I bought some flight for a return trip Sydney-Paris next year in August for a very good price. There are several dates working for this fare.
Skyscanner gives 2 links to DeNa Travel and Bestjet for $1137 return with Vietnam Airlines.
Also you need to be aware that August is holiday month in France, a lot of businesses shut down for the entire month, a lot of tourists invade and it is hot. We were in one town 20 km outside of Paris which has a single bakery and it shut for all of August so no more fresh baguettes!
http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/when-is-the-worst-tim…
The heat will be extreme in July to August.
Ive done this particular flight quite possibly the most uncomfortable seats ever. Its like the old thick seats from a 1980s qantas plane stuck in Longreach.
My review on that flight"
I have done the same flight, and the first layover was great, I took a visa and went out in Ho Chi Minh and did the "Ao Dai Tour" which is basically a 3hours tour of the city on a scooter driven very safely by young ladies that speak a very good english.
I did that with my gf (we are 26yo) and that was a great way to spend the layover.
We did not sleep in the first flight, did the tour, hop in the 2nd flight and slept for 10 hours, 3 hours flight left and we were in Paris.
I would recommend to do the same if you can.
On the return flight tho, we had Air France combined with Vietnam, and the seats were awful. couldn't sleep at all.
Arrived in HCMC, jetlag, need to sleep so we slept for couple hours in the airport, then went out shopping in HCMC and also for hot stones massage.
I've done Air France back from Paris and agree, they are awful. The plane was old, the seats were hard, not the way to end a holiday.
Worth Checking Royal Brunei as have seen their return Melbourne to London flights as low as $1200 on modern dreamliner. Can't remember time of year. Skyscanner shows cheaper live pricing than their website.
Note there are 8 & 12 hour layovers in Ho Chi Minh…