking starting this Saturday, February 14.

"We look forward to welcoming our international customers onboard the 787 with its modern amenities and comforts beginning this summer," said Andrew Nocella, American's chief marketing officer. "Adding the 787 Dreamliner to our network gives us the opportunity to increase our efficiency on long-haul flights across the globe and potentially open up new markets in our network. It's a big win for customers and just the latest example of how American is going for great."

For travelers from the United States to Vietnam, AA's DFW-PEK flight opens up another option, as AA fare rules generally allow passengers to connect in China onto Vietnam Airlines (VNA) and other carriers. For instance, a passenger can fly DFW-PEK then onward to Saigon (SGN) or Hanoi (HAN) on VNA.

VNA is set to take delivery of its own Dreamliner later this year.

The B788 will have 2 classes of service, with 28 lie-flat seats in business class with all-aisle access, arranged in a unique 1-2-1, foreward/backward-facing configuration. In-flight entertainment is on a 15.3-inch HD touchscreen, and Bose noise canceling headsets will be provided. A walk-up bar for midflight drinks and snacks will also be available.

In economy, there are 198 seats in a 3-3-3 configuration, 48 of which will be in the extra-legroom Main Cabin Extra section, reserved for the airline's elite passengers and also available for a fee. Each economy seat will feature a 9-inch HD touchscreen.

All seats will feature universal AC and USB power outlets, as well as onboard Wi-Fi.

AA has ordered 42 Boeing 787s in total, in both the -8 and the stretched -9 versions, with options for 58 more.

Vietnam Airlines Releases Interior Images for 787, A350

On Tuesday, Vietnam Airlines (VNA) posted seatmaps and rendered images for their new Boeing 787-9 (B789) and Airbus A350-900 (A359) aircraft. The images appeared on VNA's official Facebook page.

The images confirm my previous anonymously-sourced information on the B789 that the new business class seats are the Cirrus from Zodiac Aerospace, the deluxe economy seats are from HAECO (nee TIMCO), and the economy seats are the lightweight Pinnacle seats from B/E Aerospace.

Rendering of VNA's B789 business cabin.
Image source: Vietnam Airlines

Rendering of VNA's B789 deluxe economy cabin.
Image source: Vietnam Airlines

Rendering of VNA's B789 economy cabin.
Image source: Vietnam Airlines

What was surprising to me were the images for the A359 interior. Instead of going for fleet commonality in business class by installing Cirrus on the Airbus, VNA opted to use what looks like a version of EADS Solstys, which is a staggered forward-facing product.

Rendering of VNA's A359 business cabin.
Image source: Vietnam Airlines

Also surprising: It seems that VNA is choosing outfit the A359's deluxe economy cabin with the regular Pinnacle economy seats, still at 9-abreast in a 3-3-3 configuration (instead of the 7-abreast, 2-3-2 truly bigger seat configuration on the B789), just with more legroom!

Rendering of VNA's A359 deluxe economy cabin (?).
Image source: Vietnam Airlines

Rendering of VNA's A359 economy cabin.
Image source: Vietnam Airlines

I'm really REALLY hoping that the A359's configuration is not set in stone, especially in regards to the deluxe economy cabin. While VNA apparently installed a proper premium economy product on the B789s, they didn't do anything special on the A359s except give more leg room (akin to what many US-based carriers do). Perhaps this was a mistake in posting the images? Or an incorrect interpretation?

I feel that VNA had the chance to ensure fleet commonality in seating and features, departing from their previous ragtag fleets mixed from owned aircraft and aircraft from different lessors. Instead, they provide two completely different premium cabin products, which can only lead to operational complexities, crew confusion and dissatisfaction for the premium passenger.

I'll admit that I love the Cirrus seat, and I'm sure that the Vantage XL is a fine product as well. I do feel they should have stuck with one or the other. My speculative guess? There may have been a seating supply shortage from one vendor that required using the other's product, as to not delay delivery for either aircraft any longer.

One last small point of contention: I do hope VNA follows the lead of other carriers of installing a proper walk-up bar in business class, instead of what was pictured:

Image source: Vietnam Airlines

Still, it's an exciting time for VNA, with two new widebody types coming online this year to replace their aging long-haul fleet. New planes, new cabins, new seats, and even Wi-Fi on board.

What about that seat map?
Let's compare what I thought the seatmap was going to be vs. what was actually released by VNA.

VNAFlyer's predicted mockup.

VNA's released seatmap.

