I’m planning to book a direct flight from Melbourne, Australia to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and return, with Vietnam Airlines. I have both a Vietnamese and an Australian passport, and I plan to use my Vietnamese passport for immigration in Vietnam and my Australian passport for immigration in Australia.

However, the order of my given names is different on each passport. Whilst the actual given names are the same, on my Vietnamese passport, the middle name is before the first name, as per the Vietnamese naming tradition, but on my Australian passport, the first name is before the middle name, as per the Western naming tradition. The surnames on both passports are identical.

E.g. the name on my Vietnamese passport is Smith John Edward whilst the name on my Australian passport is Smith Edward John, with Smith being my surname, Edward being my first name and John being my middle name.

My question is, which should be my name on the Vietnam Airlines booking, and which of my passports should I present at the check in counter? I’m particularly worried as I’ve heard that Vietnam Airlines is particularly fussy about the order of names having to match your passport, especially if you are Vietnamese. I’ve flown with other airlines and none of them have been concerned with the order of names having to match your passport, but I have heard stories about Vietnam Airlines on forums, especially at Melbourne Airport.

Has anyone been in the same situation as me, if so what did you do?