Virgin Australia ~$3500 J class RTW ticket thread

[brown891]

Hi all,

Wanted to put a feeler out to see how many people on here jumped on the VA J class promotion from a while ago.

I booked a ticket in Jan/Feb 2018 for BNE-MEL-HKG-LHR-LAX-BNE over 3 weeks (15/01-10/02) and thought it could be good for people on similar itineraries to share their experiences as they go. How they find the experience of lounge/particular seat/service/tips and tricks found along the way etc. etc.

Figured most people's itineraries will be similar to that or in the opposite direction??

Also might be a nice way to see if we are on same flights etc.

It will be my first J class trip ever so I'm really looking forward to it!

Also if this has been posted already - more than happy to be pointed in the right direction.

Look forward to hearing from some of you!

 

[liamsal]

My trip is coming up in 10 days - really looking forward to it (especially considering it was ridiculously cheap). My itinerary is the same as yours: BNE - MEL - HKG (24 hrs) - LHR (6 days) - LAX (10 days) - BNE and I paid $3100~. Thinking about doing my first TR for it but haven't decided if I will yet.

Will definitely post my experience with lounges, transfers etc in case I run into any problems. Only have 80 minute layover in MEL so doubt I'll get much time (if any) in the Etihad lounge.

As an added bonus the trip nets about 620~ status credits which will re-qualify me for WP. Also a decent amount of points too

 

[brown891]

My trip is coming up in 10 days - really looking forward to it (especially considering it was ridiculously cheap). My itinerary is the same as yours: BNE - MEL - HKG (24 hrs) - LHR (6 days) - LAX (10 days) - BNE and I paid $3100~. Thinking about doing my first TR for it but haven't decided if I will yet.

Will definitely post my experience with lounges, transfers etc in case I run into any problems. Only have 80 minute layover in MEL so doubt I'll get much time (if any) in the Etihad lounge.

As an added bonus the trip nets about 620~ status credits which will re-qualify me for WP. Also a decent amount of points too

Amazing! yes please would love to hear how it all goes for you. Especially the lounge access in LAX because of the flight times, I'm unsure what access we get (eg. Etihad lounge opens at a time VA flight isn't there???)

Yep I think it may be 660SC's
BNE-MEL = 60
MEL-HKG = 120
HKG-LHR = 160
LHR-LAX = 160
LAX-BNE = 160
+ ~70k points earned also.
And then if you are doing any internal flying in US with Delta that can add more.

My itinerary is 1 night MEL, 6 nights HKG, 11 nights LHR and 7 nights LAX.

$3100 is an absolute steal!

 

[liamsal]

Amazing! yes please would love to hear how it all goes for you. Especially the lounge access in LAX because of the flight times, I'm unsure what access we get (eg. Etihad lounge opens at a time VA flight isn't there???)

Yep I think it may be 660SC's
BNE-MEL = 60
MEL-HKG = 120
HKG-LHR = 160
LHR-LAX = 160
LAX-BNE = 160
+ ~70k points earned also.
And then if you are doing any internal flying in US with Delta that can add more.

My itinerary is 1 night MEL, 6 nights HKG, 11 nights LHR and 7 nights LAX.

$3100 is an absolute steal!

Depends which flight you're on re LAX lounge access. I'm on the daytime flight home (VA6) so get LAX International Lounge access. The evening departing flights get access to Etihad and Emirates lounge (not sure if you can access both or just one, saw a few threads discussing it here but didn't really take it in).

 

[brown891]

Depends which flight you're on re LAX lounge access. I'm on the daytime flight home (VA6) so get LAX International Lounge access. The evening departing flights get access to Etihad and Emirates lounge (not sure if you can access both or just one, saw a few threads discussing it here but didn't really take it in).

Yeah from what I read you get Etihad because of the business class (provided its open at the time of flight departure) and Emirates is for the moment available to Gold Velocity members. I will be Gold by the time I'm in LAX but unfortunately on the early flight so don't think it will be open.

 

[liamsal]

Etihad lounge in MEL today was deserted before the flight to HKG - probably 6 or so people. Plenty of self service food available (hot/cold options, smoothies, fruit, yogurt, muffins etc) - barista coffee too.

