VA to DPS

[clarmich]

My wife and I are travelling with our children (5yo and 18m) ADL-MEL-DPS in July.

We depart ADL at 6am, arriving MEL 0755 then departing to DPS at 0905.

We are flying J and my wife, my son and myself are all WP with VA. But I have a few questions that I'm hoping you can help me with:

1. Express path - haven't flown out of MEL international for some time. Do they have express immigration path outbound and if yes, will we get given passes in Adelaide or need to swing by check-in in Melbourne?

2. Time for lounge - what are the queues like that time of morning in MEL - do you think we'll have time to swing by the Air NZ lounge given it's a 70 minute transit?

3. Champagne - I've read conflicting reports on whether VA serve champagne in J to Bali - can anyone confirm?

4. VIP arrival in Bali - is it true that this service is currently unavailable? What's the story

Thanks for your advice in advance - I appreciate it.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

I did ADL SYD AKL, first leg with VA, then NZ.
ADL check in staff said they didn't have express cards, so I had to ask in SYD.
Ask for it in ADL anyway, ... when you check in, there is no OLCI for VA flights internationally, so you would need to get to ADL airport at your earliest convenience, do the ADL Vlounge, and play the ANZ lounge in MEL by ear.
70 mins is a bit tight to play with, especially when you have to go through MELi security first, then immigration procedures.
Not to mention full body scan if the security staff pick you to have it done.
Enjoy.
PS, personally, I prefer a wider jet, so if I had the chance, I would have gone via SIN with SQ! At least SQ has OLCI, ...
The Mods don't like me warbling, so thats all from me on this.

 

[BillytheFIsh]

3. No champagne or even Australian sparkling when we flew on 30 December last year. The hostie suggested we provide feedback to try and get it loaded in future, which we did in writing, but never heard back.

4. No VIP when we went. But we cleared in <10 mins so would have been a waste for us anyway.