VIRGIN BLUE  Passenger Reviews and Customer Trip Reports

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VIRGIN BLUE customer review :  26 January 2009 : by Robert Dorr

I fly the Melbourne-Sunshine Coast about 4 times per year. I fly budget price and do not expect much in return, So far I have found Virgin staff friendly and cabin crew pleasant. I do not bother with the TV or order food but usually have a coffee which is reasonably priced. Planes are clean enough, seating okay for my two hour flight. I would try their international flights if cheap enough.

VIRGIN BLUE customer review :  14 January 2009 : by L Bateman

BNE-SYD-BNE. Forward flight on time in a clean & comfortable 737-800. Fairly good leg room & leather seats. Return flight delayed causing confusion at Sydney eventually away 20 minutes late with apologies. Once again clean & comfortable 737-800. Good value for the money we paid.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  6 January 2009 : by M Walker

PER-ADL/ADL-PER. Been a few years since I flew DJ. Was hoping to get the new E-jet on at least one leg and got the E190 PER-ADL : a great little aircraft for the shorter runs. Wouldn't want it on anything longer than this sector. No Foxtel but I came prepared with a magazine / iPod so wasn't an issue. Paid for food which was reasonable & not too expensive. I got the exit seat which was huge on legroom as one pax didn't turn up for the flight and they need those seats filled. Asking early helped! Only complaint was from my mother who on both legs wanted a hot meal, none loaded on either sector. (We were sitting in the first half of the cabin on both flights). Crew explained that hot food is loaded on a 'what's left basis' as our ADL-PER flight was an evening departure. B737-700 wasn't as nice as the E190, it looked worn & dirty. I felt cramped and not sure how taller people manage it. Crew great on both sectors, willing to chat when not busy and dealt with some rather irritating passengers professionally. Would fly again if cheaper than QF - in this case we saved $400 over QF as we had to book last minute.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  6 January 2009 : by S Srinivasan

ADL-SYD in Economy. Check-inquick, and my wife and I got our seats together as requested. Ground staff and FAs were pleasant and friendly. Seats reasonably comfortable and had fair pitch and legroom. There was a pay satellite TV service available, similar to the TV you can buy on JetBlue and Frontier; I didn't buy it, but it looked like there were a lot of channels available, and the cost wasn't too bad (A$4.90 for an almost 2 hour flight). What does puzzle me is that for an airline that tries to brand itself as a premium product, everything has to be paid for, even soft drinks, though in fairness the prices were reasonable. Ticket prices were also reasonable when booked well in advance. Would recommend them for domestic flights within Australia.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  3 January 2009 : by B Smith

SYD-CNS-BNE. Have flown Virgin Blue many times and it's always basically the same experience. I paid a little extra for the exit door and got it. I would like to have sat in the front row, but they have it reserved as a (usually empty) premium zone. Never had a complaint about this airline.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  24 December 2008 : by J Ganner

SYD/BNE. Fairly new Embraer 190 aircraft. Plenty of good humour from the Cabin Supervisor and his 2 female colleagues. Yes, you have to be in the mood for some of the jokes, but it seemed to amuse some American visitors sitting just behind me. Both I and the lady beside me had come through from the UK that day, and 2 of the crew took the time to have a chat after they completed the refreshment run.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  22 December 2008 : by J Reimer

MEL to CNB First time on an Embraer and I feel it is superior in comfort to their 737s. The soft leather seats made a nice change and it seemed much quieter than a 737.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  9 December 2008 : by M Richardson

It is starting to get a bit confusing what you are paying for on this airline. The fares are often more expensive than QF and do not include complimentary meals or in-flight entertainment. The staff are becoming quite unprofessional and quite frankly it's gone on long enough. On a MEL-CBR flight, it was on a worn 737 and the crew seemed very disinterested. Leaving 45 minutes late due to a check- in error was not appreciated either. The company still seems to be offering budget service at premium prices. Virgin Blue had better take note, as there are increasing choices for air travel in Australia!

