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Aussie Trip Report 2015 Part 1: VA 77W Classic J vs A330 Suites

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  • Aussie Trip Report 2015 Part 1: VA 77W Classic J vs A330 Suites

    Virgin Australia 2015 Trip Report


    Going to Australia seems to be an annual affair, and with a stronger US dollar, it made this trip a bit more affordable and has given me a chance to experience more interesting domestic routes and regional airlines. Other than non-sense rule that passengers are not allowed to use the mobile phone to take photo in tarmac (while the gate agents are using walkie-talkie to communicate and sure everyone of them had a mobile in their pockets, not to mention many passengers in nearby planes and terminal are actively surfing the net and texting), Australians are very friendly and welcoming, and most regional airlines have really friendly crews. I really got a bit more than I have bargained for during this trip, and hope you will enjoy this upcoming series of trip reports:

    First Stop: Virgin Australia

    Full album:
    http://s1213.photobucket.com/user/Ca...straliaOCT2015

    October 6, 2015
    VA 8 LAX to BNE Lv2350 Arr0650+1 Boeing 777-300ER VH-VPE “Noosa Heads Beach”

    Booking: I decided to use up the rest of my Delta Sky Pesos for this trip and will argue that issuing a Virgin Australia award ticket is the best use of it. I don’t need to call anything and book everything on line. I managed to do a crazy LAX-BNE-SYD-PER routing, and despite Delta.com showed seat map, you still needed to call Virgin Australia to reserve seats, which was a very easy and pleasant experience. I was able to pull up my booking on Virgin Australia’s website, which displayed all my seat assignments correctly.

    Check-in:


    Virgin Australia has a rather peculiar arrangement, in terms of check-in. It uses Terminal Three for check-in and also less crowded space than Tom Bradley International Terminal and closer to its partner, Virgin America. However, you still need to walk to TBIT for boarding and security.




    Check-in was a breeze, as I arrived a bit later than I wanted due to a busy day in office and very busy traffic inside LAX. There was only one person ahead of me in the premium queue, and the friendly agent checked me through to Perth and gave me all the boarding passes, and a transfer jacket, which had tickets for SkyTrain in Brisbane or T-BUS at Sydney for transference from international to domestic terminal.

    On the other hand, TBIT was a nightmare, just like every other day, and even priority lane did not buy you too much time. I could not wait till the day when passengers flying foreign airlines could use TSA Pre. It took me almost 30 minutes to pass through security.

    Lounge:
    Sorry no pictures here, as I only briefly stopped by the Star Alliance lounge to use the bathroom! But I am sure you can find plenty of Star Alliance LAX lounge’s pictures in the Internet. The lounge was very busy this evening, as there were plenty of late night transpacific flight.

    Boarding:
    Some poor shots of VH-VPE
    Its name is “Noosa Heads Beach” and I believe that Virgin Australia names all their planes with beaches all across Australia.






    Boarding began at 11:08pm and there were separate lanes for business, premium economy, and economy passengers. Boarding was pretty orderly, and a couple cabin shots before the rest of the cabin arrived. Business class was 100% full tonight.





  • #2


    Clint, the F/A serving our aisle, immediately introduced himself and served some welcome drinks, along with amenity kit and menu for tonight. Pajamas were later passed out. The F/As were very friendly and many conversations were going around. Some passengers were rather shocked that middle seats were still a think in Virgin Australia’s business class. Well in a couple months, these seats would become history.

    The cabin was getting warmer by the minutes, as our departure time of 11:50pm was passed. The pilot finally came on the PA explaining the warm cabin due to a faulty APU tonight. They also had to wait for a startup truck, as the first one broke before being able to help us out. The F/As came by with water – even a choice of still or sparkling. Purser, Daniel, also took the opportunities to say high to everyone, and also passed out immigration forms with the flight information and dates filled out for us too. That was a very nice touch, and a nice introduction. We finally pushed back at 00:38am and we took off from R/W25R at 00:58am.

    Flying time was almost thirteen hours, and we caught up a bit of time in the end. Our routing took us mostly over water except we passed Port Vila, Vanuatu, and Koumac, New Caldeonia. We climbed progressive from 30,000ft to 35,000ft, which was our final cruising attitude.



