VA to HKG from Jul 5 2017, ex MEL

[serfty]

Experiences with a Quick trip to.

MEL check in opens three hours before departure - although it was 9:30pm sharp for my 12:35am flight.

MEL Domestic staff cannot (will not?) check you in. If you are connecting at MEL from an other port then they can do it at that port - strange.

Kowloon ITCI shared the same counter as Hong Kong Airways and was happily able to check me in - although they were supposed to give me a lounge pass.

As far as check in at HKG goes, I can't say when they opened.

 

[Yipchoi]

Experiences with a Quick trip to.

MEL check in opens three hours before departure - although it was 9:30pm sharp for my 12:35am flight.

MEL Domestic staff cannot (will not?) check you in. If you are connecting at MEL from an other port then they can do it at that port - strange.

Kowloon ITCI shared the same counter as Hong Kong Airways and was happily able to check me in - although they were supposed to give me a lounge pass.

As far as check in at HKG goes, I can't say when they opened.

I checked in at Hong Kong Central Train Station at around 12 noon for the 8pm flight back to MEL then could spend afternoon without worrying about luggage

 

[clipped_wings]

I've just spent the day reading through this whole thread. And I must say, I've got so excited all over again! So much anticipation and positive feedback. It's almost as fun as the first 777 that took off with "The Business" and I've just devoured every word and every photo. Kind thanks to everyone who offered their feedback.

I do have a question specifically to people who booked J:

Did anyone have difficulties viewing the seat selection page during the online booking process? I have been trying unsuccessfully for the past 2 weeks to view the J cabin loads for any flights. Tried everything to resolve this, but obviously - people are flying J, so there must be an issue at my end.
I can view seats in a dummy booking for any other VA flight, any day and any month, any cabin class, except the Hong Kong routes.

Would appreciate if someone could let me know what the load in J is like on Monday April 16, 2018 (VA87) and return April 18 (VA86)

Thanks

Well, after much searching and forum questions, it seems I could not solve the mystery of online seat selection for SYD-HKG (as above).

I gave up worrying about it and just made our booking online for April 2018. Excellent price for 2 people in J, less than $5400 return (which also ticks off the required 4 sectors for husband to maintain SG till 2019). Once the booking number was confirmed, I rang Velocity and requested our preferred seats. New itinerary was dispatched immediately - Viola! And the GTW47 code still worked a treat, saved us a few hundred dollars, which is now being redirected towards the Hong Kong Intercontinental's fabulous seafood buffet.

This will be a fun new experience for us, as we have only flown the 777 D/G centre seats before. I am really excited to have a window seat ALL TO MYSELF! But, perhaps the biggest thrill, is that I have never been to Hong Kong, so now the next few months will be spent researching all there is to do in such a limited window of time. Everyone's advice is welcome here for the best way to enjoy Hong Kong Kowloon in 48 hours.

FYI, we would have gone for a longer trip, but the kids would have noticed us missing after 4 days. So, we were smart and booked for school school holidays.

I reckon we'll be back before they even get out of bed.....

 

[Melburnian1]

The BITRE has just issued its monthly international airline statistics publication for July 2017.

While the number of passengers carried does not inform us about the all important yield per seat (or VA's costs per available seat kilometre), in July 2017 VA operated 19 flights in each direction between Melbourne and Hong Kong with total capacity each way of 5225 seats.

Inbound, 4618 revenue passengers occupied a seat for a healthy load factor of 88.4 per cent.

Outbound - from MEL north to HKG - there were 3206 passengers carried for a load factor of 61.4 per cent.

In the same month, Cathay Pacific carried 86217 passengers inbound from HKG to all its Australian destinations for a load factor of 94.4 per cent. Outbound, 64253 passengers on 337 flights made the trip to HKG with the percentage of seats occupied at 70.3.

Qantas carried 37307 passengers inbound to Oz ex HKG - 91.2 per cent load factor on 129 flights. Outbound ex Oz, Qantas had 28424 passengers and a 69.4 per cent load factor.

In total, 37660 passenger trips were made from HKG to MEL in July 2017 with 28580 outbound. This totalled 66240, up from 55999 in the same month in 2016. At least to a small extent, VA's entry may have stimulated the market.

While VA's yields may be poor given the discounted Y fares sold, this is also likely given competition for the other two nonstop carriers. All things considered, it's not as bad a start as I had thought would be the case for VA. Mind you, if it loses even $50,000 a flight (each way), that's close to $4 million over a whole year: start-up and other costs may be a lot more than many of us might think, so the losses in the first year could be way above $4 million.

 

[serfty]

There are other facets, such as the value of Hong Kong Airways connecting passenger numbers, that may not necessarily be obtainable from the BITRE statistics

 

[Melburnian1]

serfty, these connecting passengers are 'valuable' in the sense of filling seats, but it is debatable whether yields for them are any higher than for OD passengers (MEL - HKG and v.v.) Yields may be lower, as the aim of airlines is to secure a sale even if it means carrying you or I almost ;for free' on a connecting flight.