 

[Roflco]

Man I hope this deal comes around again.

 

[stono]

I just returned from this trip. My routing was ADL-MEL-LAX-LHR-HKG-MEL-ADL. I had separate flights booked to JFK, Washington and Edinburgh. I was away for 28 days.
Lounges were excellent, especially the Virgin Atlantic lounge in Heathrow. As i was flying Virgin Atlantic out of LAX, i used the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse in terminal 2 instead of Emirates or Etihad.

A reminder, Virgin Atlantic has a Revival lounge for arriving passengers. It is after customs.

On-board service on all flights was the same as other J class passengers. When chatting to Flight Attendants about the special, they had no idea about it. Bumped into a couple of people on the RTW special in the lounges and inflight bar.

Any questions, just ask

 

[clipped_wings]

How exciting! We are planning a very quick trip SYD-MEL-HKG return in J, so I would be very interested to hear about the MEL-HKG flights, plus any information on pre-departure Lounges in Hong Kong.

We're only gone for 4 days, so it's a whirlwind visit. But any holiday is a holiday eh? And the flights have been determined as a huge part of the experience.

Still deciding over the Marco Polo or Intercontinental for our accommodation....

 

[liamsal]

How exciting! We are planning a very quick trip SYD-MEL-HKG return in J, so I would be very interested to hear about the MEL-HKG flights, plus any information on pre-departure Lounges in Hong Kong.

See my post here: http://www.australianfrequentflyer....va-hkg-jul-5-2017-a-76561-39.html#post1685620 - it was fantastic

 

[brown891]

Etihad lounge in MEL today was deserted before the flight to HKG - probably 6 or so people. Plenty of self service food available (hot/cold options, smoothies, fruit, yogurt, muffins etc) - barista coffee too.

Sounds fantastic! Glad to hear its still basically the same as if there was an Etihad flight departing.
Keen to hear your thoughts on Virgin Atlantic product and the HKG lounge

 

[brown891]

I just returned from this trip. My routing was ADL-MEL-LAX-LHR-HKG-MEL-ADL. I had separate flights booked to JFK, Washington and Edinburgh. I was away for 28 days.
Lounges were excellent, especially the Virgin Atlantic lounge in Heathrow. As i was flying Virgin Atlantic out of LAX, i used the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse in terminal 2 instead of Emirates or Etihad.

A reminder, Virgin Atlantic has a Revival lounge for arriving passengers. It is after customs.

On-board service on all flights was the same as other J class passengers. When chatting to Flight Attendants about the special, they had no idea about it. Bumped into a couple of people on the RTW special in the lounges and inflight bar.

Any questions, just ask

Awesome yes have heard about the Revival lounge. Will be using that as we are boarding another flight to AMS later in the morning (our flight arrives at 5am!). Is it true you can get a haircut in the clubhouse in heathrow?! if so i will be using that hahaha.

Really keen to hear from more people and their experiences. What do you think was your favourite part of the travel? VA, VS, the food, the lounges?

Also: these fares aren't eligible for Chauffeur are they....????

 

[liamsal]

Sounds fantastic! Glad to hear its still basically the same as if there was an Etihad flight departing.
Keen to hear your thoughts on Virgin Atlantic product and the HKG lounge

HKG lounge is Plaza Premium Lounge - there is a seperate lounge exclusively for VS only which was great. The lounges are connected via a door however staff enforce entry quickly and I saw them telling people off for being in the VS lounge and moving them back to the other lounge. Self service for everything - they had some decent spirits available (incl. grey goose which kept me occupied). Good spread of food too - I didn't really eat much but they had a hot food section with chicken skewers and other asians foods, cheese/cold meats, snacks etc. Staff were great and plenty of seating - was probably only 50% full. Overall it was a great lounge and only a 3 min walk from the gate.

VS product on the HKG - LHR flight was rather average IMO but I'll wait until my next flight from LHR - LAX before posting my thoughts.

