VIRGIN BLUE customer review :  5 November 2009 : by Michael Little   (Australia)

Darwin - Melbourne B737-800. Very smooth flight, everything worked like clockwork and the snacks and drinks were reasonable value for money. I was one of the first to check in and was offered an exit row seat with lots of extra legroom (but no recline) at no extra cost.

VIRGIN BLUE customer review :  4 November 2009 : by Ross Petersen   (Australia)

Booked economy class for wife, daughter and myself to Newcastle. Plane left MEL nearly on time, about 7.00 am, but when we reached Newcastle found that an enormous dust storm had reduced visibility to almost zero. The pilot had one go at landing, couldn't see anything so took us on to the Gold Coast. We landed there and had to queue for new travel arrangements, and were booked on a flight to Sydney late in the afternoon (no scheduled flights from the Gold Coast to Newcastle). We were told a coach would meet the plane and take us up to Newcastle by road. The dust storm had followed us up the coast and closed the Gold Coast airport for most of the day. VB had given us $6 vouchers each for food and drink, which didn't even cover lunch. We thought that we had little chance of getting out that day, but the airport did clear enough for us to leave about 6.30pm. Nobody had told the VB staff in Sydney that Newcastle bound passengers were to lob in on them expecting a coach to Newcastle. Sydney airport itself had been badly disrupted by the dust, and no coach could be found at the last minute. VB put us up in a hotel for the night (Marriot) and arranged the coach for the next morning. All in all it was one of those days from hell for the airline staff, due to circumstances completely out of their control. VB really did all that you could expect and their staff (particularly the lady on the ground in Sydney who had to organise things and liaise with the passengers) were fantastic.

VIRGIN BLUE customer review :  28 October 2009 : by Tony Locantro   (Australia)

PER to CNB via MEL. Both flights on 737-700 and the only surprise was that on the leg to MEL there was no inflight entertainment. Everything about the flights worked and I cannot recommend enough paying a little extra for the blue zone seating. Virgin Blue's main asset apart from their young fleet and on-time performance would be their staff who bring back some of the enjoyment of flying. With the cost savings and extra leg room you do not feel bad paying an extra $25-$30 for breakfast and some decent coffee.

VIRGIN BLUE customer review :  22 October 2009 : by K Lea   (Australia)

PER-SYD. FAs friendly. Was seated in the middle of the cabin - by the time the FA had come around only junk food was left to purchase, which was disappointing. My seat was broken - would not come out of recline position (not that I was complaining - though person behind me probably was). Not the best airline but good value.

VIRGIN BLUE customer review :  13 October 2009 : by D Walker  (Australia)

CNS-SYD. Cabin clean if not looking a little tired. Free headsets were provided. Crew attentive enough with food service. Arrived 1/2 an hour early at Syd and had to wait for gate. Overall a good flight but certainly not cheap.

VIRGIN BLUE customer review :  8 October 2009 : by Mark Grant  (Australia)

PER-BNE-PER. IFE is good (although you have to pay for it in economy, premium economy its free) and a good food selection, though again, you had to pay for it. Cabin Crew were friendly.

VIRGIN BLUE customer review :  24 September 2009 : by M Graham  (UK)

Melbourne to Launceston. The flight was full and we were delayed half an hour due to a minor technical problem but otherwise a good flight. The return flight was on time. No free food but snacks can be purchased on board, no hot food or drinks though.

VIRGIN BLUE customer review :  22 September 2009 : by S Storer  (Australia)

Rockhampton to Brisbane 19 September. Flight delayed/cancelled (2.30pm) due to aircraft mechanical fault. Next flight (5.00 pm) delayed so an engineer could join the flight in Brisbane, therefore two flights in succession delayed/cancelled. Staff at Rockhampton overwhelmed. Only one could respond, two very young staff were obviously out of their depth and just stood around helplessly. No announcements were made from the moment we were asked to leave the first aircraft at 2.20pm until we boarded the next flight at 5.45pm. We had an international flight scheduled that evening from Brisbane and asked for some accurate information from Virgin Blue staff at Rockhampton as we were willing to pay and join an alternative earlier Qantas fight to ensure we got there on time. They did not tell us the second flight had been delayed to allow the engineer to join it. A very poor experience all around.

VIRGIN BLUE customer review :  8 September 2009 : by M Vandehaar  (Australia)

Sydney-Gold Coast. Arrived early and put on the earlier flight that had been delayed. The seat pitch was good. Normally fly QF but they don't service Gold Coast anymore. More than happy to fly Virgin to other destinations. FAs were pleasant.