I think I came pretty close! Especially with the deluxe economy seats and the economy section after the 3rd doors. What I didn't get quite right:

• While I knew there were 211 seats in economy (and VNA's seat map confirms this), I miscounted and only put 205 seats;
• I might have given deluxe economy a little too much leg room;
• I was off on some of the mid-cabin lavatory and galley positions;
• My business class rows were off, with the middle set more forward rather than being in line with the window seats.

Hopefully VNA will release a seatmap of the A359 soon, so that we can confirm my worst fears the seating arrangement.

You'll find the B789 flying to London as soon as June 29.

(H/T: Flyertalk user nam_sg)

Trip Report: Arrival at Tan Son Nhat Airport (SGN)

Other chapters:

• Intro: Ticketing and Getting Ready
• Checking in at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
• SEA-LAX on Alaska Airlines
• Quick stop in Los Angeles
• Checking in at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
• LAX-PVG on American Airlines
• Another quick stop in Shanghai
• Getting to Shanghai Pudong Airport (PVG) and checking in with VNA
• PVG-SGN on Vietnam Airlines
• Arrival at Tan Son Nhat Airport (SGN) (current entry)

Upon our arrival, our Airbus A321 parks at a remote stand, thus requiring airport buses to get us to the terminal. Along with past experiences, it seems that when Vietnam Airlines (VNA) uses A321s for regional services, those flights are highly likely to be assigned to these remote gates, probably saving the jetbridges for widebodies.

Read more: Vietnam Airlines' Boeing 787: New Lie-Flat Seats in Business, 2 Different Economy Configurations

Image source: Vietnam Investment Review

One (very tiny) upside to the remote stand is that they deplane and board through both the front and back at the same time, so those stuck in the rear of the plane aren't waiting forever to get off.

Those in business class are provided their own shuttle bus, which departs quickly. The economy passengers are directed to 3 other larger buses, each one taking off once full.

Pro Tip: Stand near the left-side doors to be the first to get off at the terminal.

After a 5-7 minute ride to the terminal, we are deposited at the entry doors which lead to a narrow escalator that took us up to the arrivals level. We follow the signs to the arrivals hall, just a short walk away.

The arrivals hall at SGN is divided up into three sections:

• The main immigration inspection section, where passports are checked before entry.
• A visa window, for those who pre-arranged to receive a "visa on arrival."
• A transfer desk, for those who are making onward international connections.

Today was a little busy, with at least 3/4 of the immigration booths manned, and each having lines of 15-20 passengers each. The visa window had about 20 people waiting in line, with another 30 waiting for their applications to be processed.

Our line has a passenger that they examined more closely than normal, so it takes us about 30 minutes to finally get through (should have been about 15 minutes). We head down to claim our baggage, which is already sitting off the belt, as our flight's bags have completed offloading. We load our bags onto free carts provided by the airport, and my wife goes for a restroom break.

While I'm waiting, I scan the customs inspection lines that we have to go through before exiting. A customs "officer" tries to wave me over, but I give the "not ready" hand signal and continue waiting.

Pro tip: Never go towards a customs line that you've been directed to, since frankly you don't have to follow their direction. The sad reality is that forced bribery is alive and well at SGN and other airports, and the agent is essentially fishing, trying to get me to come over so I can be "carefully inspected" and assessed some sort of trumped up violation, in hopes that I will "pay the fine" on the spot.

What one should do is to choose a line that looks like someone is already "being spoken to" since they already busy with that person and will let you pass.

When my wife returns, I guide our carts to a line far away from that agent. We successfully have our baggage x-rayed with no challenge, and we were quickly on our way out to the curb.

As we pass by, I overhear a poor American fellow in his mid-50s who was trying to reason with the customs agent, who in turn threatened to detain his baggage for 3-4 days. Shameful... I wanted to help him too, but I also didn't want to stick around and be inspected myself (though I probably would have if I was by myself).

We make our way through the throngs of people waiting for their loved ones, make a left turn and head towards the taxi "stand" near the end of the terminal building, past the Popeye's Fried Chicken stand (great place for a quick and cheap snack or drink).

The stand is really more of a collection area where taxis pick up customers, and no real defined queue, even with the permanent corral set up.

Pro tip: Walk past the taxi corral and the crowds, farther along the curb. Flag down the taxi of your choice when it approaches. The driver doesn't really care who they pick up. This is how the system at SGN works. 