VIRGIN BLUE review :  10 December 2008 : by Natasha Permall

Sydney to Cairns and Cairns to Brisbane both on 737s. check in and boarding on both flights was quick and easy. Flights left on time. Seats were comfortable and cabin crew were friendly. Budget airline so wasnt expecting too much but was pleasantly surprised.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  13 November 2008 : by N Scales

ADL-CBR. Flying on the Embraer and great little planes if not quite as smooth as some of the bigger ones. Only drawback is that the Embraers don't have Foxtel which is disappointing as there's no entertainment options available. Seats are comfy with plenty of room. Love the dual exits Virgin has, makes getting on and off the plane that much quicker. Flight attendants were excellent, overall, a very nice flight for a nervous flyer.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  9 November 2008 : by E Carew

SYD-MEL. I had advised them the night before that due to another flight being late, I would be unable to connect from that airline's flight to my scheduled DJ one. However upon arrival at the airport, I waited in line behind a family whose request to change flights took some 30 minutes to sort out, to the family's understandable annoyance. I then asked to change flights and was met with studied indifference, and comments that 'well we should charge you a new full fare but in the circumstances we will charge you A$50 instead.' I explained that had I chosen to use the same (other) airline throughout, it would have transferred me at no charge, but this argument fell on deaf ears. I couldn't be bothered asking to see a supervisor and then coughed up the A$50. The flight itself was fine, punctual and uneventful but as I pointed out to the unhelpful checkin gentleman, neither it nor the one on which I had been booked were full. More airline extortion: why do they do it? 'Because they can!'

VIRGIN BLUE review :  9 November 2008 : by David Harrington

Sydney-Canberra. Flight in the first new Embraer 170. Cabin very cosy, and seats nice and plush. Arrived 25mins ahead of schedule which was great also. Service by crew was bit over the top, as some crew were waving and talking to us like we are children. This was a put off, and showing crew fakeness. Anyway, price wasn't too good for this tiny route, only used this service because I had a voucher. The windows on the E170 are not aligned with the windows, so you cant see outside.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  21 October 2008 : by David Harrington

Sydney-Brisbane. Flying in a worn out 737-700. Seats were torn. Seat itself not very relaxing as it was very hard on the back, although the headrest was fine. Legroom is minimal. Crew were not very friendly, over the top and fake. Trying to be funny during a safety demonstration is not acceptable, as well as being 55mins late.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  16 October 2008 : by Roger Weldhen

An excellent budget airline. Brisbane - Mackay and Cairns - Sydney. Both left and arrived more or less on time. Good humoured and helpful FA's. Booking 4 months in advance resulted in very good deals. Mucked up one internet booking. Phone call to Virgin Blue resulted in them sorting out my error - no threats of fees and charges for my mistake. Ryanair take note!

VIRGIN BLUE review :  6 October 2008 : by G Forgan-Smith

Customer Rating : 4/5

Sydney to Ballina. Service was friendly and efficient. The staff were very good caring for a small child that had vomited upon landing in Ballina. Would happily fly again on Virgin Blue

VIRGIN BLUE review :  29 September 2008 : by Greg Chapman

Customer Rating : 4/5

SYD-BNE. Crew were friendly - thought leg room was good 19c and foxtel was available. Food prices ok - will fly them again

VIRGIN BLUE review :  25 September 2008 : by G Davis

Customer Rating : 3/5

BNE-SYD economy. First time flying Virgin Blue. Does not compare to other 4 star airlines that I have flown on. Nothing wrong with the flight, but certainly nothing to rave about in terms of seat comfort, inflight entertainment, or food and drink choices.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  19 September 2008 : by K McFayden

Customer Rating : 5/5

SYD-BNE. Friendly and cheerful crew who appeared to enjoy their job and were helpful. Pilot would give a couple of updates as to when we were over major locations which excited the two young children seated across from me. Efficient check in and flight left on time and arrived early. Nice food court and terminal at SYD. Only tiny gripe is it took longer than expected to collect my bag at BNE, but overall, excellent flight experience and will use them again.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  18 September 2008 : by C Tudehope

Customer Rating : 5/5

SYD-MEL. 737-800 with no Live2Air. checked in online on the night before. Latish getting to SYD and quickly transferred to a separate counter for bag drop, even though it didn't close for another 15 minutes - impressed with Virgin terminal in SYD-nice food court. Cabin crew were friendly. Upon arrival at MEL, disembarkation was quick. Bags arrived quickly.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  28 August 2008 : by P Giudes

