Virgin Australia axes Sydney-Hong Kong flights
Virgin says Hong Kong's civil unrest and China's coronavirus have made the Sydney-Hong Kong route unviable.
By David Flynn, February 6 2020
Virgin Australia will drop its daily Sydney-Hong Kong flights from 2 March 2020, exiting not only Hong Kong but the 'greater China' play initiated and championed by former CEO John Borghetti.
The airline has also confirmed that its Melbourne-Hong Kong service, due to be 'suspended' from February 11, will not return, as the airline "withdraws (its) services between Australia and Hong Kong".
Virgin Australia CCO John MacLeod, in an internal staff memo sighted by Executive Traveller, said "This decision comes off the back of a comprehensive review of the route. We've observed a continuing decline in demand, following the recent civil unrest and growing concerns over the coronavirus outbreak in the greater region."
"These recent factors demonstrate that Hong Kong is no longer a commercially viable route for us to continue operating."
"This is a tough commercial decision, however we have some exciting new opportunities to look forward to, such as our inaugural flights to Tokyo taking off next month," MacLeod added.
Virgin Australia has confirmed the airline will shutter the Sydney-Hong Kong flights, and says passengers booked to fly between Sydney and Hong Kong will be contacted by the airline or their travel agent "to provide alternative arrangements."
Also read: How to change or cancel travel to China and Hong Kong due to the coronavirus
From Hong Kong hero to zero
Virgin began flying between Melbourne and Hong Kong in July 2017, with Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson making an anonymous but noisy entrance to Melbourne Airport's international terminal hidden the head of a 32-metre 'dragon' accompanied by lion dancers and drummers.
Richard Branson's never been the shy, retiring type...
Sydney-Hong Kong followed in July 2018, with the airline talking up plans for a foothold in mainland China itself, backed by
Chinese conglomerate HNA, the largest private operator of airlines in China, stumped up $159 million for a 13% stake in Virgin Australia, while HNA's Hong Kong Airlines and HK Express – the later since subsumed into Cathay Pacific through a $930 million buyout – were enlisted as a 'strategic partner' for connections into China and as a mainland market feed for Virgin.
From the outset Virgin was elbowing its way into crowded markets dominated by Qantas and Cathay Pacific, with the latter offering not only multiple flights each day but a raft of onwards connections to Europe and the Americas, along with other parts of Asia.
Former CEO John Borghetti saw Hong Kong Kong as the start of a determined and deliberate push into China, and in mid-2017 affirmed that "by the end of 2018 we will be in mainland China," with aim of eventually opening two routes to mainland China to take advantage of carriers owned by or affiliated to HNA.
Pulling out of Hong Kong is part of Virgin Australia CEO Paul Scurrah's plan to 'right-size' then airline.
New CEO Paul Scurrah remains confident of Asia's place on the airline's route map, but sees the pivot to Japan as being more sustainable, especially as it is underpinned by a new partnership with ANA offering codeshare flights and reciprocal points earning and lounge access.
Hong Kong joins the cut list sparked by Scrurrah's drive to 'right-size' the struggling carrier by "turning a great airline into a great business."
"Flying to the right destinations, with the right customer demand, and the right sized fleet will improve our financial performance," he noted at Virgin's 2019 AGM.
With no other international expansions on the horizon, the Airbus A330 dedicated to the Sydney-Hong Kong route is expected to be returned to the transcontinental trek between Australia's eastern capitals and Perth – a move which will be welcomed by many business travellers, considering the far superior business class seats and experience of the A330 compared to the smaller single-aisle Boeing 737.
David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
26 Jun 2011
Total posts 76
Disappointing, but understandable.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
28 Oct 2011
Total posts 467
..... and inevitable.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
11 Dec 2016
Total posts 74
A great shame. This was so much better than Qantas. Makes the recent Virgin Atlantic code-share link a somewhat waste of effort too.
Yes, we can go via LAX, but not a preferred choice.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
11 Dec 2016
Total posts 74
I meant, via LA onto London is a less desirable choice.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
20 Mar 2012
Total posts 233
There's been talk of Virgin Atlantic looking into a return to Tokyo (Haneda), which could then be included under their agreement with VA.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
20 Mar 2012
Total posts 233
Very unlucky for VA. They'd got their load factors up to 80%+ with plenty of cargo in the belly at one point, then the protests and now coronavirus have hit.
Can o lay imagine the losses QF and VA have been copping on the HK routes this past 6 months. I noticed on my last trip over hotels that usually go for $200AUD+ a night going for the $35-$50!
Hopefully they'll be back one day, will have to see how the HK market holds up with time.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
12 Jun 2011
Total posts 148
They got to those load factors during two months in the past 16mths. BITRE states show the rest of hovered in the mid 60% at best (prior to protests, and less after). While I am sympathetic the current situation happening in HKG isn't conducive to VA flying to HKG, they had an incredibly weak partner in HX and didn't properly grow their base during the few years they have been flying to HKG
05 Jul 2016
Total posts 22
Which hotels are THIS cheap?