If you're uncomfortable with this, you'll probably be waiting a while, but you can get a dispatcher to help you. Each taxi company has its own dispatcher in uniform in the taxi area.

I prefer Vinasun... it has the most number of taxis in the company, are the most reliable, and always use the meter. MaiLinh is a decent Plan B. I pretty much avoid all other taxi companies.

Taxi pickup area at SGN.

We quickly get into a Vinasun taxi van and we're on our way into the city.

Stay tuned for the rest of my trip report, before our Shanghai-Saigon flight and on our way home. Thanks for reading!
- VNAFlyer

Trip Report: Flying PVG-SGN on Vietnam Airlines on an A321

Other chapters:

• Intro: Ticketing and Getting Ready
• Checking in at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
• SEA-LAX on Alaska Airlines
• Quick stop in Los Angeles
• Checking in at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
• LAX-PVG on American Airlines
• Another quick stop in Shanghai
• Getting to Shanghai Pudong Airport (PVG) and checking in with VNA
• PVG-SGN on Vietnam Airlines (current entry)
• Arrival at Tan Son Nhat Airport (SGN)

Author's note: Yes, it's weird that I have a VNA segment in this itinerary. It was an AA fare where the rules allowed for a connection onto VNA from AA's PVG flights.

Another VNA A321, heading to Hanoi (HAN)

Thankfully, the scrum that seems to always occur at Chinese airports didn't occur here... it might have even been quite orderly! They call boarding for business class first, and then economy in general, with everyone observing the queue. Armed with hand-notated BPs saying that we were in Row 14 exit row seats (and out of Row 33), I'm feeling mighty content as we board Flight VN523...

... until we actually get to our seats. For some reason, Vietnam Airlines (VNA) designates the row in front of  the doors on an A321 as exit row seats as well. No extra leg room, no recline, and not even a window! Much to our chagrin, all the seats in Row 15 (the actual exit row, as we all know what "exit row" actually means) are actually assigned. How they got assigned, I have no idea, because they were clearly non-status passengers (based on a quick, coincidental scan of their BPs, as well as their fairly naive questions about such things as tray tables and such). The fact is, what the manager and agent said at check-in was completely wrong. Those seats were definitely preassigned, even on a flight that was not full.

A Juneyao A320 parked next to us.

In any case, what also seems to happen is that Rows 10-14 (no Row 13) also are the last to be assigned. When boarding was complete, no one was sitting in Rows 10-14 except for us. I quickly flag down the nearest flight attendant (FA) to ask if we could move, and she happily said that we could choose any seat we wish. Interestingly, this same FA was earlier policing this section, asking passengers who sat down in this section for their BPs and moving them along to their original seats.

Read more: VNA's Airbus A321: The Most Accurate Seat Map Available

Thankfully, we moved out of Row 14 to Row 12. A few other passengers apparently take our move as their cue to move as well, but it isn't a total exodus, more of a spreading out, with a maximum 2 passengers for every 3-seat section.

Interlude: The lesson with VNA is to be persistent, and don't accept their answer, even from a manager or supervisor. It's like a game of chicken or a staring contest... who will give up first? I've had other experiences with VNA that leads me to the same conclusion. Just don't give up, because the culture of the ground staff is to refuse first, hoping passengers will accept what's given to them.

The door closes and we push back 10 minutes past our time of departure. Safety announcements are conducted in Vietnamese, Mandarin, and English. It takes about 15-20 minutes for us to taxi to a runway on the other side of the terminal, giving us a nickel tour of PVG.

A China Southern 737-800 heading towards PVG's control tower.

An American 777-200 followed by a China Eastern 737-800.
Love it or hate it, that new tail makes the AA bird easy to spot.

No further delay as we smoothly take off towards the northwest, make a left turn, and loop around Shanghai then south to Vietnam. The smog is unbelievable... not as bad as Beijing, but still sickeningly thick, much worse than LA has ever gotten.

Read more: Vietnam Airlines' Boeing 787: New Lie-Flat Seats in Business, 2 Different Economy Configurations

When you need a paint
that can withstand
Armageddon....

As soon as we hit 10,000 feet and hear the ding, the FAs all jump into action, and the curtain to the first class cabin is ceremoniously closed. The FAs walk down the aisle was a basket of packaged refreshing wipes for the economy passengers, quickly followed by drink service. 

There is a small lull before meal service, so I check out the VNA inflight magazine, Heritage, which has articles in both Vietnamese and English.

