[TonyR]

Just discovering the limitations of Virgin and the SkyTeam Alliance. I am travelling on Virgin UC to Shanghai connecting onto SkyTeam partner China Eastern to Qingdao. There is no code share so I have to book separate flights. Correction, there is a code share with a 15hr layover in Shanghai that ignores the earlier flights at 2.5 and 7 hrs layovers. Neither earlier flight has a code share and Virgin can’t book them..

Then looking at going to Sydney in the next few months. Increasingly difficult on Virgin and earning tier points with their shrinking route network to the east (now just Shanghai). I could do a Virgin to Shanghai and Shanghai to Sydney on China Eastern except there is no code share. So they are separate bookings done through the respective airlines with cost implications and also a big problem if I want to use my Companion Voucher as its two flights rather than one with a stop. All Virgin can offer is a much longer flight through LAX with Delta at double the price of BA through Singapore.

So just what is the point of their SkyTeam alliance? 🙄

3 users thanked author for this post.

DerekVH, jwhi56, HKGinADL

[Dansk]

Virgin have through fares and ticketing to Qingdao and you should be able to book that directly with Virgin or a travel agent.

I assume you travel from London, then the below routings for Qingdao is available. you can use China Eastern, Shanghai Airlines or the codeshare flight from Shanghai-Qingdao.

LON-VS-SHA-MU/FM/VS-TAO

When it come to SYD, VS offer through fares via the US on Delta.

LON-BOS/NYC/WAS/MIA/ORL/ATL/LAS/LAX/SFO/SEA-LAX-DL/VS-SYD

[TonyR]

@Dansk. I’ve just flown LHR-PVG-TAO on VS and MU. What you say is not available. I tried online – it doesn’t even recognise TAO as a destination and if you force it with the airport list it says no flights available. I tried the FC Gold line. They said it wasn’t on their system so they couldn’t book it. I eventually got two separate tickets and asked at LHR check-in if they could ticket me through. They tried then phoned someone up and then said it wasn’t possible. When I got to the gate at PVG they announced flight numbers for MU, AF and KL but not VS. So doing what you say simply isn’t possible whatever Virgin might claim.

On LHR-SYD yes they do offer a route through LAX on Delta but it’s over double the price of BA through Singapore and 9hrs longer. £7,900 and 32hrs on VS via LAX vs £2,900 & 23hrs on BA via SIN. Who would choose the VS option? The frustration is LHR-PVG-SYD is a perfectly viable route on VS+MU but you can’t book it. You have to book LHR-PVG with VS and then PVG-SYD with MU (and lose about 240 tier points in UC for the round trip because of the lower tier points on MU metal. With Tokyo and HK now off the VS destinations, MU code share should be a way to reopen Asia routes for VS with MU’s PVG hub but currently we are stuck with a SkyTeam alliance which is on paper only.

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