    Entertainment:
    Virgin Australia used the same interface system as Virgin America’s Red system, and while the movie library was reasonable, the TV selection was limited (even worst than its WIFI-enabled entertainment system for domestic flights). Thankfully it was an overnight flight and I slept almost the whole first two third of the flight.


    Wine List:
    Champagne Ayala Millesime 2006 Vintage

    White Wine
    Petaluma White Label Adelaide Hills South Australia 2014 Sauvignon Blanc


    Bridgewater Mill Adelaide Hills South Australia 2013 Chardonnay
    Kapuka Marlborough New Zealand 2014 Pinto Gris

    Red Wine
    St Hallett Black Clay Barossa Valley, South Australia 2014 Shiraz
    Coriole Redstone McLaren Vale South Australia 2013 Cabernet
    Philip Shaw ‘The Wire Walker’ Orange New South Wales 2014 Pinot Noir

    Choice of warmed almonds or olives


    Catering:
    Clint explained that there was an express dinner option, but I chose the full dining experience, as I had an early supper and had no time for food in the lounge. I also trust Luke Mangan’s designed food, which is definitely a highlight all my Virgin Australia’s business class flights.

    For dinner, no tray was used and everything was service course by course.

    Dinner


    Salt & Pepper Shakers in the shape of Sydney Opera House


    Bakery
    Your choice of warmed artisan breads


    Starter
    Beetroot soup with parsley
    Salad of mozzarella, fig, cherry tomatoes and rocket with balsamic dressing
    Smoked salmon with pickled cucumber, capers, Vietnamese mint and coriander


    Main
    Beef short rib with wasabi mustard potatoes, Dukkah-spiced carrots and broad beans
    Braised duck leg on celeriac and fennel remoulade with green beans



    Barramundi fillet with snow peas, roast capsicum, tomato, capers and basil
    Seared haloumi with eggplant relish, chickpeas, tahini and lime

    Cheese or dessert
    Gruyere cheese, Pennsylvania, USA
    Cambozola, Germany
    Camembert, USA
    Cheese accompanied by grapes, dates, and multigrain flatbread crackers

    Comment


    • #3
      Passion fruit mousse and mango mousse cake with berries


      Haagen Dazs – chocolate or vanilla ice cream

      It was 3 am by the time dinner was completed and the bar (only four seats) was already crowded. Drinking was definitely the theme for many passengers tonight.

      Seat:



      It is a typical earlier generation of fully lie flat seats with some storage spaces here and there for small items. The legroom was ridiculous, but the window seat flyer will have to tip toe across your neighbor seat to use the bathroom. My neighbor did not go 180 full flat so I had a bit more wiggle rooms.

      I like these small storage areas for cell phone, glasses and bottled water.



      Divider screen


      Power outlet & headset plug


      Electronic control panel


      Turndown service:
      Virgin Australia offers a turndown service, like most top-notch Asian and European airlines. They set up a mattress on top of the seat, and then a full-sized pillow and duvet was provided. I slept very well throughout the night.



      I woke up about six and seven hours later, and could not fall back asleep. I headed back to the bar, which was now quiet.

      Photos of the bar:


      Comment


      • #4








        Special instruction for the bar:


        A F/A also spotted me in the lounge and immediately offered me beverages and snacks. I decided to have a cup of mint tea, and tried out the chicken sandwiches and brownie, which was warmed.

        Pantry
        Chicken, pine nut and basil mayonnaise finger sandwiches


        Spinach and mushroom torte with chili tomato relish and rocket

        Warmed chocolate and walnut brownie


        It was a very nice place to hang out, but since the barstool had no seat belt. You had to go back to your seat, when the sign was switched on.

        Approaching New Caledonia


        Breakfast:
        Breakfast card was collected before we took off, and the service started around 11:45am LA’s time, about three hours prior to arrival. The food was good, but the F/A forgot my beverages.

        Breakfast
        Please mark your selections on your wake-up card and your crew will have this prepared for you when you awake.