 

[brown891]

HKG lounge is Plaza Premium Lounge - there is a seperate lounge exclusively for VS only which was great. The lounges are connected via a door however staff enforce entry quickly and I saw them telling people off for being in the VS lounge and moving them back to the other lounge. Self service for everything - they had some decent spirits available (incl. grey goose which kept me occupied). Good spread of food too - I didn't really eat much but they had a hot food section with chicken skewers and other asians foods, cheese/cold meats, snacks etc. Staff were great and plenty of seating - was probably only 50% full. Overall it was a great lounge and only a 3 min walk from the gate.

VS product on the HKG - LHR flight was rather average IMO but I'll wait until my next flight from LHR - LAX before posting my thoughts.

Oh okay that answers my main question haha. I was interested to see if the HKG lounge was a general lounge or not but as VS have their own section I guess it makes it feel more specific for VS. it's definitely sold as a generic lounge rather than exclusive.

Sounds good about waiting for your next flight. Hope you're enjoying it so far.

 

[liamsal]

LHR lounge is amazing. I read the reviews online but it truly is an awesome experience. Massages, haircuts, full dining options, heaps of seating. I was there for a few hours and it only ever seemed to be about 50% full. Full ball service at 9am too which was great.

LHR - LAX flight was pretty average again, I think I'm just not a fan of the seating layout and the seats themselves. Very cramped and not very comfortable as a seat in the upright position. Staff were great and food delicious but the seating is a let down imo.

LAX International Lounge is a joke for the 11am Sat departure VA6 - barely any food (some fruits, a couple of pastries and that was about all I could see) and tea/coffee. On the plane there were several of us at the bar talking about how much of a letdown it was and the cabin crew member at the bar said she had heard lots of complaints and that she would pass it on via the chain of command. She said it has more basis coming from customers (especially WP) so if you have any complaints with it send in feedback via the website because I certainly will be.

The flight LAX-BNE was again the daytime 11am LAX departure and arriving in BNE at 6pm +1. Managed to stay up most of the flight but fell asleep for an hour or so before brunch service. It was a struggle on the flight to stay up that long but definitely love getting home around 7pm and being able to sleep straight away. Service/food was great. The menu and alcohol on board had changed as of 6/9 according to cabin crew. I noticed a few asian-inspired options but that's about the only difference I could see. I don't drink wine so not sure what's been changed there. Amenity kits have changed to a coughpier version of the old ones.

All in all what a fantastic trip for an unreal price.

Edit: forgot to mention that several items from the brunch service were missing. I ordered a salad, fruit, yogurt, OJ, tea and a muffin and received salad, fruit and tea. No explanation why I didn't receive the other items and I could several other people eating muffins and the other pastry options and drinking OJ. Strange but I wasn't super hungry so didn't really care.

 

[brown891]

LHR lounge is amazing. I read the reviews online but it truly is an awesome experience. Massages, haircuts, full dining options, heaps of seating. I was there for a few hours and it only ever seemed to be about 50% full. Full ball service at 9am too which was great.

LHR - LAX flight was pretty average again, I think I'm just not a fan of the seating layout and the seats themselves. Very cramped and not very comfortable as a seat in the upright position. Staff were great and food delicious but the seating is a let down imo.

LAX International Lounge is a joke for the 11am Sat departure VA6 - barely any food (some fruits, a couple of pastries and that was about all I could see) and tea/coffee. On the plane there were several of us at the bar talking about how much of a letdown it was and the cabin crew member at the bar said she had heard lots of complaints and that she would pass it on via the chain of command. She said it has more basis coming from customers (especially WP) so if you have any complaints with it send in feedback via the website because I certainly will be.

The flight LAX-BNE was again the daytime 11am LAX departure and arriving in BNE at 6pm +1. Managed to stay up most of the flight but fell asleep for an hour or so before brunch service. It was a struggle on the flight to stay up that long but definitely love getting home around 7pm and being able to sleep straight away. Service/food was great. The menu and alcohol on board had changed as of 6/9 according to cabin crew. I noticed a few asian-inspired options but that's about the only difference I could see. I don't drink wine so not sure what's been changed there. Amenity kits have changed to a coughpier version of the old ones.

