[MartynSinclair]

Congratulations to Virgin for restarting the London – HKG route this week, which along with BA increases seat capacity for travel to HKG and beyond.

Naturally the curiosity bug inside me has been awakened… exactly who is able to travel or is actually travelling…..

HKG is experiencing an increase in COV19 cases and there is a strict and enforceable quarantine, with all passengers being ‘tagged’. I would imagine there are a number of returning local HKG passengers & also some passengers connecting through to other destinations. Australia is only accepting limited numbers of passengers (i believe 50 pax per inbound aircraft).

So just out of curiosity, are these flights any where near capacity (or very light) – presume cargo is being carried in the belly – but how can Virgin (or even BA) fly this route any where near break even. In VS’s case, after seeking such a large bailout , should they be flying at a loss? I realise there are other factors such as avoiding redundancy, the cost of storing aircraft (fascinating You Tube video on what’s involved in storing an aircraft – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDYPbrVWfGg ) etc etc, but how does the economics of flying a near empty passenger load on a large commercial jet work for long haul?

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canucklad

[DavidGrodentz]

HK Government website (recently updated) states that quarantine requirements for returning residents has been extended from 18 Sep to 31 Dec, still no date for non residents

Transits are allowed but not to China Mainland

Really, who is travelling to HK at the moment, and how does that justify 3 carriers flying from London.

CX, over their entire network where they are still flying, are averaging 900 passengers per day

[Tom Otley]

I am told from the research the airlines are doing that when asked their reason for travelling, people are ticking neither ‘Business’ or ‘Leisure’, but rather ‘Other’.

They take that to mean it is predominantly VFR – Visiting Friends and Relatives.

Business travel is going on – provided it fits into Essential Economic Activities

I had a look round T5 yesterday and it’s definitely getting busier.

London Heathrow Terminal 5 – a tour

[DavidSmith2]

[quote quote=1004620]They take that to mean it is predominantly VFR – Visiting Friends and Relatives.[/quote]

That would certainly fit with my small sample of friends and colleagues, and me. Business travel remains off the cards anyway – my organization will not sanction it and the indications are that that won’t change at least until 2021. Leisure travel – i.e. holidays – is much less attractive if you know you need to do things like wear a mask, book a restaurant 2-3 weeks ahead, have to quarantine on return and/or jump through administrative and testing requirements before heading away. Plus, the very fact of traveling may bring increased risk of contracting the disease.

But visiting friends and family is the one area where some people would tolerate a higher level of risk and inconvenience, albeit this is tempered by the risk of actually passing on the disease to loved ones, especially older family members.

The only travel on my very tentative schedule for the remainder of the year is a trip to London in December to see friends and family (and do some shopping). But I would say that the chances of that happening are, at best, 50/50. Moving into 2021, it is all just one big question mark.

[MartynSinclair]

[quote quote=1004642]The only travel on my very tentative schedule for the remainder of the year is a trip to London in December to see friends and family (and do some shopping).[/quote]

A plug for shopping in London’s West End – most shops are open and pretty empty. Makes ‘man shopping’ a real pleasure. In the large department stores, especially above ground floor, very few customers and on the 3 occasions I have been in to the West End, only a couple of people in the men’s departments.

All the branded clothes shops along Oxford Street are a little busier but no way can they be considered ‘heaving’. The prices are very very enticing. Only challenge is clothes can not be tried on in store, so you have to try on outside or at home.

Getting into central London via tube, I go in around 11 am from the north, tube trains are not busy at all, tube stations still quite empty and leave by 4pm. As you would expect, some idiots still around who think the one way system and masks don’t apply to them, but a quick and loud cough as they pass by me ( I do wear a strong mask ) – soon makes them move.

One added comment about yesterday’s lunch at one of my favourite restaurants – cover charges, high service charges, the need to add extra’s to your plate that used to form part of the menu… this restaurant does not seem as ‘inclined’ as the retail shops. £91 for fish and chips and a bottle of sparkling water, seemed high…(for 3 covers)

Apologies for the thread drift – but for those considering visiting any of London’s airports, the shopping in the West End is good, safe and very cost effective….

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summerfly, DavidSmith2

[Tom Otley]

Agreed – I was in London Thursday night and all of Friday – still very quiet, so if you need to do some shopping, or want to support ‘brick and mortar’, it;s a good time to go.

We found a pub with social distancing, table service etc… and it could almost have been old times. Apart from the fact normally on a Friday afternoon you would have been pressed together with 100+ others

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summerfly

[transtraxman]

Another piece of gratifying news from South Africa.
“Comair re-opens bookings for British Airways’ domestic routes,” (Comair press release, 23 November 2020)

https://www.comair.co.za/media-room/comair-re-opens-bookings-for-british-airways-domestic-routes

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cwoodward

[K1ngston]

[postquote quote=1004497][/postquote]

As someone who is on day 10 of a 14 day quarantine here in Singapore I have to say anyone who is travelling to HKG and then having perhaps to quarantine this is a thankless moral sapping experience with food atrocious even though I am in the Shagri La Sentosa supposedly one of the best resorts on the island albeit certainly havent seen much of it… oh well COVID test today and hopefully out by Sunday! I wont be travelling anywhere if I have to go through this again …..

[GivingupBA]

K1ngston said, “I wont be travelling anywhere if I have to go through this again”

Thanks for posting, K1ngston. And may you mightily enjoy your freedom when you get out.

I have already spent 5 weeks quarantined in 2020. And we will have another 2 weeks next month on returning to the UK (even though it will be returning from here [South Korea], which is on the no-quarantine list, we’ll have the 2 weeks as we will change planes in Amsterdam, meaning we still have to quarantine), making 7 weeks in total. What really gets me down is the lack of exercise while quarantined – I love to walk and need to walk every day for good health.

[Stevescoots]

My guess is the increase in HKG routes is to cater for overseas Chinese returning home for the CNY. There are also a lot of Europeans looking to come back this side of the world for xmas. I know the expat groups on FB for places like Vietnam a lot are doing their Re entry applications before leaving the country (i did the same) Certainly today current capacity is not needed, my last CX flight 10 days ago had 70 people on the HKG to LHR route.

[K1ngston]

[postquote quote=1017680][/postquote]

Thanks so much for your kind words 31/2 days and counting :)….

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GivingupBA

[GivingupBA]

Brief report – two days ago we flew from Seoul to KLM in economy class. The plane, a 777-200, had a very light load: there were only 41 passengers in the economy / economy comfort cabin. The plane was sparkling clean and the “masks in flight” rule was quite strictly enforced by cabin crew. Food and service were good, with two rounds of hot and good food plus an interim goodie bag with a banana, chocolate, biscuits, cheese spread. Seoul airport was extremely quiet. Amsterdam airport (where we were waiting for a connection) was getting very busy by 8 AM.

Needless to say (I hope) I’m not connected with KLM or the travel business in any way.

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K1ngston

[Author]

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