V AUSTRALIA  Passenger Reviews and V Australia Customer Trip Reports

V AUSTRALIA customer review :  1 January 2010 : by S Reay   (Australia)

Sydney - LAX - Sydney in premium economy. Premium economy seats very comfortable with excellent legroom. Entertainment system good with on demand touch screen. Great selection of movies and audio. Crew very helpful and attentive. Meals tasty and self service bar was great for drinks and snacks.

V AUSTRALIA customer review :  12 December 2009 : by I Comyns   (Australia)

Sydney to Phuket. First impressions, nice looking aircraft and friendly crew. The seat was a complete surprise - so very narrow, but quite comfortable when fully reclined. Second surprise - the "in-flight bar" is used for "plating up." In other words, during service, it is being used for other purposes. Third surprise, the food was decidely average or below. Very disappointing. The service was very slow to begin with. Other airlines manage to serve an aperitif and snack quickly after take-off - not on V Australia. The crew appeared at times to be not quite sure of the mission, yet they were personable and willing. On the plus side, I thought inflight entertainment was excellent. If they can widen the seat and improve the food and beverage offering, V Australia will give established carriers a run for their money.

V AUSTRALIA customer review :  9 December 2009 : by Chad Briggs   (USA)

LAX-Brisbane return in economy. The promotional fare and past experience were the reason I chose V Australia, but would be wary of trying again. Seat pitch in economy was good, but seats were extremely hard and uncomfortable. I found it difficult to sleep as I kept shifting and sliding off the seat. On the return flight I had to use the blanket as extra cushion, and I have never encountered seat problems before. Premium economy seats looked disappointing, nothing like Virgin Atlantic or BA. Food was typical, but on a 14 hour flight it's a good idea to pack more. The entertainment system was good, but movie listings were a bit sparse considering the Virgin brand. Flight crew was quite young and cheerful, which was good on the flight but more problematic at checkin in Brisbane- I was lucky to catch that the agent had tagged my bag for the wrong airport.

V AUSTRALIA customer review :  4 December 2009 : by P Dolman   (Australia)

SYD-LAX, check-in at SYD was friendly and efficient. On board the extra leg room was worth it, as I was able to get some sleep on the flight. Seat comfort was great. Dinner was served shortly after take off - tasty and well presented, individual tray service instead of a trolley was a nice touch. Breakfast served before arrival in LAX again tasty.

V AUSTRALIA customer review :  1 December 2009 : by David Harrington   (Australia)

MEL-LAX-MEL. Checkin was a breeze with a connection in Sydney. Cabin has mood lighting. Inflight entertainment could offer many more movies and tv series/episodes etc. Self service bar in Economy is pretty small and doesn't really cater for much besides a few small packets of potato chips. Lights are out for around 10 hours mid flight to sleep but there is still 1/2 crew members floating around if you need something. Check in on return a disaster, line miles long and we left 45mins late due to this. I would advise to arrive early or face middle seats. The flight was on the return was overbooked, all classes full including Business as it was the day after Thanksgiving. Vaustralia crew cater for you in every way, friendly and down to earth. Seats are a little hard, but they provide pillow and a blanket. Headrest can be moved around also.

V AUSTRALIA customer review :  25 November 2009 : by B Ober   (USA)

LAX-SYD (via BNE outbound). Had trouble with Virgin America leg from SFO to LAX. Ticket for this leg was shown as canceled for "non-payment". Took two calls to VAustralia to get this figured out, including at the airport during check-in. Eventually resolved, but good thing I arrived early for my flight. Would advise triple checking any Virgin America connection bookings ahead of time. LAX to BNE/SYD return. Agree with other reviews that LAX terminal is awful. Limited to one restaurant, a Burger King and a Starbucks. If you have a long layover, suggest waiting in the Alaska Airlines portion of the terminal as there are plenty of seats and less people. Flight on V Australia close to flawless (economy). New plane, great entertainment system and wide, comfortable seats. The inflight meals were adequate and they had snacks and water available (self service). No waiting for bathrooms. Attendants were helpful, but not overly friendly. Clearing customs in BNE took at least 1.5 hours. Missed connecting flight to SYD on Virgin Blue. Would advise allowing 3+ hours if you are connecting out of BNE. The are very strict about bringing food items and other natural products into the country. I had none, but was still delayed. On the return, clearing customs in LAX only took less than 30 minutes. Virgin Blue is woefully unorganized. Every flight I had with them was delayed. Would advise another carrier for travel within the continent.

V AUSTRALIA customer review :  17 November 2009 : by Rod Nathan   (Australia)

Sydney LAX return in Premium Economy. You are paying extra for noticeably larger seats with a good deal more legroom and 2-4-2 configuration instead of economy 3-4-3 so it is easy to get a pair to share. Plus the quick check in is nice. Food however is very ordinary just like economy and no sign of the inflight bar snax and free drinks that are promoted and pictured on the V Australia website. B777ER a nice aircraft but lack individual air vents so if you prefer to be cool you are unlucky. Seats are pretty hard just like Virgin domestic - the reading light on an over the shoulder bendy stick seems like are really good idea until you have banged your ear on it for the umpteenth time. Crew seemed friendly and motivated but they are not overworked in Premium Economy which I estimate carries 40 people against 60 in the same space for economy.