06 Jun 2017
Total posts 53
Damn, I fly to Shanghai a lot for work and always prefer transferring via HK on VA and then onwards with HX (admittedly I'm not a huge fan of HX). Guess it's back via SIN for me from now on. I love Changi but not a fan of the second 5.5 hour flight.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
11 Dec 2016
Total posts 74
@jeppetto367
I expect ANA do a Tokyo - Shanghai flight?
Although, I think their VA codeshare only applies to Japan domestic flights.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
21 Jan 2017
Total posts 51
i was going to cancel my scheduled HK flight in late March this morning, thought they may change the schedule, well taht was quick!
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
07 Dec 2015
Total posts 54
Such a shame on many fronts but understandable. One of the challenges when you have such a small international network with limited scale - one destination catches a cold and you've got a cut it off before everything else gets the flu
I really hope Japan works out for them - it seems to be more a robust choice with a strong partner. I hope details on the entire ANA deal are good for VA Frequent Flyers and simple. VA's complicated offerings for FF with its partners does my head in.
Singapore Airlines - KrisFlyer
17 Nov 2014
Total posts 101
It is a shame that we will not able to fly the Business to Hong Kong for a short term.
Hopefully this route will be launch again in a few year's time.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
04 Sep 2018
Total posts 13
Hmm I travelled MEL - HKG - LHR - USA - LAX - MEL 3 times in the past few years with my next trip on March 24.. Will be interesting to see how we get to London now.. Maybe MEL - LAX - LHR...
Air New Zealand - Airpoints
31 Oct 2016
Total posts 71
Who did you normally fly the LHR-USA-LAX route with?
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
04 Sep 2018
Total posts 13
It was a round the world fare that virgin australia and virgin atlantic were offering.. VA Aus to HKG, VS to LHR, VS to LAX, VA to Aus
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
04 Sep 2018
Total posts 13
So just called virgin and we are being moved to.. Wait for it... Qantas
18 Jan 2017
Total posts 51
Not overly surprised, though I would have expected SQ.
That said, Qantas would be suffering too and would welcome the extra revenue. No doubt this would have been a cheaper option for Virgin. So it's a win-win really.
Win for Virgin cheapest option
Win for Qantas gives them extra revenue
22 Jan 2018
Total posts 98
What bets we'll be reading similar news in 2021 reg their japan flights?!
29 Feb 2016
Total posts 28
Said elsewhere, but its an inevitable shame.. Had really been hoping that I cud read that VS also pulled its HK flights and wud be remaking a VA connection thru Haneda.
How else does a VA fan get a chance on the 777 in biz ? - duration of the VA alternative to Europe, via LAX, is just too long - 32 hrs Mel/LHR with +7 hrs on the ground in LA. Too long for an airport stay, who wants to go thru US Immig these days, and oh look at that, a sample fare for Sept is nearly $11k return ?
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
12 Jun 2011
Total posts 148
You were never gonna get 777 VA J to HKG anyway. VA 777s only go to LAX. They don't have enough to go anywhere else let alone daily to LAX from SYD/MEL/BNE
29 Feb 2016
Total posts 28
OFC, but at least 'the biz' beds..
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
28 Feb 2017
Total posts 10
I I am booked to London via transfer through Hong Kong business class in late June. Would it be safe staying in the International airport in the business lounge for eight hours?
20 Nov 2015
Total posts 477
It will be 100% safe, but also 100% boring LOL. But how are you going to get from AU to HKG now that Virgin Australia has pulled the plug? I would also point out that Virgin Atlantic has closed its own HKG Clubroom lounge and now uses the Plaza Premium First lounge, it's a very good lounge and much better than normal Plaza Premium lounges. But I couldn't imagine spending eight hours in there or any lounge for that matter. I understand why you might not want to into Hong Kong due to protests and coronavirus.
03 May 2013
Total posts 680
Honestly, the sooner Virgin drops international services the better, its a failure and only benefits airline news headlines. They don't have the money or scale to pull it off. Just stick to code sharing and be done with your misery.
31 Mar 2014
Total posts 397
Except PS has already said that LAX makes money
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
28 Feb 2017
Total posts 10
I was thinking of going CX but the underlying issue seems to be how safe is it for those of us even transiting through HKG. If you are using points I would be thinking that there are therefore less reward seats available.
05 Aug 2017
Total posts 17
This is one of the reasons why I never chose to be loyal to VA. No global partnerships programs (like *A, OW) very poor international network, insufficient and confusing partners / codeshare arrangements and uncertain and non-sustainable routes. These are the reasons why I'm loyal to QF. It's not a good thing but VA needs to step it up for me to consider switching sides. Shame
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