Virgin Australia Coast-to-Coast Trip Report 2014
I have always wanted to fly the well-praised coast-to-coast business class service launched by Virgin Australia a few years ago with a fleet of seven Airbus A330-200s. I have finally gotten my chance to travel down under recently and added this roundtrip from Melbourne to Perth, and then back from Perth to Sydney in business class. I was lucky to get the new/updated business class seats (similar to Singapore Airlines’ current version of regional business class seats) on both segments. The service in the air was great, and Elise on the Melbourne to Perth segment was friendly and professional, and compared to my return segment, she was definitely more polished and paid attention to details. The ground service was okay, and priority check-in was available at both major hubs, and I was addressed by my last name during boarding at both stations. There were clear signs pointing to the priority services, and the menu designed by Luke Mangan was great, and I cleaned up my plates on both flights. I actually urge JetBlue to send their team to try out their version of transcontinental business class service, and this should be what Jetblue’s Mint aims to provide or to surpass this service a bit more. However, even this prestigious service cannot escape the bean counters. Despite of former reports about amenity kits and the advertisement on their websites, amenity kits are no longer offered on daytime flights, except redeye flights.
Photo album for those who do not want to read this report
http://s1213.photobucket.com/user/Ca...lBusinessClass
Flight information:
March 31, 2014
VA 681 MEL-PER Lv1000 Arr1125 Airbus A330-200 VH-XFH “Duranbah Beach”
We stayed at 40,000feet most of the time, until we were about an hour away from Perth and we descent to 34,000feet for the rest of the flight.
April 1, 2014
VA 556 PER-SYD Lv1030 Arr1750 Airbus A330-200 VH-XFC “Mooloolaba Beach”
We stayed at 41,000feet throughout the flight.
Pre-flight:
I used my Virgin America elevate points for the roundtrip flights, and was provided with a Virgin Australia’s reservation number upon receiving my e-tickets. I was able to select seats on Virgin Australia website with no issues, and it was a very passenger-friendly system.
Check-in:
Priority check-in counters were clearly marked at both airports, and I arrived about ninety minutes prior to departure. Melbourne was a much easier airport and there was a short wait but in both MEL and PER, the agent was friendly and reassured that they could change seats. To give Virgin Australia credits, the agents were friendlier and well polished compared to other airlines. They had an unique Aussie charm.
Melbourne Airport’s Terminal Three
Clearly marked and organized check-in area
Priority sign every step of the way
Perth Airport’s Terminal Three – quiet time at these mid morning hours
Priority check-in counters
More priority sign
I have always wanted to fly the well-praised coast-to-coast business class service launched by Virgin Australia a few years ago with a fleet of seven Airbus A330-200s. I have finally gotten my chance to travel down under recently and added this roundtrip from Melbourne to Perth, and then back from Perth to Sydney in business class. I was lucky to get the new/updated business class seats (similar to Singapore Airlines’ current version of regional business class seats) on both segments. The service in the air was great, and Elise on the Melbourne to Perth segment was friendly and professional, and compared to my return segment, she was definitely more polished and paid attention to details. The ground service was okay, and priority check-in was available at both major hubs, and I was addressed by my last name during boarding at both stations. There were clear signs pointing to the priority services, and the menu designed by Luke Mangan was great, and I cleaned up my plates on both flights. I actually urge JetBlue to send their team to try out their version of transcontinental business class service, and this should be what Jetblue’s Mint aims to provide or to surpass this service a bit more. However, even this prestigious service cannot escape the bean counters. Despite of former reports about amenity kits and the advertisement on their websites, amenity kits are no longer offered on daytime flights, except redeye flights.
Photo album for those who do not want to read this report
http://s1213.photobucket.com/user/Ca...lBusinessClass
Flight information:
March 31, 2014
VA 681 MEL-PER Lv1000 Arr1125 Airbus A330-200 VH-XFH “Duranbah Beach”
We stayed at 40,000feet most of the time, until we were about an hour away from Perth and we descent to 34,000feet for the rest of the flight.
April 1, 2014
VA 556 PER-SYD Lv1030 Arr1750 Airbus A330-200 VH-XFC “Mooloolaba Beach”
We stayed at 41,000feet throughout the flight.
Pre-flight:
I used my Virgin America elevate points for the roundtrip flights, and was provided with a Virgin Australia’s reservation number upon receiving my e-tickets. I was able to select seats on Virgin Australia website with no issues, and it was a very passenger-friendly system.
Check-in:
Priority check-in counters were clearly marked at both airports, and I arrived about ninety minutes prior to departure. Melbourne was a much easier airport and there was a short wait but in both MEL and PER, the agent was friendly and reassured that they could change seats. To give Virgin Australia credits, the agents were friendlier and well polished compared to other airlines. They had an unique Aussie charm.
Melbourne Airport’s Terminal Three
Clearly marked and organized check-in area
Priority sign every step of the way
Perth Airport’s Terminal Three – quiet time at these mid morning hours
Priority check-in counters
More priority sign
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