VIRGIN BLUE customer review :  2 September 2009 : by T Short  (Australia)

Perth-Sydney. Good price despite booking 1 week in advance. Plane 2/3 full which made it comfortable. Very cheerful crew. Food and drink not too expensive. Modern plane, reasonable fares, enthusiastic crew, but no food or drink.

VIRGIN BLUE customer review :  31 August 2009 : by Cheng Lu  (Australia)

PER SYD return. Both flights delayed approx 1 hour. Flight to SYD has PTV offering FOXTEL and some local TV channels (need to pay of course). The leather seat a bit old, and felt hard and uncomfortable. Second flight delayed due to late arrival of FAs, which I find a bit unacceptable. No PTV.

VIRGIN BLUE customer review :  31 August 2009 : by Peter Schweizer   (Australia)

Various BNE-ROK-BNE day trips with Virgin Blue in the last couple of weeks. Always pay for blue zone seating (extra leg room) as I am 6'7" tall. Am upset that tall people (not fat) have to pay a premium to get decent room for their legs but in today's hostile environment airlines just reach for any straw to generate extra revenue. Love flying Virgin Blue's E-190 and they have a competitive advantage over their competitors on this route as QantasLink use the more uncomfortable Dash 8 on same route. Aircraft spotless and staff friendly and smiling. Did not purchase anything on board so can't comment on quality and price but as a frequent traveller prefer to get a free drink and snack even on such short haul trips and will stick to the competition if pricing is in the same ball park.

VIRGIN BLUE customer review :  3 August 2009 : by M Harris  (Australia)

Check in was fine. Being 6"3 I am always going to struggle in a 737, on a two hour flight from MEL-BRI. Zero leg room made worse when someone in front reclines the seat all the way back. Food service went through 3 times on the way to Brisbane. I was on the aisle and my shoulder sticking out slightly. I was bumped in the shoulder by one air hostess 14 times. Every other member of the crew managed not to do it. I requested at check in both times if they had any emergency exit seats. On the way up they didn't. On the way back they didn't, but when I saw two free I realised her prompt response was to brush me aside. Maybe take the time to look and state that they are $39 extra which I would have been happy to pay.

VIRGIN BLUE customer review :  14 July 2009 : by Michael Little  (Australia)

Broome-Perth-Melbourne. We were moved from a much quicker and more direct service via Adelaide without explanation. The journey was scheduled to take 4 hours longer than the one we had booked, with a long wait at Perth where there are few facilities in Terminal 2. The first leg on an ERJ-190 was smooth except that one of the two toilets wasn't working. The seat pitch is good but the seats do not have adjustable headrests. The flight arrived into Perth 15 minutes early. The second leg was on a B737-800 with a rather tired interior - 2 of the 3 overhead lights in our row weren't working, and the nearest toilet had only emergency lighting. The service was friendly, the seat pitch was fine, and arriving into Melbourne 55 minutes early because of a strong tailwind was a great bonus. Luggage pick-up was super quick. Overall an adequate experience for the low price.

VIRGIN BLUE customer review :  13 July 2009 : by C Tudehope  (Australia)

Sydney-Adelaide return. Checked in online the night before and went straight to the gate. Flight relatively full for a Tuesday mid-morning flight. Crew were friendly but not too over the top. The seats were comfortable and legroom adequate. Heading back to Sydney, check in at Adelaide by kiosk was a breeze and meant a quick trip through security to the gate. It is a most unique airport with gates sealed off or opened up depending on whether an international or domestic flight is going through it. Boarding on time and the flight was fairly full. The crew were friendly, flight tracker maps on the seat backs. All in all a very enjoyable experience.

VIRGIN BLUE customer review :  17 June 2009 : by David Harrington  (Australia)

CBR-MEL. Chose the online check in option the night before which has the option of going straight to the gate and picking my seat. Crew nice and welcoming onboard, friendly but not over the top. Had a 5pm departure, boarded at 4.30 and departed 10mins early at 4.50 so we arrived into Melbourne early. Menu onboard with a wide range of options, and at a reasonable price. Seats starting to show wear and tear and the cabin is also showing its age. The only other problem was for a flight that was only half full, every other seat bar mine and a few others were blocked on the seat map when checked in online, even as a Silver Velocity member I did not have wide range of seats. Otherwise a pleasant experience, with a good evening 5pm departure time.