 

[serfty]

Depends on the market ..

 

[Melburnian1]

A quick check of VA89, the redeye 0135 hours MEL - HKG this Saturday 21 October showed a claimed 158 economy seats booked according to ExpertFlyer.

Usually I find this underestimates the number of passengers who actually board: do other AFF members experience this?

158 is a raw number that does not reveal anything about yield per seat, but at least it's not a case of 40 seats occupied in the economy cabin that would be disastrous revenue wise. Who knows if this is a typical load for VA in Y on the MEL - HKG sector, but if so at this non peak time of year, the company may be doing reasonably in convincing passengers to book with it and not daily QF or better than daily CX (but perhaps still losing a lot of money due to low yields.)

 

[serfty]

... a claimed 158 economy seats booked according to ExpertFlyer.

Usually I find this underestimates the number of passengers who actually board: do other AFF members experience this?

How are you getting this figure?

 

[serfty]

Seat count I presume.

Here's an image from Expert Flyer for the flight that a WP gets alongside that of a' nufin':

 

[Saab34]

Experiences with a Quick trip to.

MEL check in opens three hours before departure - although it was 9:30pm sharp for my 12:35am flight.

MEL Domestic staff cannot (will not?) check you in. If you are connecting at MEL from an other port then they can do it at that port - strange.

Kowloon ITCI shared the same counter as Hong Kong Airways and was happily able to check me in - although they were supposed to give me a lounge pass.

As far as check in at HKG goes, I can't say when they opened.

HKG/LAX/NAN/AKL/CHC flights are all run by Aerocare in Melbourne (contract ground provider -they do Tiger also) so I assume it’s hands off for VA contracted staff members unless they are connecting from another port.

Do they still have Aussie VA crew on the ground in HKG? Was for launch only but I know QF have done Aussie’s around the globe based in International ports.

 

[serfty]

I cannot recall in regard to the lounge; the gate had the standard bag searches by locals; possibly VA staff at the gate counters.

 

[sven89]

Anybody heard any rumours as to when the next 'phase' of the partnership will kick in and lounge acces and other status benefits with Hong Kong Airlines will be offered for flights on their network? Seems they've been saying "soon" for an eternity now.

Selfishly asking because I have several flights with them coming up later in the year, specifically booked after the VA/HK partnership was trumpeted. Glad to be getting the status credits, but full status benefits would of course be welcome

 

[Yipchoi]

HKG/LAX/NAN/AKL/CHC flights are all run by Aerocare in Melbourne (contract ground provider -they do Tiger also) so I assume it’s hands off for VA contracted staff members unless they are connecting from another port.

Do they still have Aussie VA crew on the ground in HKG? Was for launch only but I know QF have done Aussie’s around the globe based in International ports.

I used the downtown train station check in and it was local staff, they seemed well trained in VA check in procedures

 

[docjames]

How is the On Time Performance going? Any cancellations?


(Declare conflict of interest: Booked to travel Jun/Jul 2018)

 

[Fran&Tan]

I used the downtown train station check in and it was local staff, they seemed well trained in VA check in procedures

Great to know. WIll be using this very soon.

 

[serfty]

From E/F (Flightstats):


MEL-HKG:
(See next post for VA89)

HKG-MEL:

 

[serfty]

MEL-HKG:

 

[Oxy]

Flew this route last week and overall was quite impressed. The Etihad lounge is a great way to start a flight, a solid range of food & friendly bar staff. Our flight was delayed by 30 minutes and we were personally informed and updated by staff, which was handy as only the EY flights are displayed on the monitors in the lounge. The Y class meals were tasty and of a reasonable size, was especially nice to get a decent portion for the supper service. No problem getting service or drinks throughout the flight.
Used ITCI at Central for the return and counter 16 was displaying the VA logo, and the staff didn't have any problems checking us in at all. No lounge passes provided as a VA gold, but given a map and very specific instructions on how to find the new (and old) lounge in the terminal.
HK lounge was very tidy, functional and well presented. I really liked the space and views, lots of different zones including open napping rooms, huge PCs with curved screens, well stocked bar (with a barman who guestimated coughtail ratios), decent buffet and 5 made to order dishes. Was not busy at all during our visit prior to VA86.
The flight was quite empty in the forward economy cabin, though apparently quite full at the rear. Again decent food and service. Woken up 2 hours out of MEL for breakfast, which was a very bland omelette.
All in all would do it again when I can find an excuse.

 

[jackthomas]

Looks like the flight times for this flight have changed. Just heard from VA that my booking over Easter has changed from 1:35am departure to 11am. Means missing a whole day in HKG on an already very short weekend away