All in all what a fantastic trip for an unreal price.

Edit: forgot to mention that several items from the brunch service were missing. I ordered a salad, fruit, yogurt, OJ, tea and a muffin and received salad, fruit and tea. No explanation why I didn't receive the other items and I could several other people eating muffins and the other pastry options and drinking OJ. Strange but I wasn't super hungry so didn't really care.

Sorry @liamsal I never got the notification of your reply!

Glad to hear about the lounge in LHR, as that was something i was interested in. Definitely keen to get a haircut there haha do you know if it is just a walk up and get it done or have to book it in? Also did you do the Arrivals lounge by any chance?

Shame about the seating - I'll be on the same plane (787-9) so nothing will change for me.

As for the LAX lounge, thank you for letting me know about that - that was the main thing I was/am concerned about as I really wanted to experience the Emirates/Etihad lounges but sadly cannot. I find it so odd VA has just the one flight that goes at that time. Seeing as they changed all MEL-HKG flights to be at the same time departure now (10:30ish am) I am hoping they will follow suit with LAX departures.

 

[BRIS_VA_HAWK]

I find it so odd VA has just the one flight that goes at that time. Seeing as they changed all MEL-HKG flights to be at the same time departure now (10:30ish am) I am hoping they will follow suit with LAX departures.

Doubtful that the VA6 back to Brisbane would change times, as it's formed by one of the incoming flights and gets turned straight around back to BNE so that VA can maintain 6 x weekly services as well as service MEL-LAX (which they didn't in the previous schedule). This is the only "black sheep" of the VA LAX flights at this point - everyone else is same time.

 

[brown891]

Doubtful that the VA6 back to Brisbane would change times, as it's formed by one of the incoming flights and gets turned straight around back to BNE so that VA can maintain 6 x weekly services as well as service MEL-LAX (which they didn't in the previous schedule). This is the only "black sheep" of the VA LAX flights at this point - everyone else is same time.

It's interesting but, because Friday afternoon I watched VA flight from LAX come into BNE, when usually it comes in tonight so unless it was just late Friday... or it had been changed around

 

[liamsal]

Sorry @liamsal I never got the notification of your reply!

Glad to hear about the lounge in LHR, as that was something i was interested in. Definitely keen to get a haircut there haha do you know if it is just a walk up and get it done or have to book it in? Also did you do the Arrivals lounge by any chance?

Shame about the seating - I'll be on the same plane (787-9) so nothing will change for me.

As for the LAX lounge, thank you for letting me know about that - that was the main thing I was/am concerned about as I really wanted to experience the Emirates/Etihad lounges but sadly cannot. I find it so odd VA has just the one flight that goes at that time. Seeing as they changed all MEL-HKG flights to be at the same time departure now (10:30ish am) I am hoping they will follow suit with LAX departures.

Just walk up. Once you get inside the lounge just walk straight over the the salon area (to the right once you enter) and there's a desk there where you can book a time. There plenty of options from me - anywhere from about half an hour to 2-3 hours away.

Yeah spent quiet a bit of time in the arrivals lounge as my next flight wasn't until 1pm and I arrived at LHR at 6am. Much much smaller than the clubhouse but still awesome. Plenty of showers/restrooms and they also have a massage area too. Full breakfast menu which was delicious, table service as well. It was a great way to relax after a long flight.

When is your trip again?

 

[brown891]

Just walk up. Once you get inside the lounge just walk straight over the the salon area (to the right once you enter) and there's a desk there where you can book a time. There plenty of options from me - anywhere from about half an hour to 2-3 hours away.

Yeah spent quiet a bit of time in the arrivals lounge as my next flight wasn't until 1pm and I arrived at LHR at 6am. Much much smaller than the clubhouse but still awesome. Plenty of showers/restrooms and they also have a massage area too. Full breakfast menu which was delicious, table service as well. It was a great way to relax after a long flight.

When is your trip again?

My trip is from 15th Jan to 12th Feb!
Pretty excited

Arrivals lounge sounds like it will get good use then as we are the same, arrive at 5am with connecting flight around 10am