Virgin Atlantic axes Hong Kong flights, permanently
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Virgin Atlantic has announced that it is permanently ending flights to Hong Kong.
It is also closing down its Hong Kong office “after almost 30 years of proudly serving this Asian hub city.” Flights were due to resume in March 2023.
This change will whittle down Virgin Atlantic’s East Asia network even further. Shanghai is the last remaining route and this will resume from the end of March – if it doesn’t suffer the same fate.
Culling Hong Kong won’t have a huge impact on the business. Flights have been suspended since December 2021 due to action by the Hong Kong government.
Virgin Atlantic is blaming “Significant operational complexities due to the ongoing Russian airspace closure.” According to the airline, flight times would be between 1hr and 1hr50 longer due to the closure, which has impacts for aircraft utilisation and fuel costs.
The airlines says that the capacity unlocked by the suspension will allow it to increase flights elsewhere, although in reality – given this route hasn’t been flown since 2021 – this has probably already happened.
If you have a ticket for a Virgin Atlantic flight to Hong Kong you will be contacted over the coming days and offered a refund, voucher or rebooking onto another service.
How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (April 2024)
As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Virgin Points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.
You can choose from two official Virgin Atlantic credit cards (apply here, the Reward+ card has a bonus of 15,000 Virgin Points):
Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard
15,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review
Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard
A generous earning rate for a free card at 0.75 points per £1 Read our full review
You can also earn Virgin Points from various American Express cards – and these have sign-up bonuses too.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for a year and comes with 20,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 20,000 Virgin Points.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express comes with 40,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 40,000 Virgin Points.
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review
Small business owners should consider the two American Express Business cards. Points convert at 1:1 into Virgin Points.
American Express Business Platinum
40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review
Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Virgin Points.
(Want to earn more Virgin Points? Click here to see our recent articles on Virgin Atlantic and Flying Club and click here for our home page with the latest news on earning and spending other airline and hotel points.)
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