Vietnam Airlines Customer Service Plan

Vietnam Airlines (VNA) believes that in addition to requirements of safety, on-time performance and comfort, we are expected to provide service that meets the individual needs of each customer. It is our objective to exceed customer expectations by creating added value.
However, occasionally, there are unforeseen events that may affect our ability to meet our customer expectations. These irregularities are caused by events within our responsibility, as well as those beyond our control, such as weather or traffic congestion at the airport. Therefore, VNA has established this Customer Service Plan to inform our customers of the service provided amid unpredictable and uncertain situations regarding your flight in the following areas:

• Lowest airfare offer
• Prompt ticket refunds
• Delays, cancellations and diversions
• Baggage delivery
• Accommodation of customers with special needs
• Overbooking
• Customer comments and concerns
• Provisioning customers with related information (aircraft information, flight situation, VNA Lotusmiles, other policies)

RESERVATION AND TICKETING

A.Lowest airfare offer
Customers calling VNA's Call Center and visiting our website (www.vietnamairlines.com) will be offered the lowest available published fares, when they provide specific dates including the planned date of departure, preferred time, class of service and date of purchase.

B.Prompt ticket refunds
VNA is dedicated to providing refunds of tickets to our customers with minimal inconvenience. Passengers may cancel their reservation and receive a full refund without penalty within twenty-four (24) hours after the reservation if the reservation is made one (1) week or more before departure. After this twenty-four (24) hour period, the refund amount will be calculated based on the fare rules of the tickets.

For refunds of all eligible tickets paid with credit cards within the U.S., refunds will be issued as a credit to your credit card company within seven (7) business days of receiving the required information. Please be advised that the credit card issuer will refund the purchase price under the terms of the credit card agreement. The refund transaction may take up to 2 billing cycles to reflect on your credit card statement.
For refunds of all eligible tickets purchased with cash or checks within the U.S., refunds will be provided within twenty (20) business days of receiving a complete refund request including refunding fees charged to a passenger for optional services that the passenger was unable to use due to an over sale situation or flight cancellation. If your ticket was purchased through a travel agent, please contact your travel agent for a refund request.

  At the airport / Onboard

Occasionally it is necessary to delay, cancel or divert flights due to various conditions such as congestion at the airport or poor weather conditions. In these instances, we are committed to providing all customers, whether at the airport or on board the aircraft, the best information available as quickly as possible. 

We strive to provide our passengers with new information as soon as possible and will provide status updates every 30 minutes until a new departure time is set for the flight or alternative travel arrangements have been made pursuant to Section 3 of this Customer Service Plan.

A. Delays, cancellations and diversions

When major delays or cancellations occur and VNA is unable to provide transportation to the final destination on the expected arrival date due to events within our responsibility, VNA will provide accommodation subject to availability. Regardless of the circumstances, we are dedicated to minimizing your inconvenience and burden as much as possible.
 
If a flight is delayed or cancelled due to circumstances beyond our control such as severe weather, VNA will offer customers assistance in arranging services. However, incidental expenses will not be covered by VNA. In the case of lengthy onboard ground delays without access to an airport terminal, we will make sure that all customers are provided with food, water, restroom facilities and medical assistance as necessary, conditions safely permitting.
Services provision at the airport
Passengers with a confirmed ticket, and after having been informed of the delay/cancellation, shall be provided with the following services:

• From 1 hour to less than 2 hours: drink
• From 2 hours to less than 6 hours: meal and drink
• More than 6 hours: accommodation

Compensation payment

• For flights within Vietnam: in the case of a long delay, cancellation or denied boarding involving flights departing from Vietnam, passengers shall be compensated as Circular 14/2015/TT-BGTVT dated 27/04/2015 signed by the Minister of Transport on non-refundable advance compensation in air transport
• For flights outside Vietnam: compensation, if any, shall be applied in compliance with the current law of concerned countries or our regulations
• Waiver of liability

Under the provisions of the Government of Vietnam, we shall be exempted from the obligation to provide services and compensation in the following cases:

• The delay or cancellation of flight caused by Force Majeure conditions such as an Act of God, war, strike, aviation security, request of competent authorities
• We prove that passengers have been informed of the cancellation no later than 24 hours prior to the scheduled time of departure or that passengers have not registered their contact address or failure to contact with their registered address
• Denied boarding due to the passenger‘s reason (health status, disease, passenger’s failure to comply with Carrier’s Conditions of Carriage, the terms and Conditions of the Contract of Carriage, Laws and Regulation), aviation security, request of authorities
• Other Force Majeure events occur

Flights to/from U.S.
With respect to known flight status changes (*), VNA will, within thirty (30) minutes of becoming aware of such changes, advise customers via our website, in the boarding gate area for flights at U.S. airports and on U.S. airport display systems (if available) and upon inquiry to our notification system.

(*) Flight status changes: delays in excess of thirty (30) minutes or more, cancellations and diversions that occur within seven (7) days of the scheduled date of flight.


