VA withdraws all services from Hong Kong

[wfdTamar]

Tell me - if there is a flight operated by British Airways, but actually flying on Malaysian & Qantas, which carriers baggage allowance is used? All it's saying is '1 piece'.

I wish there was a flight search engine with baggage allowance as a filter.

This has to be a mistake - British Airways 23kg checked in + 23kg cabin + 23kg handbag

Baggage allowance | Information | British Airways

Compare British Airways' range of inclusive hand and checked baggage allowances and get detailed information on the generous size and weight limits.

www.britishairways.com

 

[Bagpuss]

Still here! No fare difference or changed baggage conditions...yet...I haven’t seen the new tickets yet as VA are stalling a bit by now doing “oh you need to speak to Virgin Atlantic”.

Hope you can get satisfaction, it seems very much who you end up being lucky enough to speak to, which is not the way to handle this!

As bazare as it sounds it is likely true if you have a Virgin Atlantic flight as part of the ticket. (IE Hong Kong - London Heathrow). If your Virgin Australia flights are VA flight numbers and your Virgin Atlantic flights are VS flight numbers then the ticket is issued by Virgin Atlantic.
The round the world tickets which RoundAbout Travel issued (IE SYD/MEL - HKG - LHR - Select US Ports - LAX - SYD/MEL) were Virgin Atlantic tickets.

 

[wfdTamar]

Next Issue related to this - I had booked a domestic Virgin flight (Launceston - MEL) with the 2 x 23kg bags to link up with my MEL - LHR but some days before and after as I have a relative in MEL. Paid for it with a Gift Card.

Because the MEL-LHR flight has been cancelled and refunded I want to cancel the domestic. They're saying they will only give me a 'Travel bank credit' valid for 12 months! First I'm going away for 4 months, second I'm not a big flyer so unlikely to use it in the remaining 5 months. Third if I did fly, I certainly wont be using Virgin.

Consumer law says refunds have to be in the form used for payment - in this case a gift card. The law is gift cards have to be valid for 3 years.

 

[Ralphie]

As bazare as it sounds it is likely true if you have a Virgin Atlantic flight as part of the ticket. (IE Hong Kong - London Heathrow). If your Virgin Australia flights are VA flight numbers and your Virgin Atlantic flights are VS flight numbers then the ticket is issued by Virgin Atlantic.
The round the world tickets which RoundAbout Travel issued (IE SYD/MEL - HKG - LHR - Select US Ports - LAX - SYD/MEL) were Virgin Atlantic tickets.

Ah. Thank you! VS are responsible for what would have been HKG-LHR but now just the LHR-LAX leg. I assumed that VA were the main carrier but obviously I didn’t know.

 

[TheInsider]

Tell me - if there is a flight operated by British Airways, but actually flying on Malaysian & Qantas, which carriers baggage allowance is used? All it's saying is '1 piece'.

I wish there was a flight search engine with baggage allowance as a filter.

This has to be a mistake - British Airways 23kg checked in + 23kg cabin + 23kg handbag

Baggage allowance | Information | British Airways

Compare British Airways' range of inclusive hand and checked baggage allowances and get detailed information on the generous size and weight limits.

www.britishairways.com

Any airline that offers 1pce of luggage makes it automatically 1 pce at 23kgs. If it's a kg allowance then you can have say 23 - 1kg bags for a 23kg allowance.

 

[wfdTamar]

I'm not sure if that's correct because I have seen some say 1 piece and then gone further in the booking process and it's 1 x 30kg. That's a slightly different issue to which company determines the allowance - the operator, or the actual airline(s) used?

 

[bcworld]

This has to be a mistake - British Airways 23kg checked in + 23kg cabin + 23kg handbag

BA does allow 2 x 23kg carry on baggage...but those 23kg need to fit into the standard carry on / hand bag size. So unless you're taking bricks on board you're probably not going to come close to 46kg!

 

[wfdTamar]

No, but I can take on a wheelie and a day pack and get some heavy item I have in the wheelie. Wont get to 23, but more than 10 so that should suit me. Only thing is there are multiple airlines on these routes which is why I asked the other question about who determines the weights - the booking airline or the flying airline?

The agent I had booked through reckon it's the former.

 

[lilkid28]

Supposed to travel early April from MEL-SYD-HKG return (2x J award tickets). Got a call from Velocity to advise route cancellation and offered to travel on QF in J. Cancelled the trip due to series of events happening overseas. Received points and taxes refund already.

I was wondering if I had taken the QF tickets, would that be a revenue ticket which earns points and SC?

 

[Bagpuss]

Supposed to travel early April from MEL-SYD-HKG return (2x J award tickets). Got a call from Velocity to advise route cancellation and offered to travel on QF in J. Cancelled the trip due to series of events happening overseas. Received points and taxes refund already.

I was wondering if I had taken the QF tickets, would that be a revenue ticket which earns points and SC?

Yes you would have.

 

[MH_fan]

Are VA offering refunds for flight cancellations before Mar 1 (as in travel prior to this date)?

 

[serfty]

I posted a policy pdf upthread - think a refund is available for any booking.

 

[wfdTamar]

Another problem with this is whereas if you bought your fare early you might have been covered (by some travel insurance policies) for a cancellation due to corona, when you rebook a flight now you might not.

 

[Muppet501st]

We were on the SYD-HKG flight the Thursday 6th ( 90min delay leaving but happy with that as it meant less time without lounge access in HKG) and the FA informed me that they had just received emails confirming the route cancellation from March. The FA was visually upset as they were contracted to that route and not sure what would happen come March.
there were less than 50 pax that I counted and only 1 pax in J!
very sad as I enjoyed this as part of theVS/va rtw deal.

 

[Luke B]

Booked MEL-LAX, JFK-LHR, LHR-HKG-SYD on a RTW fare (VA, VS, VS, VA). Managed to get a reroute via LAX on the return a day later ex LHR. Thankfully all in J but am expecting a long day of flying on the return.

 

[Bagpuss]

Booked MEL-LAX, JFK-LHR, LHR-HKG-SYD on a RTW fare (VA, VS, VS, VA). Managed to get a reroute via LAX on the return a day later ex LHR. Thankfully all in J but am expecting a long day of flying on the return.

Notice Roundabout Travel’s RTW airfare is now using Cathay Pacific to connect through Hong Kong. Virgin Business Class RTW Airfare | RoundAbout Travel

 

[Luke B]

Notice Roundabout Travel’s RTW airfare is now using Cathay Pacific to connect through Hong Kong. Virgin Business Class RTW Airfare | RoundAbout Travel

We had the option of going CX from HKG in June but chose to avoid HKG completely.

 

[Ralphie]

My circumstances have changed again - it appears VA offered Etihad but now VS have overruled and we have to continue via Hong Kong so have offered QANTAS or Cathay.

QANTAS aren’t available the day we need so the only choice is Cathay which is fine but irritating because we could have taken that from Adelaide, but we’ve been given no flexibility on changing that so we’re going via Sydney.

 

[MH_fan]

Called VA to cancel flights to HKG last week. No problems even if our flights left and returned before Mar 1. Refund back in cc within a week of the cancellation!

 

[Formal Hall]

Is Virgin offering Original Routing Credit (points and SC) for people who have booked revenue fares? Apparently my return ticket will be 'automatically cancelled and refunded' as of tomorrow, but no one in the call centre can confirm if ORC will be offered.