        Comment


        • #5
          Juice
          Orange juice or seasonal juice blend

          Cereal
          Cornflakes or Sultana Bran


          Bakery
          Croissant or whole wheat rolls, served with your choice of jam, honey or Vegemite



          Cherry Danish

          Fruit
          Seasonal fruit selection served on its own or with natural or fruit yogurt



          Main
          Bircher Muesli with watermelon, grape and passionfruit
          French raisin toast with red wine poached quince, almonds and coconut yogurt
          Scrambled egg burrito with tomato salsa served with your choice of bacon, chorizo, smoked salmon, haloumi or wilted spinach



          Coffee
          Virgin Australia serves Grinders coffee: Filter, Espresso, Cappuccino, or Flat White

          Tea
          English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Green Tea, Chamomile or Peppermint Tea

          Hot Chocolate
          Choose from a cup or a mug

          Flight Attendants:
          In general, Australian F/As are very friendly and down to earth. Virgin Australia definitely hires younger F/As, or simply is a much younger airline than Qantas Airways. The staffs are efficient and the service was very polished. These F/As seem to be very familiar with Virgin Australia’s transpacific services, so you really can’t complaint about anything at all.

          Interesting view of the bar, when it is all packed up


          Descent began around 6:33am local time, and we finally reached the Australian east coast.

          We landed on R/W19 at 6:56am. A couple fun shots…




          Busy morning here at Brisbane’s International Terminal

          Comment


          • #6
            VH-VPE at Brisbane


            Unfortunately for the next hour, I was standing in line for immigration and custom, and yes I had a fast track, aka Express pass. As a Global Entry member, you can use one of the kiosks in the hallway to get the card that allows you to go through a machine, but this morning only one of the kiosks were working. In hindsight, I should have just used that machine because that line was much shorter than the Express lane, which was just long. I felt bad for the crews, who had to wait in line after working these long flights from the US and Asia. I found the wait to be unacceptable for any major airports. The airport staffs were at least cheerful, unlike their American counterparts. Duty free shopkeepers were passing out free chocolates, and one of the staffs told us that this morning was actually not that particularly busy, but I was sure that most passengers disagreed.

            I booked a two hours and ten minutes connection for my next flight to Sydney and onto Perth. I thought I was being pretty safe and by the time I passed through custom, it was already 8:05am. At most Australian airports, the international terminal is often in the opposite end of the airport from the domestic terminals. You have to take a bus or train to the domestic terminal to catch your connection. I immediately went to the baggage drop off desk and asked if I needed to take a later flight. The agent told me that you were fine. In the end, I made it to the gate when they were just about to start boarding. Security lines at most Australian airports are manageable and the security staffs were mostly friendly. Their policies are more logical but I missed out on the newly renovated domestic Virgin Australia lounge in Brisbane. But for future references, if you are connecting at Brisbane in the morning and early afternoon rush hours, you need to give yourself at least three hours connecting time and if you are flying low cost like Tiger or Jetstar, I recommend four hours especially in the morning.

            October 8, 2015
            VA 932 Brisbane to Sydney Lv0900 Arr1135 Embraer EMB-190 VH-ZPA “Apollo Beach”

            I purposefully chose this EMB-190 flight because Virgin Australia has recently added real business class seats on these Embraer jets, and I like the solo seat on these EMB premium cabin.

            Boarding began right on time at 8:30am and there was a separate priority line for premium passengers and elite level frequent flyers. The flight was very full with a group of schoolgirls heading to Sydney for some competition or performances. A very friendly F/A welcomed us aboard, and pre-takeoff beverage was offered, along with newspapers and an offering of the Samsung tablets, which I skipped. I have downloaded Virgin Australia’s entertainment app, and with this short flight, you may only have forty to fifty minutes of time anyway.

            Served in real glass BTW


            Business Class was two third full (4 out of 6 seats), and the F/A invited me to move across to the aisle so I had two seats to myself.

            My original throne seat:



            Glimpse of Y cabin:


            My new seat(s)


            Door was closed at 8:52am. We pushed back at 8:58am and taxied towards R/W19. It was a fairly busy morning period, and we finally took off at 9:16am for our hour and fourteen minutes flight. We cruised at 38,000feet.

            A full hot breakfast was offered this morning with a choice of a warmed Goat Cheese frittata with bacon, onion marmalade and Boston beans or a continental breakfast featuring Mixed fruit Muesli with pomegranate and coconut yogurt. All four of us selected the frittata dish. Not sure why, but the F/A had to go to the aft galley to retrieve the hot dishes. Bread selections include freshly baked croissants and wheat rolls.