The crew comes through with an offering of chicken or fish. As a personal rule, I always avoid airplane fish in coach, so chicken it is!

The chicken is similar to a teriyaki chicken, with linguini, and steamed green beans... definitely better than expected. 

I wasn't going to buy
Kohler, but the attractive
model with a rose
changed my mind.

The side salad, on the other hand, is quite frankly gross. The shrimp look like they were frozen for too long, then dipped in hot water before being tossed onto the salad, and the veggies look wilted. I don't even bother opening the salad.

Dessert was cut fruit ("fresh" was questionable), and the crew also came through with hot tea and coffee. Overall, it's a serviceable lunch on a 4-hour flight, but I'm glad we had brought snacks.

The rest of the flight is pretty uneventful.  Entertainment is in the form of Vietnamese variety shows on small overhead screens, with headset provided in the seatback pocket. Blankets and pillows were also provided, nice touch for coach.

The FAs did their jobs quite well, and was generally personable overall. Interestingly, the FA who primarily served our section was a native of Japan who spoke only Japanese and English... no Vietnamese.

Only a couple of people try to go up front to use the lav, and they were turned away. There are 3 lavs in the far rear of the plane, so the parade of passengers was constant. The cabin temperature was a touch on the warm side, but tolerable. 

Descending into Saigon.

We land at SGN right on time, and taxi to a remote stand for arrival.

Next chapter: Arrival at Tan Son Nhat Airport (SGN)

Trip Report: Getting to Shanghai Pudong Airport (PVG) and checking in with VNA

Other chapters:

• Intro: Ticketing and Getting Ready
• Checking in at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
• SEA-LAX on Alaska Airlines
• Quick stop in Los Angeles
• Checking in at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
• LAX-PVG on American Airlines
• Another quick stop in Shanghai
• Getting to Shanghai Pudong Airport (PVG) and checking in with VNA (current entry)
• Flying PVG-SGN on Vietnam Airlines on an A321
• Arrival at Tan Son Nhat Airport (SGN)

Author's note: Yes, it's weird that I have a VNA segment in this itinerary. It was an AA fare where the rules allowed for a connection onto VNA from AA's PVG flights.

The check-in hall at PVG.

We take good old reliable UberX from our hotel to Shanghai Pudong Airport (PVG). Our driver, with a clean and fully-optioned Nissan sedan, spoke decent English, well enough to crack a couple of jokes, then quietly and efficiently got us to the airport, even offering us bottled water along the way. 

UberX is my preferred way to travel to/from PVG, definitely over taxis, but with 2 people and luggage, it was nearly the same price and more convenient than the maglev train, which requires walking about 250 meters to transfer to the Shanghai Metro subway system.

43USD and 45 minutes later, we find ourselves in the terminal. 

First order of business is to retrieve the bags we had deposited at the left luggage counter. We pay our remaining balance of 25CNY (~4USD; 200CNY [32USD] paid from before) and grab our bags and boxes from the back room, untouched from where we left them the previous day. I'm quite pleased with this service and would totally use it again... it made our short visit to Shanghai so much easier.

We load our luggage carts (free at PVG) and head upstairs to the central check-in area. 

We find the Vietnam Airlines (VNA) counter, which has plenty of staffing but no one in line, even with 2 departures to Saigon (SGN) and Hanoi (HAN) within 1.5 hours. The counters are actually staffed by China Eastern (MU) employees, overseen by VNA managers... the boarding passes are even printed on MU paper. 

While the employees obviously know how to work the computer system, they don't seem to be authorized to do anything beyond basic functions. Our agent speaks English well enough, and to her credit we are checked in very quickly, in under 5 minutes. When the boarding passes (BPs) are printed showing seats in Row 33 on the A321, we politely asked to move forward. On the map below, you can see why:

Click for: VNA's Airbus A321: The Most Accurate Seat Map Available

This is where the fun really started. The agent says that there aren't any other pairs of seats available. I ask about seats by the emergency exit, and she says that it was VNA's policy of not assigning exit row seats on flights that are not full, so the the system blocked her from assigning those seats.

Read more: Vietnam Airlines' Boeing 787: New Lie-Flat Seats in Business, 2 Different Economy Configurations

At this point I know I wasn't going to get anywhere, so I ask to speak with the VNA manager. He is very friendly and tries to help (or so I think), but he repeats the policy of not being able to assign the exit row seats, and that there are no other seats available for us.

After a few minutes of going back and forth, we give up and proceed towards security.

