Review: Virgin Australia Business Class Boeing 737 (PER-SYD)

Great review - new cabins just need a partion and look comfortable enough. I know you were planning on flying QF but due to the extremely expensive prices you went with VA instead.

But on a QF A330 on this route with a good crew (which is generally most of the time) the experience is night and day compared to this - lie flat beds. Extensive food,snacks, drinks and menus, wifi, TVs, pillows and blankets etc.

Admittedly VA is a hybrid carrier between full service and low cost so between QF and JQ so in reality I think for the price it’s good but it’s hard to compare it to QF.

I've flown VA in shorter J segments recently and haven't done a transcon on QF for some time, but would agree. If I were booking with points QF would be a no-brainer, but at up to, and sometimes more than twice the fare QF J would lose out if I were paying cash. If it were an overnight flight lie-flat seats would be a factor, on a daylight flight not so much. (Add to that the chance that QF would swap out an A330 for a B737, with recliners...)

Thanks for the review. May I remind you that your blog is read internationally and all the references to how it is in America offer little reference for the rest of us abroad.

I recently flew VA business from MEL to PER, PER to BNE and BNE back to MEL. As a United 1K flyer, the decision to fly VA was largely because of the recent partnership between the airlines to codeshare. My experience on all three flight was underwhelming. All three planes were old (like retired United planes from the early 2000s old). The seats were equally old. There was no power, wifi or built in entertainment options (two of the flights were 4+ hour flights cross country). The onboard entertainment through their app also did not work reliably on any of the flights. Meal service was mediocre at best (economy had no complimentary meal service or drinks other that water, tea and coffee on any of the flights). I found VA to be a third rate airline charging fares similar to QF but offering much lesser quality service. Based on my experience I will be returning to QF next time I need domestic travel in Australia and giving up the UA PQP I would otherwise earn!

The Captain usually makes an announcement after take off on VA welcoming you onboard, etc. and then prior to decent, the FO usually gives an update on weather, etc.
So the lack of announcement would have been isolated to this crew.

We had 3 internal flights scheduled last November/December in business class, all on the east coast. We paid cash, very reasonable fares. The flight we did take were fine, nothing memorable.

The problem was when we woke up at 5:30 for an 8:30 Gold Coast - Melbourne flight and read our email to learn it was cancelled. Fortunately we were staying 5 minutes' walk to the airport. We quickly packed and headed there. They basically said "good luck" and made no attempt to rebook us on anything that would arrive the same day via another airline. We ran over to the Qantas counter and paid $900 for 2 economy seats - much more than we'd paid for the business class Virgin Australia seats on that segment. We did ultimately get reimbursed for the additional fare - but only a month or 2 later after an ordeal getting Qantas to provide us any kind of receipt.

Moral of the story - they're fine but potentially unreliable.

VA seem to always start meal orders in Row 1, so Row 2 often gets no choice of meal. It's ridiculous and cheap.

Hi Cr-,
Since America is world’s super power and dominant cultural force, it is important that you know the details of how things operate in America. You should thank Ben for providing you with free education.

To be fair, Ben's comparisons reflect poorly on American airlines overall.
Quite rightly too, as American airlines F and J is reliably crap.

3:30 hrs? Impossible! Something seems off

3hr 30 - likely, there are often decent tail winds from West to East. The return leg usually takes an extra 30 minutes or so

Not sure what the big deal is. Seems like an ordinary domestic flight. The airlines can't get it right. You complain about the opposite. On one hand they did not give you a choice of food but on the other hand they should not overstock and waste. (for example) but there are many other examples.

I'm a non-US reader too. But it's a personal blog, aimed primarily at a US audience, written by an American, who lives in Miami. Of course it's going to have a US perspective.

Do you also complain about all the posts about US credit cards that we can't apply for?

QF is great from PER to SYD if you get an A330. but a lot of the flights from PER to MEL and BNE in particular are 737s which are actually worse than this one, as they're usually older.

It is really sad to read this trip report because the "new" Virgin Australia is just nothing like its former self. The former "Virgin Australia" A330 Perth to Sydney flight featured a suite type seats with printed menus, a three course meal, and an extensive snack basket. The meal was just unacceptable IMHO. The difference between your meal on this transcontinental flight and shorter Brisbane to Sydney flight is just the additional appetizer.

Those cheese and cracker packs are definitely a signature on all Virgin Australia's meals now. I wonder how much the airline has ordered.

With the continued decline of service in Australia domestic flights, there is less incentive to fly those full service airlines and pay a significant price to fly up front.

Thanks for sharing and while your review is gracious, I will not fly Virgin Australia's transcontinental business class at all, unless the price is cheap. God knows what kind of meals will be served on those 737 flights between Tokyo and Cairns.

I'm in Canberra so Perth requires a connection (apart from the one daily QF B737) and I would aim for whatever SYD or MEL connection put me on an A330, if I flew QF. If I flew from BNE I'd also check connecting flights to try to find an A330 flight on the transcon segment (if it's not too much more expensive).

Agree, I suspect a reasonable proportion of the Australian readers here are familiar with US domestic flights so the comparison is useful, as it would be to potential travellers for whom it gives an idea of what to expect in that market.

Having purchased the flight for 28,800 united miles and $12usd per person, I'd say it was pretty inexpensive.

For 28,800 united miles and $12usd pretty slick redemption Ben. Certainly not the most exciting soft product, but for an almost 4 hour Australian transcon and 38" of pitch that's a pretty good deal. Looks so similar to a number of US transcons. I noticed that routing goes right over the Great Austrialian Bight towards the Southern Ocean, how cool.

VA business is catered with a snacks, some crew don't offer it but you can ask for it.

Oh how I miss Virgin America. First Class was akin to Int'l Business Class. The seats were dreamy...

Can you imagine paying for a premium service only to find you have to ask for its amenities? I knew when I flew BA Club World that you had to ask for champagne at T5 lounges. Go figure...

Agreed the a330 was a real treat on the trip to BNE. Even on the 737 at least it had a magnetic rope to stop anyone entering the business cabin ( and therefore toilet )