V AUSTRALIA customer review :  10 November 2009 : by S Avant   (Australia)

Premium Economy, Sydney to LAX return. Great check in both ends. Comfortable seats with good leg room although a little firm. IFE great and reliable. The only complaint would be about the inflight service. Out of Sydney the FA's seemed mildly interested (I know it's not business class) and concerned themselves with a fellow V Australia employee/passenger who it seemed may have been on the flight to check things out. He was the önly person in the cabin that commanded attention and early in the morning I had to ask him and the FA's to continue their loud conversation away from myself and wife. On the return we had fabulous FA's that brought around hot towels and offered top up drinks. Fussed over us and it was a great experience. A game of two halves?

V AUSTRALIA customer review :  10 November 2009 : by R Jones   (Australia)

Sydney to Los Angeles return with V Australia. Very disappointed in our direct Melbourne to Los Angeles being cancelled. No real warning, plane not ready and connecting flights missed so had to stay extra nights on the way there and on the way back at our own cost. Plane on first journey was a week old, seats were all fresh, excellent leg room and recline was bigger than competitor airlines in my opinion. The staff were caring, and had smiles. The menu for dinner on both journeys was satisfying. I don't drink alcohol on long flights so it did not worry me that only one drink with your main meal was included. For a small price, (as we booked early) regardless that we had to travel through Sydney I have to say V Australia are some hard competition and I will choose them again over other airlines.

V AUSTRALIA customer review :  14 October 2009 : by P Gerrard   (Australia)

SYD-LAX-SYD. I would suggest to book within 2 months of travel for best fare. Aircraft new and looks great. Crew circulated constantly and good crew numbers. In flight entertainment system is awesome and wont disappoint unless it is broken. Headsets in economy are fragile and we were warned to be gentle but mine soon broke but was replaced. Kids well catered to. Meals were great in both directions. Choice of three items for main meal and choice of 2 for breakfast. Wines etc free first glass then it gets weird - have to pay using a card and it is expensive. Cheap wine in a very small plastic cup for $7AUD isn't great value. Only issue could be bread rolls / croissant stored in fridge had become hard. Seats comfy enough but maybe a little thin. Blanket and pillow all provided and clean! Return trip much the same with good attention to "lights out" in both directions. V Australia help to co-ordinate so seats are upright during meals etc. Shades are kept down and passengers issued with personal booklights in place of overhead reading lights (which are still there) - makes it less intrusive on those around you. Cabin storage is very good with large overhead space but they are very high so small people will find access a problem. Crew hand out a small water bottle and refills at chiller is free. Staff come around with jugs of water too. For frequent travellers out of Australia V Australia offers above a discount service. I woudn't pay extra for Premium Economy as the only big differences I could see were approx 1" legroom (nothing) and leather seats which get a bit sweaty anyway and noise cancelleing headsets, One issue to watch - Economy pax can upgrade to "extra legroom" seats. These are in row 1 in front of bulkheads. Also this area is used by crew and passengers to get around cabin. The legroom is slightly longer but not really worth it since fold-up screens and trays also you cant use inflight systems until seat belt sign is off. Otherwise economy can use it from time you board to time you leave. I would suggest you disable "seat chat" - it resets movies to start. Seats adjacent to emergency exists are away from this and might be good value but cost $125 per leg.

V AUSTRALIA customer review :  13 October 2009 : by Neil Ramsay   (Australia)

SYD-LAX and return in economy with almost full flights. New 777's, great crews both legs where nothing seemed to be a problem for them, good food, excellent IFE, plenty of water runs, snack bar, clean toilets. However the seats are really uncomfortable (hard) and after 3 hours of a 14 hour flight and you don't want that. Also the seat back IFE touch screens are a bit of a problem if the pax behind you uses it as a punch screen. Very annoying when trying to sleep and you eventually have to say something. VA use Terminal 3 at LAX for departures. It is small, hot, crowded and slow when checking in with two VA flights leaving about the same time. And the food situation once airside is pretty dire.

V AUSTRALIA customer review :  10 October 2009 : by B Joiner   (Australia)

MEL-LAX-MEL. Bit disappointed with the airline considering it is fairly new. All you get in premium economy is extra legroom and some free drinks. When you are considering paying extra you should know that the cabin class is nothing special. The seats are the most uncomfortable that I have been in. On the way to LAX the crew were almost non existent and a drink was hard to come by. On the way back the crew were great, especially considering some aspects of the flight that were out of the control of the crew. The transfer systems both out and in to Sydney a joke - avoid transferring at Sydney at all costs or allow 4 hours. Could go on for hours about the flights however some things were out of the control of the airline. On the positive side is the entertainment system - probably the best I have used.

V AUSTRALIA customer review :  9 September 2009 : by M Hinds   (Australia)

SYD-LAX-SYD Flight to LAX was a premium experience, the return flight less so. Seat pitch good, width adequate, but seats rather hard by the end of the flight. Food, drinks, and service to LAX very good, return trip more of an economy experience, especially food. IFE excellent. Flights on time in both directions. V Australia outshines its competitors across the Pacific.