LHR-SYD - which route(s) do Virgin take?

Been looking at possibly flying to Sydney later next year and noticed there's the option of a stop-over in Hong Kong which I wouldn't mind doing on one of the legs. Is this a standard thing to stop here, or does the plane fly direct (possibly stopping elsewhere for fuel?)

i.e LHR-HKG?-SYD or LHR-???-SYD or LHR-SYD

Hi Xenole,

The flight stops in HKG and only HKG. In fact the HKG - SYD leg is a continuation of the LHR-HKG flight that has been around for years.

Phil (Buffy)

Why not visit HK twice then? Once you've been there you'll want to come back I guarantee you.

The Strawb

Visiting HK twice would depend on how much I had left to spend after everything else!

So what does the aircraft do? Land to refuel/drop off and pick up more people then take-off again say 3 hours later or do you have to change aircraft?

Originally posted by xenole
So what does the aircraft do? Land to refuel/drop off and pick up more people then take-off again say 3 hours later or do you have to change aircraft?

The timetable says
LHR-HKG Dep: 22:30 Arr: 17:50
HKG-SYD Dep: 19:20 Arr: 06:15

Return:
SYD-HKG Dep:14:45 Arr 21:55
HKG-SYD Dep:23:25 Arr 05:25
So on the ground for 1.5 hours in both direction - same plane.

Phil (Buffy)

You will get more tier points if you stop off in Hong Kong and catch a flight onwards to LHR or SYD (10 instead of 8 in UC, 6 instead of 5 in PE, 4 instead of 3 in Y - one way). However, I believe the fare is slight more if you have a stop over.

However, I believe the fare is slight more if you have a stop over.

I don't think the fare is more, it's just the extra taxes for the stop-overs.

The Strawb

The timetable says
LHR-HKG Dep: 22:30 Arr: 17:50
HKG-SYD Dep: 19:20 Arr: 06:15

Return:
SYD-HKG Dep:14:45 Arr 21:55
HKG-SYD Dep:23:25 Arr 05:25
So on the ground for 1.5 hours in both direction - same plane.

Phil (Buffy)

Basically by the time you are deplaned, sorted out into who
is in transit and who is not, nipped to the loo, they are calling
you to board again. Chances are, if you are in Y, like we were, you're pretty much like a zombie anyway so you'll barely notice you are off the plane.

robert

Hmm.. last time I did that trip, I got the choice whether to stay on the plane, or go for a wander in the terminal. I went for the wander outbound, stayed on the plane inbound (and spent the hour being smuggled booze by the FAs..... )

Originally posted by McCoy
Hmm.. last time I did that trip, I got the choice whether to stay on the plane, or go for a wander in the terminal. I went for the wander outbound, stayed on the plane inbound (and spent the hour being smuggled booze by the FAs..... )

Maybe there has been a policy change ?

When did you fly McCoy ? We flew May 2005 and weren't offered a choice.

Robert

How greatly things have improved. In the '70s I flew to Oz frequently and in those days the "cutting edge" equipment was a 707.
The flight from Sydney was as follows:-
Sydney - Darwin
Darwin - Bangkok
Bangkok - (New)Delhi or Bombay
Delhi - Bahrain
Bahrain - Heathrow

This was the quickest route and it took approximately 27 hours.
Then BA and Qantas introduced the Perth - Bombay - Heathrow route which had a flying time of 19 hours.

No such luxuries as inflight video in those days, but then even in economy they were much more generous with the drink rounds.

I remember going onboard my first 747 in the late '70s, looking down the length of the cabin and thinking how on earth will this "beast" ever leave the ground!

BTW, my first flight was in the late '50s in a Dakota or similar and there was no cabin intercom system in those days. Mid flight a slip of paper was reached out from the flight deck with the details of height/speed/eta/local weather etc and this was read by each passenger before being handed back to the row behind. Needless to say this was on an internal U.K. flight and the cruising height was about 12,000 feet.
Happy days - cotton wool in the ears and a barley sugar on the tongue - or was it the other way round??:D[:o)]

Originally posted by shoreside
How greatly things have improved. In the '70s I flew to Oz frequently and in those days the "cutting edge" equipment was a 707.
The flight from Sydney was as follows:-
Sydney - Darwin
Darwin - Bangkok
Bangkok - (New)Delhi or Bombay
Delhi - Bahrain
Bahrain - Heathrow

This was the quickest route and it took approximately 27 hours.
Then BA and Qantas introduced the Perth - Bombay - Heathrow route which had a flying time of 19 hours.

