Virgin Australia has announced new services between Melbourne and Hong Kong. Commencing July 5, the flights will operate 5 days a week between the two cities.
The announcement of the new flights follow yesterdays interim authorisation of a partnership between Virgin Australia and the Chinese HNA group. The HNA Group operate airlines such as Hong Kong Airlines and HK Express.
The Schedule
The new flights operates 5 days a week, Monday through Thursday and Saturday. The timetable is not entirely straightforward, with the Melbourne to Hong Kong flight operating at different times during the week. The full timetable is as follows
| Route | Flight Number | Depart/Arrive | Days of the week |
|---|---|---|---|
| MEL-HKG | VA89 | 0035/0815 | Tue, Thu, Sat |
| VA87 | 1025/1805 | Mon | |
| VA87 | 0940/1720 | Wed | |
| HKG-MEL | VA86 | 1950/0820 (+1) | Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Sat |
The service will be operated using Virgin Australias twin aisle, A330 aircraft. At present, the A330 is mostly operating between the East Coast and Perth. This new route will see a reduction in A330 services to Perth, with more 737 operated flights to feature.
Frequent Flyer Benefits
As a Virgin Australua operated flight, Velocity members will be eligible to earn Status Credits and Points on these flights.
Details of other benefits have not been announced. For example, lounge access will be available to eligible members Virgin has also advised that there will be recipricol Frequent Flyer benefits when travelling on HNA airlines. Further details on these are expected in the coming months.