Melbourne to Hong Kong return for $768 economy with Virgin Atlantic.
Deal is similar to Qantas and Cathay deals, except that this flight is not a direct flight, with stopover in Sydney.
This deal is not advertised (yet), so I do not have have exact travel dates, but from a basic search it's valid for dates from Feb to Jun 2012 for most flights.
Good deal if you live in Melbourne!
Also, Sydney to Hong Kong return is $764 economy, which is cheap, but not as the current
Qantas or Cathay deals
I see competition heating up!
I'd much prefer Cathay or Qantas as I found Virgin Staff to be very rude (could be my bad luck). Long story short, I gave my father in law a 4L can of olive oil to take back to HK and it was not allowed on board because they said it was a flammable liquid. The lady was rude and when I questioned her about the airline's policy she picked up a phone to a supervisior and lifted up the can to show him then slammed the phone down and said "do you believe me now?" Without risking any repercussions for my father in law's flight I decided not to argue on but Virgin won't be having any further business ever from my family.
Flown with them about 6 times to HK and they have been really good every time, I must have been lucky. A couple of trips ago I left a suitcase in the taxi, the hostess in the First Class lounge at HK offered to contact the taxi company for me when I asked for the phone number, and she even followed it up like she said she would by emailing me an update when I arrived back in Oz, and reported it to the police for me.
Either way the prices on this route from all carriers are looking good.
Oils in general are not allowed on board aircraft unless you check them in with special notice.
Regarding this deal, you're better off choosing Cathay or QF, heard nothing but crap about Virgin Atlantic.
Qantas does not have this restriction as I went over and asked specifically about this. The only thing they do suggest is that you bag it up with the plastic bags they provide at the check-in counters just incase the seal breaks and the oil gets to luggage belonging to other passengers.
Is olive oil expensive in hong kong?
Yes, nearly double the price here!
I think you'll find Virgin Atlantic staff are much better once you're on the plane. Their ground staff tend to be a bit rude
I can vouch for the seats and seat pitch being terrible. Qantas seats are far better than both Virgin Atlantic and Cathay and I would be willing to pay more to fly Qantas. Read up the seat reviews on seat guru before booking and flying. Probably not a problem to HK (as only 12 hours) but definitely an issue of going to Europe.
Olive Oil is flammable, you're a fool for even trying to bring flammable liquids onto the plane.
Do you need me to demonstrate with a match?
And then say "Do you believe me now?"
Not meaning to be harsh or anything, but dude, something called common sense…
Olive oil is flammable only when the temperature reaches its flashpoint (or smoke point) which is at least 200 degrees celsius (higher for extra virgin). I'd doubt that a match could light it up.
Interestly Qantas has a section about transporting dangerous goods: http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/dangerous-goods/glo…
If you read down to the section for "Camping stoves and fuel containers that have contained a flammable liquid fuel", you will notice that they suggest that when transporting these items "adding cooking oil to the fuel tank and/or container to elevate the flash point" would "nullify the danger" of the item. This basically implies that cooking oil is safe to transport on a plane and would not pose as a danger for fires.
doesn't excuse rude customer service.
not everyone knows common things on all topics. I'm sure there'd be thing you won't know about topics you're not familiar with which others might cite as "commonsense" :)
+1 to Virgin for being vigilant
Your story is not a very sympathetic one. +1 for common sense and well established rules of flying.
My main problem was Virgin's rude service which is unacceptable on any circumstance. Even when a customer is wrong (which I don't think we were - see my comments under cwongtech's), you should only tell them in a polite and professional manner that the items cannot be brought onboard. I don't think any customer should be treated in the way we were given that we were polite to her all the way through.
Mate, something called PMS.
it's not about the oil.. it's about the rude customer service..
haven't said that though, I've had nothing but great service from them in business and premium economy. Yay for frequent flyer points earned via credit cards :-)
Maybe if you bought VIRGIN olive oil you would've had better luck….;-p
Otherwise, i'd have to side with the airlines in stopping that. I'd rather not be on a flight where people can take on that much liquid…who knows what it could be.
For the record, it was extra virgin… and it was part of the checked baggage, not carry on. I don't think there are restrictions to the quantity of unflammable liquids in checked baggage so in regards to not knowing what it is, I could be checking in 10L of water (or a clear liquid that looks like water) and no one would notice the difference and the checkout staff would not stop me. But I'm sure airport staff have the necessary equipment to detect whether there is a prohibited or dangerous substance being put on a plane.
What's the difference between a few litres of oil and a few litres of high percentage alcohol?
The olive oil is much harder to combust than 50%+ alcohol. As a bonus, the alcohol is almost always stored in a glass bottle, making for a handy weapon when broken.
huh? someone negatived you for your post?!?!?!
anyhoo, personal experience is they're pretty good.. but that's in premium economy and business class. Haven't travelled economy but heard from those that have that the seats are small.
In relation to your bad experience, you should have gotten her details and made an official complaint. Virgin take customer service pretty seriously. How'd you get pass customs with a 4L can of liquid? The limit is 100ml…
All we're now waiting for is cheap flights from Brisbane to Hong Kong ><"
Why not get some cheap connecting flights…?
Yeah; BNE->HK and I'm on it!
good deal, same price from sydney to hk. if you want to leave at the start of feb, qantas and cathay are sold out of cheap tickets, so this is the way to go atm.
is this the only MEL-HKG deal. Other people talking up Cathay and Qantas, but I'm not sure either of these two are offerring deals from Melbourne.
I got my Mel-HKG cathay a few months back for ~850. direct.
Anyone know any Adelaide to hk deals?
Great price. Thank you.
Just booked, and found it cheaper at Expedia. $764 return, Melbourne to Hong Kong via Sydney, including taxes, cc charges, gst etc.
do virgin have headrest TV's like cathay?
Yes - Older style 4:3 though, inflight entertainment would be better on Cathay.
wonder anyone knows if you can actually stop over in Sydney for a few days to/from HK with this offer.
thanks
Can't seem to order any flights on the Melbourne to Hong Kong Route, it just comes up with an error.
Tried for March2012 -> April 2012.
You can select the flight but once you press to book it, it gives error on site.
Book it over the phone for $742.80.
EDIT: NVM Found it ! Thanks !
This is the only sale I can find: http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/au/twoweeksale.jsp
and it states From $1146