In late 2021, Vietnamese flag carrier Vietnam Airlines realized a 20 year-old dream: Direct flights to the United States. Owing to the incredible distances involved, being the second-longest transpacific flight from San Francisco behind United and Singapore Airlines’ service to Singapore, the two aircraft types VN could use were the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and the Airbus A350-900. With the Boeings mostly used for flights to Europe and East Asia, the decision was made to deploy the Raccoon on the new route. Today, the blue and gold (and sometimes silver) Airbuses can be seen in the Bay four times a week, on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Server: Solo
Airline: Vietnam Airlines
Aircraft: Airbus A350-900
Origin: San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, California (SFO)
Destination: Tân Sơn Nhâ’t International Airport, Tân Bình, Vietnam (SGN)
Flight Number: VN99
Route: KSFO-VVTS
Seat: 8K (Business)
Time En Route: 16 Hours 34 Minutes
Standing in the jetbridge, waiting to board
Looking out at Millbrae from the comfort of a Stelia Solstys business class seat
Departure and climbout over the Pacific before settling in for the long flight ahead
Just woke up near the southeastern tip of Taiwan
Descending over Cam Ranh Bay
Smooth pre-dawn landing
Heading to Terminal 2 at Tân Sơn Nhâ’t
Looking at our aircraft as it gets prepared to depart in a few hours to Seoul-Incheon