SYD-HKG in W on VS and HKG to PVG on KA in Y

[yohy?!]

With thanks to AFF and Flyertalk my recent trip from SYD-HKG was the most over-prepared I've ever taken Starting out with VS from SYD-HKG-SYD in PE with a side trip in the middle of HKG-PVG-HKG on KA respectively in Y, I was looking forward to a feast of materialism and delicious dim sum with generous helpings of warm weather.

Sector: SYD-HKG
Carrier: Virgin Atlantic
Flight Number: VS201
Cabin: Premium Economy
Date: 31 July 2010

I'd heard some very mixed reports regarding VS's quality of hard product, food, AVOD and inflight service from various reports on Flyertalk and V-Flyer. Initially I decided to bite the bullet and take a chance based on the extremely cheap points + pay fares that were on offer ($852+2,000 Flying Club Points). Coupling this with the Amex MR transfer bonus sealed the deal considering that Discount Y fares for the same dates for going for $1200+ at the time.

I watched Expert Flyer and the VS website like a hawk in the weeks up to this flight trying to work out if I should buy up to PE before the flight or risk an ODU on the day. Fortunately prices continued to drop and drop to the point where I shelled out a further $523 and another 5,000 points to confirm W class return.

Finally I'd be moving up a class in the right direction

I figured that even if the PE service was a disaster I still would have the comfort of an extra 7 inches of legroom, 3 inches of seat width and several more degrees of recline for the equivalent cost of CX or QF Discount Y.

Arriving at SYD around 90mins prior to our scheduled departure I spied a massive queue for the Y check in, fortunately the PE desk was open and clear so we were on our way very quickly. I'd preselected seat 19H in a bid to avoid being too close to the toilets altthough in retrospect I wouldn't have minded sitting near them, unfortunately row 18 had been completely snapped up in the meantime so there was no chance of scoring the bulkhead with footrest for maximum comfort and space.

After some leisurely duty dree shopping we headed for the gate where our A340-600 awaited. Upon arrival I was again pleased to enjoy priority boarding with the Upper Class folk (the only downside being turned right upon boarding - the bar looked very inviting on board!).

Upon entering the PE cabin my first impression was that the seats looked much bigger than I had expected and the cabin much more intimate compared to the Y cabin behind which seemed to stretch into infinity. I was very pleased with the leg room and space of the seat and promptly ordered a pre-departure champagne from the first FA to pass.

Bottled water, pillows, blanket and amenity kit were already waiting at my seat so all that was left to do was sit back, relax and await take-off. I enjoyed the cutesy, animated safety video although the ageing video tape playback was not a particularly good look - in fact I was extremely worried that I might have ended up on equipment that had looped IFE but fortunately this wasn't the case.

Following take-off and climb out the V-Port AVOD was switched on and I found the system to be not particularly impressive as it looks dated and ran very slowly. After a few minutes of exploring the content I found it to be adequate with around 30 movies, a large number of CDs and TV shows (more comparable to TG than EK I thought).

Around 40mins into the flight dinner was served and I chose the Sichuan Pepper Chicken with blueberry cheesecake and green salad. The food was edible but not particularly great and the only thing premium seemed to be the cloth napkin and real cutlery, overall it was acceptable though. I enjoyed an after dinner brandy and settled back to enjoy a repeat viewing of 'Up In The Air'

The W cabin is curtained off from the rest of Y which gives a more secluded and exclusive feel which I enjoyed, a few cheeky Y pax tried to slip through the curtin to make use of the PE toilets and were promptly sent packing by the cabin crew.

The rest of the flight was fairly uneventful, a 'snack' was served shortly before landing which consisted of a dry ham quiche and a bitter coffee. Again not particularly premium but adequate for the task.

Arrival into HKG was on time and our baggage was first on the carousel which was a nice ending to my first time out of Y. Overall I found that VS PE was acceptable as a Y+ experience, cabin crew were particularly helpful being a mixture of UK and HKG staff. Given the price paid + points was around $750 cheaper than QF PE I thought it was excellent value for a more comfortable travel option.

Up next: HKG-PVG-HKG in Dragonair Y

 

[anat0l]

yohy?!, nice write up on PE on VS. I flew VS Upper Class last year and, like you, I found the food at best adequate. Taste wasn't particularly great and range was not impressive. AVOD for me was slow, too, although it is highly praised (or used to be) around the world. I do like the PIP option (program in small and map in large).

Looking forward to the rest of the TR.

 

[kamchatsky]

Yohy?!, good to see your trip report.

I did SYD-HKG on VS PE in January this year on awards (27K FC points which is a bargain). Whilst I like the room in PE, I find the food quite average. They had a problem with IFE that day so didn't watch any movies.

