After Christmas in Vegas, it was on to the next stage of the trip and a flight ‘down under’. I was very excited to try the Virgin Australia product as they now have a code share with Virgin Atlantic to Australia. The headline is that VA trans-Pacific was excellent and reminded me of the level of service from VS about ten years ago. Naturally I’ve made a video and there is a link at the end of this report.
We arrived on a connecting DL flight from LAS so didn’t experience check-in at LAX. Although I understand the check-in desks are currently in terminal 3 whilst departure is from the neighbouring Tom Bradley International Terminal.
Back as LAS the Delta check-in could not have been more straightforward, with bags checked right through to BNE and boarding passes issued for both flights. It turned out that DL and VA have a joint venture across the Pacific in the same way as DL and VS do across the Atlantic. One benefit of being on a connecting flight is that Virgin Australia are not currently part of the TSA-Pre service, whereas Delta are. So at LAS I cleared security very speedily, without having to remove shoes, iPads etc.
On arrival at LAX – the DL flight came in to terminal 3 – a VA rep was waiting at the gate to direct connecting passengers to the airside shuttle bus service to Tom Bradley. The shuttle took a bit longer than usual as it stopped at terminal 2 first.
At Tom Bradley, VA use the Emirates Lounge. I think the lounge was open just for VA passengers in the evening, with a Virgin agent at the front desk. It was a pretty standard Emirates lounge – which are always good – with a hot and cold buffet selection, beers, wines, spirits and Veuve Clicquot champagne. The lounge featured a terrace which looked down on the main terminal shopping area.
I left for the gate before the flight was called, to get a march on the boarding process. The gate was about a five minute walk away. Just a few minutes later than stated on my boarding pass the boarding process started. ‘The Business’ pax (as Virgin Australia call their business class) boarded through door 1L, even though some of the seats are behind 2L where all other pax boarded. I was in seat 5K on the right hand side towards the back of the front cabin.
The cabin was a 1-2-1 reverse herringbone. Not my favourite seat layout due to the acrobatics of getting out when it’s a flat bed. But there was plenty of space around the seat and a fixed counter between the seat and the two windows to the side.
Between the two cabins of business class is the bar area. It was much bigger than any VS bar with two lounge seats as well as fixed bar stools.
Very quickly after boarding a member of crew came over and introduced themselves as the person who would be looking after me. I was asked how ‘I would like to be referred to’. I opted for first name terms. Throughout the flight I was then called by my first name on every occasion I was served. Pre-flight drinks were offered, with a not necessarily needed arm twist to have champagne. VA serve Ayala champagne. After which an amenity kit and pyjamas were handed out. The amenity kit was fairly basic (with similar amenities to the VS one). The pyjamas were enormous – I fitted the medium whereas on VS I would definitely be a large.
The crew member also asked if it was my first time with Virgin Australia, and when I said yes, she offered to come back once I had settled in and talk me through the features of the seats. This she did a few minutes later. Pre-takeoff, I was also asked it I wanted to dine. There was a full menu available, but also an express menu (with no hot main course) that could be brought out on a tray immediately after take-off. I opted for the full menu.
We pushed back pretty much on schedule and, after a very short taxi, where airborne.
Immediately the seatbelt sign came off the crew where back in the cabin. Those who had opted to go straight to sleep had their beds made up first. The bedding isn’t near the seat, but is stored in the galley, so needs to be fetched by the crew. The bedding consists of a mattress topper which goes over the top of the seat. The seat then reclines to fully flat. There is also a pillow and duvet. My biggest criticism of the seat/bed was the overly large airbag attached to the seat belt. It was about twice the size of the VS one and tended to get in the way.
Having sorted beds and served ‘Express’ trays, orders were then taken for the main meal service. I opted for root vegetable soup, followed by a steak sandwich and then strawberry ice cream. The food was well presented and all very tasty.
Accompanying the meal was a good selection of wines, although I opted for a second glass of the Ayala champagne.
I settled in to watch a movie during the meal service. The IFES featured an 18” touch screen fixed directly in front of the seat (so can be used from gate to gate). Pretty good noise cancelling headphones are provided although I used my own Bose set. The range of movies wasn’t particularly noteworthy, although they did have the full box set of series 1 of The West Wing, so I was happy.
After the meal service, my bed was made for me and I settled down for a sleep. The bed was fairly comfortable, although the oversized airbag strapped over you was a little weird.
Having had a fair few hours sleep, it was time to try out the bar. Full length curtains blocked the bar area off from the cabins. The bar was deserted, but a call button allowed you to summon a crew member from the galley to serve drinks. The bar was fully set out, even though it was a night flight. Even so, it was the middle of the night, so I opted for OJ.
Back to the seat, a nap and a few episodes of The West Wing later, and it was time for breakfast. With the main meal service order, breakfast order cards had been collected in. My full breakfast selection was brought to me on a tray about ninety minutes prior to landing.
GoGo WiFi was available throughout the flight. It cost 19.99 AUD for the full flight. Although the download speed was disappointing at 0.61 mbps when I tested it.
The pilot came on the PA as we began our initial decent into Brisbane. The crew came around the cabin, chatting to passengers about their plans in Australia as they prepared the cabin for landing.
We landed ahead of schedule and arrived at the gate ten minutes early.
The highlight of the flight was definitely the service; friendly and efficient. The food was also first class. It certainly had the Virgin factor, if anything more so than VS these days. I will definitely attempt to fly a VA/VS codeshare on my next business trip ‘down under’.
Here is the video over on YouTube.
The next leg of the trip is another VA flight up to Bali, for which I’ll file a trip report soon.