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News: get yourself a Virgin Atlantic salt and pepper sets, HfP party at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

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News in brief:

Get yourself a Virgin Atlantic salt and pepper set!

One of the highlights of flying Virgin Atlantic Upper Class is getting your very own Wilbur and Orville salt and pepper set.

These are genuinely cult items. I remember taking a pair when I flew Virgin Atlantic Upper Class in the late 1990’s, and very few trends in the aviation industry survive that long. That said, the quality has dropped – my set is metal whilst they are now made out of plastic.

The reason I am mentioning this today is that Virgin Red is letting you buy a set of Wilbur and Orville salt and pepper shakers. They cost just 800 or 900 Virgin Points depending on whether you want black or silver.

This is surprisingly good value and it’s an ideal stocking filler for any aviation enthusiast, or yourself.

If you have not yet registered for Virgin Red, you can download the app here and link it to your Flying Club account. You will then be able to order your Wilbur and Orville set via the ‘Spend’ menu. You cannot order them from the Virgin Flying Club site.

Wilbur and Orville Virgin Atlantic salt pepper set

Head for Points party at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix …..

Judging by emails I received yesterday, there is an unofficial weekend-long HfP party taking place at the W Abu Dhabi Yas Island hotel this weekend during the Grand Prix.

W Abu Dhabi Yas Island is the hotel which is built directly across the racetrack, see below. This makes it an astonishing place to stay during the Grand Prix weekend.

We have always mentioned Abu Dhabi grand prix redemptions on HfP when they became available. So far six rooms-worth of HfP readers, with a total of 11 people, have met up in the hotel.

I have some photos but I won’t run them as I don’t have the express permission of everyone. It’s possible that a few are claiming to be working from home …..! I hope you all have a great weekend.

The hotel website is here if you want to try your luck with a Marriott Bonvoy redemption for next year at some point.

PS. One of the readers sent this photo from the balcony of his suite:

W Yas Island suite

Comments (64)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Sam says:

    Definitely the best alternative nowadays for people travelling with CX when their lounge is not yet reopen.

  • Mikeact says:

    Well there you go….off topic has been going on since day 1…annoying all the same. But then, this is ‘Bits’. When it closes (?) perhaps the forum will kick in full time.

  • The cyclist says:

    Every time I travel on Virgin I always ask the crew if I can have some of salt and pepper shakers. In the last few years I have amassed quite a collection, so I took it upon myself to paint RAF roundels or swastikas on the models and enact the battle of Britain, with my nephews. Unfortunately, the six year old had a temper tantrum when I told him that I had shot down his Messerschmitt BF109, and he threw the model at the wall and destroying it in the process. Of course I had to admonish him and pointed out that if he wanted to do that I would have painted on the rising sun onto the model thus accurately depicting a Mitsubishi Zero on a Kamikaze mission into my kitchen wall.

    • Si says:

      This sounds like the sort of conversation my dad would have with James May while also picking holes in the historical inaccuracies of old films

  • babyg_wc says:

    The other building in my non suite has better views of the track, just saying 🙂

  • Zed says:

    Just saw this article, didn’t realise how many of us are at the GP. Loving the W Yas Island, the marina and the yachts on display are awesome. Looking forward to tomorrow’s race.

  • Boi says:

    I am truly jealous of all those at F1. When does availability pop up normally for race weekend?

    • Rob says:

      Do a search for our old articles and compare the dates.

    • Will says:

      If you are really keen, put an alert on openhotelalert for the most basic room type for cash 😉 it’s likely to pop up for points when it gets released for cash.
      Also note I think it’s non 4 night stay Thursday-Mon

  • Pawel says:

    I used points to be there 2 years ago…
    had to book 5 nights stay when…but one day Marriott show availability for one day stay for SUN nighty so book extra room for friends…
    best use points ever 😉 and party marina after race is amazing.
    Maybe I book for next grand prix but I’m short of points 😉

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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