B. Tarmac delays
Passengers are to be informed of tarmac delays, including the reasons, if known:

• Immediately once a delay is known, and not later than 30 minutes after scheduled departure time (including any revised departure time that passengers were notified of before boarding)
• Every 30 minutes thereafter that they have the opportunity to deplane from an aircraft that is at the gate or another disembarkation area with the door open if the opportunity to deplane exists
• A further update will be made every 30 minutes while the aircraft is delayed

Passengers are served with adequate food and portable water after the aircraft leaves the gate (in the case of departure) or touches down (in the case of arrival) if the aircraft remains on the tarmac, unless the pilot in command determines that safety or security considerations preclude such service: 

• Flights to/from US: no later than 2 hours from the commencement of the tarmac delay
• Flights to/from Korea, China (except Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan): if tarmac delay exceeds 2 hours

Customers are served with operable lavatory facilities, as well as adequate medical attention if needed while the aircraft remains on the tarmac. VNA will also ensure a comfortable cabin temperature is maintained.
Passengers are not kept on the plane without the option to disembark:

• Flights to/from U.S., Korea: more than 4 hours from the commencement of the tarmac delay
• Flights to/from China (except Hong Kong, Macau Taiwan): more than 3 hours from the commencement of the tarmac delay

The only exceptions that allow passengers to remain on the aircraft longer than period outlined above: 

• In the event the pilot in command determines there is a safety and/or security reason for not permitting customer disembarkation
• Air traffic control advises the pilot in command that returning to gate or another disembarkation point elsewhere in order to deplane passengers would significantly disrupt airport operations

Irregular handling:
Food and portable water will not be provided if the pilot in command determines that food and water service cannot be provided due to safety or security reasons. For example, when an airplane is taxiing on an active runway, it may be unsafe for flight attendants to hand out food and water

• If passengers are offered the opportunity to get off the plane during a tarmac delay, and the passengers choose to get off, passengers will be responsible for changing their flights
• If passengers decide to exit the aircraft during a tarmac delay and the aircraft eventually takes off for its intended destination, VNA may not be required to offload that passenger’s checked baggage before the plane takes off. Passengers will need to contact VNA about returning your checked baggage at a later time

Vietnam Airlines has sufficient resources to implement this Plan.
Vietnam Airlines has coordinated this Plan with airport authorities (including terminal facility operators where applicable) at each U.S. airport that it serves, including regular U.S. diversion airports, and, if necessary, will work with airport authorities and other airlines to share facilities and make gates available in an emergency.
Vietnam Airlines has coordinated this Plan with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at each airport that we regularly use for international flights, including diversion airports, and with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) at each U.S. airport that we serve, including regular U.S. diversion airports.


C. Baggage delivery

VNA will make every effort to ensure that checked baggage travels on the same flight as the customer. In the event the baggage does not arrive on the same flight, please notify our staff upon arrival. VNA will make every effort to return mishandled baggage within twenty-four (24) hours and return it to you as quickly as possible. Customers will be provided with updated information relating to the missing baggage until its return. If you have expenses resulting from a baggage delay and are eligible to receive compensation according to applicable international agreements, VNA will compensate you for reasonable and necessary out-of-pocket expenses. If your bag is lost, VNA will reimburse you for any fee charged to transport that bag.

In the further unlikely event that your baggage cannot be located or your baggage is damaged, we will pay compensation for lost or damaged baggage, as required by applicable international agreements and according to our Conditions of Carriage. Moreover, in cases of lost (even temporarily) or damaged baggage, we will reimburse passengers for any fees paid for carrying such baggage.
 
D. Accommodation of customers with special needs

VNA will assist passengers with special needs, such as those traveling with infants, unaccompanied minors, the elderly, expectant mothers, customers with disabilities, as well as those with illness or injury, so that they may travel safely and in comfort throughout their journey.
 
If needed the Call Center is available to assist customers with disability, illness or injury in planning to board our international and domestic flights. Please contact VNA's Call Center for further assistance and details.

E. Overbooking Occasionally we may not be able to provide you with a seat on a specific flight even if you hold a ticket and check in on-time. This is called an over sale, and it occurs if the number of customers who check in (ready to board) exceeds the number of available seats.
If you voluntarily give up your seat, we provide compensation and transportation on an alternate flight. A notice which explains the obligations and the compensation in an amount pursuant to Vietnam Airlines’ policy will be given to you.
If you are involuntarily denied boarding, we also provide compensation and transportation on an alternate flight. A notice which explains the obligations and the compensation in an amount determined by Vietnam Airlines will be given to you.
The policies and procedures that we follow ensure you receive fair and consistent treatment if such over sales occur.
F. Comments, concerns and information
We will notify you in a timely manner of changes to your flight, when such changes occur, so as not to affect your itineraries. We will contact you about the schedule changes when the event is known, using the contact information you provide us in your reservation.
If you purchase tickets on our website www.vietnamairlines.com, we will send the schedule change notification to your registered email.
Response to customer comments
Customer comments and feedback are welcome. VNA will respond to customer comments, requests and complaints at the first point of contact. VNA values your comments as an important part of improving our services.

Flights to/from U.S.: 
VNA shall acknowledge in writing receipt of each complaint regarding our scheduled service to the complainant within 30 days of receipt and shall send a substantive written response to each complainant within 60 days of receiving the complaint. A complaint is a specific written expression of dissatisfaction concerning a difficulty or problem which the person experienced when using or attempting to use an airline's services. Comments, requests or complaints to VNA can be made on a Comment form available on board or on online at VNA's website (www.vietnamairlines.com).

Provide customers with information
We provide the below information on VNA's website (www.vietnamarlines.com), which we hope you find useful in making your trip more enjoyable. This information is also available at VNA's Call Center, airport counters and in-flight magazines: 

• Available seats, flight schedules, departure and arrival information, situation of flight operation, route information, and fare information
• Reservations, purchase and payment of tickets
• Contents of service provided onboard and at airports
• Local travel information
• Conditions of Carriage
• VNA Lotusmiles, new customer services, campaigns