Customer Rating : 3/5

SYD-BNE-SYD 737-700s. First leg excellent, plenty of leg room, on-time, efficient service etc. Return leg not so good. Flight time changed by airline night before (informed by SMS), then flight was about 30 mins late departing (no explanation). As a result returned to home about 1 1/4 hours later than planned. Very (uncomfortably) hot cabin (hard to explain for a middle of winter night flight), less leg room and seemingly changing cabin pressure. Both my colleague and myself were constantly clearing our ears throughout the flight. Never had this problem before. Drinks sold at airport terminal equivalent prices. At least they've dropped the greeting "hello ladies, gentlemen, boys and girls"! (5 star outbound, 2 star return trip)

VIRGIN BLUE review :  27 August 2008 : by M Howbrigg

Customer Rating : 1/5

SYD-CHC Return. Check in was good. The flight was an hour late but only advised once we arrived at the gate. Once onboard the flight attendants were perfunctory. We were seated in an emergency exit row. Interestingly we were not given a briefing. On the return, the flight was again late, this time 90 min due to crew rest.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  27 August 2008 : by Henry Tib

Customer Rating : 3/5

Adl-Syd-Adl. Usual Virgin Blue service, on time flights and efficient smiling cabin crew. Interesting that cabin crew never inform when handing out earpieces, that there is a $5.00 credit charge if you want to "Continue watching the PTV" when the PTV freezes after a period of time viewing. I have never tried the food items for sale, and gin and tonic in an alcopop tin is not like the real thing.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  27 August 2008 : by Liz Logan

Customer Rating : 5/5

CFS-ADL via SYD. The seat pitch, food, attitude of the FAs excellent.. A very professional crew and service.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  23 August 2008 : by Ken Whiteman

Customer Rating : 3/5

Launceston to Sydney in Premium Economy. Had to travel in Premium Economy class to get seats up the front for my elderly mother who had suffered a hip fracture and needed wheelchair transfers. Launceston ground staff were excellent and well organised. But the cabin crew were disinterested, bordering on arrogance. They didn't do anything wrong; just that they didn't do anything at all. Not even a wheelchair at Sydney awaited us so the pilot actually did this for us! For a $500 ticket one might reasonably expect a disabled passenger to have some interest shown her. Really I don't know why anyone would fly Premium Economy with Virgin Blue and all the empty seats may indicate the market has made that decision already.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  22 August 2008 : by Marshall Davies

Customer Rating : 4/5

MEL-HBA-MEL. Checked in online at home with prompt bag drop-off at Melbourne Airport. Short departure delay was made up en route. No delays when checking in at Hobart airport for return flight, which departed & arrived on time. Leg-room was generous on both flights & service from all Virgin staff was efficient & friendly. My only gripe is that an early airport arrival - 1 hour before departure on both occasions - seems to result in one's luggage being among the last to appear on the baggage carousel! In summary, a good experience with Virgin Blue.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  19 August 2008 : by Daniel Morrissey

Customer Rating : 4/5

Sydney-Coffs Harbour. The foxtel wasn't working and tv screens were shot. Cabin crew nice, and looked like they enjoyed their job. No food ordered. Check in at Sydney was quick and easy, and there was nobody in bag-drop. Boarding quick, because there was hardly anybody on flight.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  16 August 2008 : by J Jerome

Customer Rating : 4/5

Brisbane to Perth with Virgin and found it a very positive experience. Check in was fine but there were quite long lines at the bag drop off. The crew were friendly. The Foxtel screens went out after about 4hrs however they put it free for us for the remainder of the flight. Food was reasonably priced and I was surprised at the selection.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  11 August 2008 : by C Plummer

Customer Rating : 2/5

Rockhampton-Brisbane return. I have flown this route many times a year in the last 3 years and within the last 18 months it has become routine for Virgin Blue flights to be late with times being anything from 1 hour to 2 hours behind schedule. Each time the staff have been anything but helpful. Customer service is very poor. If you have to fly Virgin between Rockhampton and Brisbane and have connecting flights with other airlines I recommend not flying Virgin, or make sure you leave at least 5 hours between connecting flights to allow reasonable time for ever increasing delays. I have even noticed that baggage collection and delivery is taking longer, even in Brisbane airport.