I flew HKG-SYD on VS J (40K FC points) in June and it was much better experience. The Clubhouse at HKG was fantastic, the bed is great for sleeping, even though food on board is not the best in J compared with other airlines. But you can always have good food at The Clubhouse at HKG. Whilst IFE was dated it was sufficient.

 

[yohy?!]

Yohy?!, good to see your trip report.

I did SYD-HKG on VS PE in January this year on awards (27K FC points which is a bargain). Whilst I like the room in PE, I find the food quite average. They had a problem with IFE that day so didn't watch any movies.

I flew HKG-SYD on VS J (40K FC points) in June and it was much better experience. The Clubhouse at HKG was fantastic, the bed is great for sleeping, even though food on board is not the best in J compared with other airlines. But you can always have good food at The Clubhouse at HKG. Whilst IFE was dated it was sufficient.

I was very tempted to upgrade the return leg to J as it's a night flight. The ODU price was 1050GBP which unfortunately I couldn't afford, in hindsight I think it would've been worth it at as I only managed 2 hours sleep

 

[yohy?!]

HKG with VS, PVG with KA

Sector: HKG-PVG
Carrier: Dragonair
Flight Number: KA874
Cabin: Economy
Date: 4 August 2010

After soaking up some rays on Repulse Bay, eating way too much excellant Thai, Chinese and Japanese food on Hong Kong Island and wearing the plastic white hot shopping up a storm it was time to continue the trip onto Shanghai.

I'd spent quite a bit of time working out the best way to get there. Considering both domestic and international options across the airline choices available I decided that for a $100aud premium over the rest I would go for Dragonair given the likelihood of delays and their recent Skytraxx 'Best Regional Airline' award.

Arriving at HKG airport for this 1pm departure the check-in queue moved quite quickly. The agent checking us in advised that due to passing thunderstorms there had been some delays on our route, our flight was very full apparently with earlier stragglers. We were asked if we could take the 2pm flight with a meal voucher as compensation, we declined the offer but in hindsight a few hours later I slapped my head at not thinking to ask for a J upgrade to take the later flight - I'll know better for next time

Today we would be travelling on a Dragonair A330-300, unfortunately not the one in the 25th anniversary special livery (which looks very nice). Boarding for J and Elites took quite some time, I was surprised to see that J was full on this sector and there were also obviously quite a few Marco Polo Elites utilizing their priority boarding rights.

I'd selected seat 25A for this trip, the cabin struck me as well worn but very clean. Bottled water was left on each seat and the FAs were extremely efficient and helpful in getting everyone settled. J class seemed to have QF Domestic J style Blue cloth seating which I didn't particularly like the look of, from what I could see though the FAs gave extremely good service to the business pax.

Keeping an eye on the time I'd realised that we were already 10min past our departure time without pushing back and it seemed likely that we'd missed our slot. Sure enough after a few minutes the Kiwi Captain was on the PA to advise that PVG ATC had instituted 'flow-control' and we would have to wait at least 40 mins before taking off. He was very apologetic for the delay but also firmly asked pax to 'respect' FAs as the situation was beyond theirs and the companies control.

In the end we departed 90mins late, the climb out seemed much longer than I was used to. It seemed like we levelled off a few times before reaching cruise altitude, the views were amazing of the storm cells and we made a lot of turns to avoid the angry grey/blue areas around us.

Again the FAs were efficient and friendly in getting the service done for our late lunch, printed menus were provided for either a beef or pork option with waldorf salad and Haagen-Daz ice cream for dessert. I chose the pork and have to say hands down that this was the best Y meal that I have experienced on any carrier I've travelled (CX, QF, TG, EK, KE) it was the way that airline food should always be served: good flavour, correct temperature and quality ingredients.

After enjoying strawberry ice cream and a few white wines I settled back and watched an episode of 'Modern Family' followed by a documentary on Hong Kong. There was no personal IFE on this equipment just main screen but this was perfectly adequate for this short sector. I found my new Sony in-ear noise cancelling headphones to be excellant even when connected to the aircraft audio, the sensation of the background noise dropping away once the noise cancelling was switched on it very nice!

We passed PVG over the sea before a sharp turn back to land on the runway closest to the ocean, the severity of the haze and smog was a bit of a shock even though I'd been expecting it. I can't imagine breathing it everyday to be particularly healthy. We touched down smoothly around 95mins after scheduled arrival and disembarked quickly.

Overally I was impressed with this flight even given the delay as this route is frequently impacted by the sheer volume of flights into PVG. I felt that KAs reputation and awards were merited and would certainly fly them again over the mainland Chinese carriers. Now it was time for Expo and plenty more food and shopping