Fly Vietnam Airlines Nonstop from San Francisco to Saigon, Vietnam for 52,000 Delta SkyMiles
Updated on June 29, 2025 | Tim Haig
Route map of VN 99 from San Francisco (SFO) to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (SGN)
Ho Chi Minh City is now less than 16 hours away from San Francisco, thanks to Vietnam Airlines’ four-times-weekly flight which began in November 2021. This is the only nonstop service from North America to Indochina.
San Francisco to Saigon takes 15 hours and 40 minutes and departs late at night from San Francisco, giving passengers plenty of opportunity to sleep before arriving in Saigon in the very early morning two days later.
Onward flights within Vietnam connect well to the arrival from San Francisco, including to Hanoi, Phu Quoc Island, Da Lat, Da Nang, and Nha Trang.
Saigon is one of only two Southeast Asian destination currently served nonstop from the US. Singapore is served by Singapore Airlines and United Airlines, and Air Canada serves Bangkok seasonally from Vancouver, Canada.
| Vietnam Airlines | VN 99 | VN 98 |
|---|---|---|
| Route | SFO-SGN | SGN-SFO |
| Departs | 10:50pm PDT | 6:45pm ICT |
| Arrives | 4:30am ICT +2 | 6:40pm PDT |
| Duration | 15h40 | 13h55 |
| Frequency | Wed, Thurs, Sat, Sun | Wed, Thurs, Sat, Sun |
| Inaugural Flight | Nov 28, 2021 | Nov 28, 2021 |
| Season | Year-Round | |
| Nautical Miles | 6811 | |
| Equipment | A350-900 | |
Vietnam Airlines connects San Francisco to Saigon four times a week (photo: Tron Le, Unsplash)
How comfortable is Vietnam Airlines’ flight to Saigon, Vietnam?
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Vietnam Airlines uses an Airbus A350-900 on its flight from San Francisco to Saigon (photo: Vietnam Airlines)
Vietnam Airlines uses its premium long-haul Airbus A350-900 on this 15-hour-and-40-minute flight to Saigon. Seat maps show 305 seats: 231 seats in Economy (in a 3-3-3 configuration), 45 seats in Premium Economy and 29 seats in Business Class. Seat pitch is a reasonable 31-32” in Economy.
Meal service in Economy includes two three-course meals, non-alcoholic beverages and house beer or wine. Menus can be viewed in advance at vietnamairlines.com.
The late night departure from SFO-SGN is especially helpful for minimizing jet lag and encouraging sleep on board. Returning to San Francisco, the departure time isn’t quite as beneficial (early evening as opposed to late night), but will still enable a few hours of sleep before the evening arrival in San Francisco.
Is it better to use money or miles when flying to Saigon, Vietnam on Vietnam Airlines?
Saigon River and city skyline (photo: Lieu Cap, Unsplash)
Vietnam Airlines is a SkyTeam member so it’s possible to use Delta SkyMiles to redeem flight awards on this nonstop route from SFO-SGN. However, demand on this route is strong, and SkyMiles award availability was quite limited at the time of posting.
The lowest roundtrip Economy award redemption was found for 104,000 miles +$46.
Premium Economy availability was more limited, with the lowest roundtrip redemption found for 192,000 miles +$46.
Business class was the most limited and could only be found on isolated dates 6 months out for 695,000 miles +$46 roundtrip.
—Tim Haig
