Is Velocity almost defunct for long-haul business class rewards?

[SCM]

Which route?

SYD -DOH, it used to be A380, now it's 777, but there's a second 777 under VA (in addition to the current 777 VA).

So basically we are going from...

A380 (QR)
777 (VA)

To now...

777 (QR)
777 (VA)

And in December...

777 (QR)
777 (QR)
777 (VA)


Mind you this is just Sydney, but capacity is temporarily reduced now.

 

[iamsuperandrew]

SYD -DOH, it used to be A380, now it's 777, but there's a second 777 under VA (in addition to the current 777 VA).

So basically we are going from...

A380 (QR)
777 (VA)

To now...

777 (QR)
777 (VA)

And in December...

777 (QR)
777 (QR)
777 (VA)


Mind you this is just Sydney, but capacity is temporarily reduced now.

Will any be the CX leased planes with F?

 

[bcworld]

Will any be the CX leased planes with F?

No. All QSuite.

 

[oliverd]

I logged on intending to start a thread with the same question (or rant!!
I'm generally a Happy (Platinum) VFF Member with most of my flying being domestic - but am also QFF LTG with the ability to transfer Amex point to QF for reward redemptions.
The lack of J reward availability with VFF is woeful - I cannot see ANY seats to Europe or the US, even when testing dates well out into next year. Seems I am not the only one seeing this.
Doesn't seem like there is any solution, other than reverting to QFF or transferring VFF points to SIA, which seems to have way better availability.
Really hope this is addressed or Virgin joins Star Alliance every time I fly internationally I re-think my loyalty to VA!!

 

[MELso]

Agreed.

I booked a MEL-SYD hop for next year to catch up with a friend for the footy. The SYD-MEL leg is in J as it's decent. There was oodles of availability too.

Internationally though, VA is pretty dire so conversion to SQ is definitely an attractive option.

SQ - reasonable for PE, but J gets picked over by the time 330 days rolls around meaning it's luck of the draw what else shows up. Even then, carrier charges are crazy high compared to SQ itself.
UA - holds back long haul J redemptions for credit card partners these days making redemption difficult.
AC - no rhyme or reason as to when J comes out particularly to/from Australia.
QR - okay, but I suspect this is down to the current troubles, and many (like me) have a strong preference not to fly through the Middle East for the foreseeable future.
NH - picked over by the time 330 days rolls around.
HX - okay, but managing bookings is a chore.
VS - a total coughshoot whether the call centre can even book an award (as I discovered trying to book one in whY).
SAA, Hainan, Capital and Tianjin are all fairly niche.

I suspect that with QR in OW, VA won't end up in Star Alliance though.

 

[fkcn]

I wasn’t even aware that VS/Virgin Atlantic was an option. Though from what you say, barely an option.

 

[MrJetset]

Remember that to search SQ Awards you need 7,500 KF miles now.

 

[MELso]

Remember that to search SQ Awards you need 7,500 KF miles now.

More like 1000 miles for the website, and no restriction on the app.

 

[ChrisFlyer]

I wasn’t even aware that VS/Virgin Atlantic was an option. Though from what you say, barely an option.

Has anyone had any luck in recent times snagging anything other than economy on VS? The award seat fare class for partners used to be in Expert Flyer but finding it hard to match things up. Even if I find award seats bookable through Flying Blue or Delta on VS, Velocity's call centre can't get them. (Granted, these airlines have a JV with VS, so may get better availability.) Haven't tried for a while but may be inspired to try again if there is some distant chance of success!

 

[MELso]

Has anyone had any luck in recent times snagging anything other than economy on VS? The award seat fare class for partners used to be in Expert Flyer but finding it hard to match things up. Even if I find award seats bookable through Flying Blue or Delta on VS, Velocity's call centre can't get them. (Granted, these airlines have a JV with VS, so may get better availability.) Haven't tried for a while but may be inspired to try again if there is some distant chance of success!

I tried (and failed) to book my first award on VS using Velocity points in October. JFK to LHR in Y for September 2027.

The Air France website is good to check availability at 331 days BUT to be able to book, it needs to show up on a direct search on the day you're trying to book on VS' own website.

Some notes from my experience:
* Availability is at 331 days out
* Air France and SAS will show what flights on VS are available to book on partners at 12AM UTC (so 10AM AEST/11AM AEDT) 331 days out.
* BUT, while showing as available, I wasn't able to book my seat at 11AM AEDT (my first failure). Instead, I had to wait for it to show up on VS' own website. At 9.30PM AEDT, this entered a twilight zone where it would show on searches for the day before but not show as available as I couldn't search for the day itself.
* That night, the operator indicated it was available and tried placing a booking but this failed.
* By the next morning, the date I wanted the flight could be selected and I tried again to book the flight but once again the CSR indicated the booking failed.
* Carrier charges were to be about $A40 so a LOT less than VS themselves want.

In the end, I gave up on VS through VA, and instead booked my BOS-JFK-LHR flight on AA and BA in Y and PE for $US836.