            The rest of the flight was uneventful, and descent began at 11:04am Sydney local time, which was an hour ahead of Brisbane. We landed on R/W16L at 11:30am and parked at gate 44 nine minutes later.

            Comment


            • #7


              Here is a shot of the Embraer jet.



              October 8, 2015
              VA 561 Sydney to Perth Lv1400 Arr1610 Airbus A330-200 VH-XFH “Duranbah Beach”


              Lounge:
              Virgin Australia operates a large lounge here at Sydney domestic terminal, and I did not snap too many pictures because it was really crowded. Food wise – there are the staple items of all Australian domestic lounges – cold cuts, cheese, salad, bread, and toastie machine, along with a soup of the day. The soup selection has been pretty good, and today, there was even an Asian noodle dish. I was fairly happy plus I was not hungry at all. But I could never say no to cream of mushroom.

              When I checked the flightradar24 app, I have already known that VH-XFH, a bird that I had flown once, would be servicing my flight. I checked various websites and for some reason, I thought it had the older seats, not one of the recently updated planes. But I was wrong!

              Boarding:
              Boarding began at 1:30pm and I just stayed with the priority line. Unlike in the US, boarding went fairly smooth here and I was pleasantly surprised to see the new business suites, which were really nice. I love the black color scheme and the matching purple mood light. The F/As were very proud of these new suites, and thankfully there was a handy guide explaining the features. The F/A also gave me a briefing.







              The F/A immediately offered me a pre-takeoff beverage, along with menus and newspapers. Headsets were already inside of the storage bin in the armrest console.




              The new suites are very nice and addressed many shortcomings of previous generation of reverse herringbone seats. I felt that there was a bit more room for the feet and the storage bins were more reasonable, along with many different forms of USB ports and power outlet. I love the tray table design, which came out from under the TV. But I still found the seats to be a bit narrow in full flat positions. I really hope that the Boeing 777 suites will be a bit wider, sort of like Cathay Pacific, in which the 777 business suites definitely felt a bit more wider than A330.

              Comment


              • #8


                Television and tray table is right below it – a smart design






                Literature pocket


                There is a whole side panel with hidden storage spaces


                Console with small storage bin and all the power port and USB port and headset plug



                Entertainment console


                Seat control – all touch screen


                Another storage bin on the other side of the armrest – headset is there

                Comment


                • #9


                  Lots of legroom


                  Flight:
                  Door was closed at 1:59pm and we pushed back five minutes later. We took off from R/W16R at 2:15pm. Flying time was a shorter than normal four hours and twenty-seven minutes. When you looked the map, you almost felt like we traveled on a semi-circle/arch route. We climbed to 40,000feet and passed through Cowra and Mildrua before entering the Great Australian Blight, and then into Western Australia.




                  I love the new map


                  Seat in relax position



                  Seat in flat bed position


                  Divider in the middle pair



                  Shortly after takeoff, the purser came by with bottled water and introduced himself! It was a nice gesture!


                  Catering:
                  There have been some changes with the service styles, compared to my last Virgin Australia transcontinental business class flight. Back then they used a bit more trolley, like classic premium cabin. However Virgin Australia has now adopted a more restaurant style dining experience, which is very contemporary. Everything is brought out course by course, and the F/As are very efficient. Of course the highlight of all Virgin Australia’s meals is the Luke Mangan’s designed menu, which truly brought a restaurant to 40,000feet. The food was beautifully presented and you can see the efforts by Luke Mangan and his team to overcome the inherent difficulty of serving good food in the air.