We first go through exit immigration, which is first come-first served. It only takes about 5 minutes since crowds were light, but I can see how it may get backed up during busy times.

Nice architecture at PVG.

Next is security screening, and I notice that in the middle of the area, there is a designated priority security line for VIPs, elites, and premium passengers. Regular lines are about 10 people deep. Yes, I know I'm bad, but I decide to press my luck and hold out our AA Platinum cards with our MU boarding passes for a VNA flight in economy class. By all rights, we shouldn't have been allowed to use the line (no relevant status, no premium cabin, different alliance), and I figure the worst that would have happened would be getting shooed away into another line.

Read more: 8 Simple Tips for Preventing Theft on Your Next Flight

I had guessed correctly that the line attendants either weren't knowledgeable or didn't care, and we are allowed in with no problems whatsoever. I would label this a YMMV (your mileage may vary) situation. We scan our BPs (which, my guess, only checks to see if we have a valid BP or not), had our bags X-rayed (shoe removal not required), and we are through to the gate area in less than a minute.

Passengers milling around  Gate D82
before departure.

We take a couple of people-movers to get to our gate, D82 for the day. The gate area is full of waiting passengers... I guess they showed up 3-4 hours before departure. No signs of gate agents yet, so we find a place to sit and eat some of the snacks we brought along in preparation for being in economy class for 4 hours.

At about 1h15m before boarding, the gate agents show up to start processing the flight. Being the persistent type, I approach another agent about seating. This time, nothing about the policy about not assigning exit row seats, but rather that the seats are already assigned.

Boarding is about to start.

I thank her and step away... and no, I'm totally not satisfied with this answer. When she walks off, I speak to another agent, and her reply is that the seats are open, but they can't assign them at the gate!

If one thing's clear to me, it's that VNA just doesn't want to assign these seats, instruct the agents to not assign the seats, but leave the agents to rely on their own creativity on why the seats can't be assigned.

Finally, I spot another VNA manager who shows up, and I start chatting it up with him. I ask him about the seats, if there was any possibility of getting an exit row seats, and he asks for our BPs and walks away (score!). 

He comes back with the same BPs, but he had scratched off our original seats and handwrote 14A/14B. I inquire about if this was ok, and he assures me that he blocked out those seats for us, so it will be fine.

The happiness of succeeding through persistence is short-lived when we finally get on board...

Next: Flying PVG-SGN on Vietnam Airlines on an A321

Vietnam Airlines' Boeing 787: New Lie-Flat Seats in Business, 2 Different Economy Configurations

Sources confirm details on business class seats, as well as two different configurations in economy for leased and purchased aircraft.

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Image source: Vietnam Airlines

Vietnam Airlines (VNA) has been very quiet regarding the interior plans of its newest widebody aircraft, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (B789) and Airbus A350-900 (A359), especially in light of the fact that VNA is due to take delivery of its first of both models within the next few months.

When the order was first announced in 2005, VNA was expected to take delivery of 16 of the smaller 787-8 (B788) in 2009, but the Dreamliner program experienced years of delay. In the interim, VNA opted to change their order to the stretched B789 model, which pushed delivery back even further. Subsequently, additional units were ordered.

The acquisition was a mix of direct purchases and leasing agreements. This is important because the cabins in the leased aircraft will be different from airframes owned by VNA.

VNAFlyer, through unnamed sources familiar with VNA's fleet renewal plans, has learned the seat types and cabin configuration for its soon-to-be-delivered B789s.

Business Class

Translated caption: VIP guests of
Vietnam Airlines will experience
Class C (business class) service on
Airbus A350 aircraft. Image source:
baogiaothong.vn

The first purported detail of the new seats came from a Vietnamese website showing a screen capture from a local TV show of VNA demonstrating a new business class seat to be used on their A359s (H/T: Flyertalk user soorox). While the screencap is low quality, it does look like a version of the Cirrus seat from Zodiac Aerospace, 

VNAFlyer can confirm that the Zodiac Cirrus is indeed the premium seat selected for VNA's Dreamliners, and very likely for its A359s as well. This represents a huge leap forward in passenger comfort from the seats currently in its widebody fleet. (Note: VNA does not offer a first-class cabin on any of its fleet.)

Current B777 business class seat.
Image source: Vietnam Airlines

Cirrus Seats
Image source: Zodiac Aerospace

I have been fortunate enough to sit in a few versions of this seat on various airlines, and they were fantastic. The most important design element is having seats that lie completely flat and parallel to the floor, a big win for passengers being able to more easily rest or sleep. 