I think it's only a matter of time before the kangaroo route will be served by a direct non-stop service. The A340-500 can technically already do LON-SYD but due to headwinds would need a stop SYD-LON. The 777-200LR will be able to compete similarly.

Certainly LON-PER in both directions non-stop is possible now.

Which brings me to an inevitable question of how well the traditional South East Asian stoppover points will deal with many fewer folks stopping over anymore. It reminds me of fifteen years ago when the Europe-Japan routes either stopped for refuelling in Moscow or Anchorage. There was a whole industry in Anchorage at that time offloading tons of smoked salmon and beef jerky onto all those transit passengers. I remember them having a desk with rubber stamps for pax to stamp their own Anchorage stamp in their passports in transit.

In addition with the increased immigration and customs transit overhead at LAX (and to a lesser extent HNL) on the West route from Europe to Oz/NZ is a far less enticing option than it used to be.

Cheers, Howard

Can you remember the far east flights stopping in the middle east in 1991 on CX I flew MAN-FRA-BAH-HKG-BAH-FRA-MAN and it wasn't for miles,never eaten so many breakfasts.

Originally posted by jaguarpig
Can you remember the far east flights stopping in the middle east in 1991 on CX I flew MAN-FRA-BAH-HKG-BAH-FRA-MAN and it wasn't for miles,never eaten so many breakfasts.

I believe it was the breakup of the Communist block that opened up the air routes over Russia.

Incidentally Shoreside, My Grandfather first flew to Australia in 1933 as Flight Engineer on the first Imperial Airways proving flight from London.

Their route on a Armstrong Whitworth Atalanta (as you can imagine) was even more varied and longer than the one you describe as each leg was a maximum of around 300 miles.

How times change.

Phil (Buffy)

P.S. The route for those interested was:

Croydon-Paris-Lyons-Rome-Brindidsi-Athens-Alexandria-Cairo then normal route to Karachi then Jodhpur-Delhi-Calcutta-Akyab-Rangoon-Bangkok-Prachuab-Alor Star-Singapore-Palembang-Batavia-Sourabaya-Bima-Koepang-Bathurst Island-Darwin-Newcastle Waters-Camooweal-Cloncurry-Longreach-Roma-Toowoomba reaching Eagle Farm, Brisbane, Sydney.

Left Croydon on 29th May arriving in Sydney on 26th June

Originally posted by BuffyTVS65
Croydon-Paris-Lyons-Rome-Brindidsi-Athens-Alexandria-Cairo then normal route to Karachi then Jodhpur-Delhi-Calcutta-Akyab-Rangoon-Bangkok-Prachuab-Alor Star-Singapore-Palembang-Batavia-Sourabaya-Bima-Koepang-Bathurst Island-Darwin-Newcastle Waters-Camooweal-Cloncurry-Longreach-Roma-Toowoomba reaching Eagle Farm, Brisbane, Sydney.

Left Croydon on 29th May arriving in Sydney on 26th June

I've been trying to find a good historic web resource for the kangaroo route, but have failed miserably. Qantas produced a really nice hard backed coffee table book in 1995 that a friend of mine has celebrating 75 years, including a beautifully illustrated in-depth historic reference, showing the various tie ups with Imperial and BOAC.

Cheers, Howard

The book "Beyond the Blue Horizon" by Alexander Frater makes for excellent reading. It details the early flights to Australia by Imperial Airways flying boats.
I did a quick search on Amazon and see it is still available. I bought a copy about 12 years ago and was such a good read that I have read it three times.
Another good book is "Beyond Lion Rock" (forget author's name), relating the story of Cathay Pacific from its origins through to the 1990's.

[Scrooge]

Originally posted by Howard Long


I think it's only a matter of time before the kangaroo route will be served by a direct non-stop service. The A340-500 can technically already do LON-SYD but due to headwinds would need a stop SYD-LON. The 777-200LR will be able to compete similarly.


Cheers, Howard

which also has me wondering if anyone will ever fly a LHR/LGW-HNL route..thanks for that book title..amazon here I come.

Originally posted by Howard Long

I think it's only a matter of time before the kangaroo route will be served by a direct non-stop service. The A340-500 can technically already do LON-SYD but due to headwinds would need a stop SYD-LON. The 777-200LR will be able to compete similarly.