                  Like international flights, first beverage service was served along with your choice of almonds or olives.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Champagne – same as international flight


                    No tray is used


                    Lunch/Dinner
                    Bakery
                    Your choice of warmed artisan breads




                    Starter
                    King prawns with corn salsa, coriander salad and chipotle mayonnaise


                    Zucchini and Parmesan soup with dill and mint

                    Main
                    Black bean, soy and five spice braised pork belly with rice, sesame, coriander and spring onion
                    Tasmanian salmon fillet with tomato, potato and ginger curry



                    Lasagna of globe artichoke, silverbeet and porcini mushroom with basil, tomato and Parmesan

                    Side Salad


                    Cheese or dessert
                    Margaret River vintage cheddar, Western Australia
                    Margaret River triple cream Brie, Western Australia
                    Berry’s Creek Tarwin Blue, Victoria
                    Cheese accompanied by fruit paste, grapes, and crackers

                    Chocolate and cherry cake with crème fraiche


                    Coffee
                    Please ask your crew for today’s coffee selection

                    Tea
                    Madame Flavor range – Special Blend Black Tea, Early Grey Twist, Green Tea with Jasmine & Pear or Mint Tisane
                    Hot Chocolate

                    Express
                    Please select two courses from this menu – these will be accompanied by your choice of warmed bakery.

                    Starter
                    King prawns with corn salsa, coriander salad and chipotle mayonnaise
                    Zucchini and Parmesan soup with dill and mint

                    Cheese
                    Margaret River vintage cheddar, Western Australia
                    Margaret River triple cream Brie, Western Australia
                    Berry’s Creek Tarwin Blue, Victoria
                    Cheese accompanied by fruit paste, grapes, and crackers

                    Dessert
                    Chocolate and cherry cake with crème fraiche

                    Coffee
                    Please ask your crew for today’s coffee selection

                    Tea
                    Madame Flavor range – Special Blend Black Tea, Early Grey Twist, Green Tea with Jasmine & Pear or Mint Tisane

                    Hot Chocolate

                    Wine
                    Champagne
                    Champagne Ayala Millesime 2006 Vintage

                    White Wine
                    Petaluma White Label Adelaide Hills South Australia 2014 Sauvignon Blanc
                    Bridgewater Mill Adelaide Hills South Australia 2013 Chardonnay
                    Kapuka Marlborough New Zealand 2014 Pinto Gris

                    Red Wine
                    St Hallett Black Clay Barossa Valley, South Australia 2014 Shiraz
                    Coriole Redstone McLaren Vale South Australia 2013 Cabernet
                    Philip Shaw ‘The Wire Walker’ Orange New South Wales 2014 Pinot Noir

                    Virgin Australia has also introduced a new pantry service featuring various snacks on demand after the formal meal dining. However I felt that there should be a more proper final beverage service. Maybe I am just more used to the American style, but since using call buttons are no issues, I got a coke zero about 50 minutes prior to arrival… all with a smile. The F/As are very proud of the new products.

                    Entertainment:
                    These suites feature more Virgin Australia interface system, which no longer reminds me of Virgin America’s Red. The audio and video library feature more items than the Boeing 777, which I really appreciate. I also like the new Sky Map.

                    Descent soon commenced at 3:15pm Perth local time, and there was a hot towel service.



                    We landed on R/W24 at 3:42pm local time and parked at gate 20 a few minutes later.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Farewell cabin shot



                      VH-XFH at Perth


                      The most amazing part of the trip is the delivery of the bags, which took less than ten minutes for the priority bags to show up. It might be due to the smaller airport. I hope Virgin Australia can maintain that baggage delivery speed when it moves to its new domestic terminal in a few months.

                      In conclusion, I am very satisfied with Virgin Australia business class service, and sort of hope that it can bring some of that energy to its economy product in the domestic market. Virgin Australia has really restricted award availability on its international flights, which is honestly no surprise, but I still hope that I have a chance to fly it again in the future. I hope you enjoy the first part of the trip report! The next section will cover some Australian regional airlines.

                      Carfield

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        thanks Carfield for the TR! I have flown many VA sectors but never international so this is quite eye opening to me. Certainly seems attractive enough, both hard and soft products.

                        Can I ask if you managed shots of the amenity and PJs? Its alright if you didn't; I'm just curious

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Great report thank you.

                          I think this shows Virgin Australia really need to upgrade their B777-300ER business class cabin to lift the game.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Metropolitan Airlines View Post
                            Great report thank you.

                            I think this shows Virgin Australia really need to upgrade their B777-300ER business class cabin to lift the game.
                            They do have an upgrade planned which is expected to be launched in early 2016. Super Diamond seats, like the ones QR uses in their new aircraft.

                            Comment

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