Reverse herringbone layout.
Image source: American Airlines

Also, the "reverse-herringbone" layout of the cabin gives all passengers unimpeded, direct aisle access without disturbing anyone else. For the airlines, there is very little impact on seating capacity, since each row saves space by tucking a passenger's feet under the arm console of the row in front, giving the passenger room to stretch their legs while spacing the rows closer together.

Add in ample storage, easy to use controls, plenty of privacy, charging outlets, and a huge entertainment screen (AA uses a 15.4" touchscreen), and you have yourself one heck of a seat offering from VNA. The in-flight entertainment system will be sourced from Panasonic.

Image source: Cathay Pacific

Overall, the Zodiac Cirrus widely receives high praise from frequent flyers and business travelers alike. While the specific details of VNA's version are not yet available, you can see how other airlines utilize the Cirrus to outfit and refresh their premium cabins, notably: Air France, American, Cathay Pacific, China Eastern, and EVA.

VNA will have 28 business seats in a 1-2-1 configuration. This likely represents 7 rows occupying the space between the 1st and 2nd doors (Air Canada manages to cram 30 Cirrus seats into the same area).

Deluxe Economy

Image Source: Aircraft Interiors
Expo/TIMCO

With the B789s and A359s destined for long-haul service, VNA will retain its premium economy product (called Deluxe Economy), using the TIMCO (now HAECO) 3050 Featherweight Premium Economy seats, offering up to 10-15 degrees in recline, minimum 38" pitch, up to 75-degree leg rest, a 4-way headrest, and a max 10.4" screen (VNA-specific configuration not available). These seats have articulating cushions, so when a passenger "leans back" the seat doesn't intrude into the space of the passenger behind.

However, Deluxe Economy will only exist on their owned aircraft. Leased B789s will not have a Deluxe Economy section, and will be all regular economy instead (see below).

More slightly bad news... the first few B789s off the line will be leased.

On VNA's purchased B789s, the deluxe economy section will have 35 seats arranged in a 2-3-2 configuration. You can also find these seats on Thomson Airways' Dreamliners as well as in the premium cabins of many narrowbody fleets. 

Image source: JetBlue

Economy

The economy cabin will feature the B/E Aerospace Pinnacle, the lightest aircraft seats in the market. Notably, Delta Air Lines recently tapped B/E Aerospace to install the Pinnacle on 225 of its narrowbody fleet. JetBlue is also using this model to refurbish 70 of its aircraft, and installing it on 30 new deliveries. While slimline seats have generally been panned as being uncomfortable, B/E's version seems to garner less ire from passengers.

VNA will install 211 of these seats in the economy section of their purchased B789. No word yet on pitch, entertainment options, or other dimensions, but don't be surprised if VNA uses a 3-3-3 layout.

On leased aircraft, removing 35 Deluxe economy seats allows for the addition of 72 more regular seats, boosting the number to 283.

Possible Seat Map?

Taking the information above and comparing to what other airlines have done, I've extrapolated this mockup of what VNA's B789 seat map may look like with Deluxe Economy:

Note: This is only a mockup, and it's for B789s purchased by VNA, which will be delivered later.

And in a 2-class configuration without Deluxe Econmy:

Note: This is only a mockup, and it's for B789s leased by VNA, which will be delivered first.

Final Thoughts

While I feel that there isn't much variance between different types of premium economy and economy seats (and most passengers probably don't notice anyway), VNA's selection of Zodiac's Cirrus seat for business class definitely elevates its premium game in the region. It stands to reason that the same seats will be used for both the B789 and A359. 

The carrier will need to continue on this trajectory to be able to compete with the likes of THAI Airways and Singapore Airlines, as well as stay ahead of other competing carriers. I certainly hope that VNA management realizes that an outstanding hard product alone won't help much... they'll have to revamp their on-board soft product to the same degree, as well as vastly improve their customer service both onboard and on the ground.

What do you think? Does this make you want to give VNA a try (or come back)?

By the way, the first planned long-haul revenue service on the B789 is to London Heathrow (LHR), split between Saigon (SGN) and Hanoi (HAN). While there are reports that this would commence in July of this year, I'm guessing that it won't happen until at least August, since delivery is right around end of May.

UPDATE: Vietnam Airlines: In-Flight Wi-Fi to be Available on New 787, A350 Aircraft