Certainly LON-PER in both directions non-stop is possible now.

Which brings me to an inevitable question of how well the traditional South East Asian stoppover points will deal with many fewer folks stopping over anymore. It reminds me of fifteen years ago when the Europe-Japan routes either stopped for refuelling in Moscow or Anchorage. There was a whole industry in Anchorage at that time offloading tons of smoked salmon and beef jerky onto all those transit passengers. I remember them having a desk with rubber stamps for pax to stamp their own Anchorage stamp in their passports in transit.

In addition with the increased immigration and customs transit overhead at LAX (and to a lesser extent HNL) on the West route from Europe to Oz/NZ is a far less enticing option than it used to be.

Cheers, Howard

I am soo looking forward for a direct LHR-SYD, then maybe I will be tempted to go down under.

However, I am not sure airliens will do economy class for such a long flight, loook at SQ SIN-LAX and SIN-NYC. No normal economy class (and no first class either!!!).

If there was ever a class were first class is needed it is one of such length, but maybe it is hard to keep oysters fresh for that long [:p]

Cheers
sky

[preiffer]

Originally posted by sky
I am soo looking forward for a direct LHR-SYD, then maybe I will be tempted to go down under.

Can you IMAGINE the economy option? 20 hours with "between 30" and 32" seat pitch" with NO BREAK [:0]

At least HKG provides a SMALL amount of respite. I'd be seriously tempted to take the indirect if I had to do it in Y.

[Scrooge]

Originally posted by preiffer

Originally posted by sky
I am soo looking forward for a direct LHR-SYD, then maybe I will be tempted to go down under.

Can you IMAGINE the economy option? 20 hours with "between 30" and 32" seat pitch" with NO BREAK [:0]

At least HKG provides a SMALL amount of respite. I'd be seriously tempted to take the indirect if I had to do it in Y.

As our RTW got blown out next year i've been thinking of taking a couple of week's off in March (the wife's birthday) and fly down to OZ from LAX,now the way I was thinking of doing it was to fly Hawaiian,stop over in HNL for a few days(well hop over to the families house in Maui)then continue down to SYD,these long hauls are just to much in Y for me.

Originally posted by preiffer
Can you IMAGINE the economy option? 20 hours with "between 30" and 32" seat pitch" with NO BREAK [:0]

At least HKG provides a SMALL amount of respite. I'd be seriously tempted to take the indirect if I had to do it in Y.

Hmm. A choice between 20 hours in Y and 20 hours in the dentist's chair. It's a tough one, that's for sure. And if you take the Y option you have to suffer those awful lines in the humidity of SYD imigration and then the baggage reclaim. I'll take the dentist's chair.

FWIW Singapore Airlines run their non stop A345 19 hour EWR-SIN and 17 hour LAX-SIN route in a two class configuration using an enhanced Y product with 37" pitch in a 2-3-2 config, and a stand up snack area at the rear of the a/c.

Cheers, Howard

I did a BA LHR-SIN-SYD in Y class a few years back, and going out it was quite nice - but then I had two seats to myself, and PTV.

On the way back we were unlucky and had one of the oldest BA 744's which had not at that point been reconfigured, so it was "main screen" movies, and I was a gentleman and gave up my aisle seat for an elderly lady whose seat broke, and wanted to be seated with her family. I ended up in one of the middle seats - quite possibly the longest/worst flight of my life ever!

On the positive side, I was able to blag lounge access at Sydney, but boy that was a long day.

So long as I get a PTV and an aisle seat I would do it again in Y though.

I'm off again in Feb, but have been fortunate enough to be able to afford Upper Class tickets on VS this time around

Rich.

I've got about a year to save up to pay for a decent seat.
As with a lot of people, I don't fancy flying economy for around 23 hours, so would happily pay more for PE at the minimum or UC if I can afford it (few extra shifts at work and should be able to do so)

Originally posted by robandgill

Originally posted by McCoy
Hmm.. last time I did that trip, I got the choice whether to stay on the plane, or go for a wander in the terminal. I went for the wander outbound, stayed on the plane inbound (and spent the hour being smuggled booze by the FAs..... )

Maybe there has been a policy change ?
When did you fly McCoy ? We flew May 2005 and weren't offered a choice.
Robert

Yeah.. it was years ago.. '99 I think.