VIRGIN BLUE 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.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  15 June 2009 : by Peter Schweizer  (Australia)

BNE-ADL one way in economy. Paid extra online for the extra legroom at the emergency exit. Well spent money. Embraer 190 has to be the most comfortable single aisle aircraft in service for short flights. Love the 2x2 seating arrangement in economy. Flight on time with friendly inflight crew. Check in painless at BNE even though you can't check in online for the emergency exit seats. Flights not that cheap so perfect score would have been awarded if a free breakfast & coffee would have been served.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  14 June 2009 : by Wayne Smith  (New Zealand)

Auckland - Goldcoast. Budget airline so don't expect much. Almost all good except they didn't have the meal I wanted on return flight. Cabin crew are helpful and seemed happy to be doing their jobs.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  1 June 2009 : by M Barr  (Australia)

HBT-ADL via MEL Return. Departed HBT on time, connecting flight to ADL hassle free. Return trip the same, very consistent. Staff friendly and willing to accompany our needs, humour added to make flight a little more enjoyable. Menu is fine and not too overpriced!

VIRGIN BLUE review :  18 May 2009 : by T Short  (Australia)

Sydney to Melbourne return over a weekend. Both flights on time with efficient boarding from both ends of plane. Cheery crews and not as over the top as I've seen on other flights. Food and drink to buy fine and not too overpriced. Overall a consistent offering from Virgin Blue and nothing to complain about at.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  18 May 2009 : by Z Johnson  (New Zealand)

CHC-SYD-PER. PER-MEL-CHC. International legs on Pacific Blue, domestic legs on Virgin Blue (basically the same airline). I found the airline fantastic for a budget airline. Food for sale was ok, though their grilled chicken wrap is not the best. Transfers from the international terminal to the domestic terminal at Sydney were free, very smooth, and our bags were dropped at the transfer desk at the intl terminal. Free transfers are something Jetstar won't do. Because of a glich we had to recheck our bags in at Melbourne, but thats no biggie. But what makes this airline special are the staff. All of them friendly and will do anything to help. All and all far better than Jetstar, especially the free transfers and staff.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  12 May 2009 : by Alan Pace  (Australia)

Darwin to Melbourne. Late afternoon departure on time. This was an inaugural direct flight however there was no hulla balloo as VBlue often put on. Only problem was pre boarding statement that little or no food service including water was available. Once airborne we settled down to find that food service was on, albeit somewhat reduced. About 2/3 of the way south the 'pay to view' screens came on & as if by magic, I watched our progress for the rest of the flight on the map display.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  30 April 2009 : by David Harrington

MEL-SYD. Online check-in with Velocity provides a good range of better seats than having no status, but baggage drop was a long wait. Flight left 15mins late due to police taking someone off, but after a short taxi, we left quickly and arrived on time. Food range on the menu is pages long, such a good variety. Seats were a little worn and hard, but seeing the flight was only 50% full I could stretch out. Service by crew is always over the top and bubbly, can get on your nerves after a while. The price paid was by no means cheap, and it seems to be very hard to get a cheap fare on Virgin for this leg. I will be flying Tiger on this route from now on.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  27 April 2009 : by Morgan Owen

Economy Sydney to Ballina. Check in was terrible, slow and poorly organised, we arrived 1.5 hours before departure but the queue was slow. There was another 3 check in desks for flights departing within the next 45 mins. Each time a flight dep came close those passengers still waiting to check in had to fight their way out of one queue and join the so called express queue. The whole process was a shambles and our planned relaxing start to our holiday did not occur. Once we got to the gate the ground crew there were personable. The inflight crew were professional. Shame they cannot get the check in right to start with.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  15 April 2009 : by J Buche

Syd-Mel B737. Check in smooth and cheerful with advisory that there would most likely be a flight disruption due to thunderstorms in Melbourne terminal area. Service departed approx. 1 hour behind schedule. Virgin Blue kept passengers up to date with departure times and gate changes. Flight took a little longer than usual and struck some nasty turbulance along the way which alarmed quite a few passengers. Only criticism I have is that cabin service continued during most severe portion of turbulance about 30 mins into flight. Normally would have expected a call from the cockpit for cabin service to be suspended.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  7 April 2009 : by David Harrington

SYD-CBR. Flight on a new EJet, which has very hard seats that would not make a long flight pleasant. Apart from the hard seats, the flight was on time, the menu had a very big range of items. Arrived 10mins early in Canberra and Luggage was on belt by the time we arrived into terminal. Virgin Blue provides the best service on this route, and offer a very high standard product. I Will be flying Virgin on this route again.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  26 March 2009 : by Roger Stone

BNE-CNS Premium Economy. At a fare that is comparable to Qantas economy flexi-saver I had good leg room with no chance of the seat-back in front being pushed back into my lap (primarily because I was seated in 1A!). This meant I could actually get 2 hours work done without any disruption. Alsohad three seats to myself with the middle seat in this class used as a coffee place. One aspect I enjoyed was the special service I received with, virtually, my own flight attendant, this being on a Sunday afternoon. I have to say I found this Virgin Blue cabin crew intelligent, well presented and eager to provide good service. The Lounge at Brisbane Airport is much better than previous visits. I would recommend Premium Economy on this airline for anyone serious about getting some work completed while making a reasonably lengthy trip in Australia. Its not full business class, by any means, but it is very good.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  17 March 2009 : by J Deacon

SYD-MEL travelling with my son. Aircraft was clean, crew friendly, departed and arrived on time, pre boarding via the rear stairs was offered. Seats starting to show age, swiped credit card so my son could watch cartoons on foxtel, screen kept on blacking out, seemed to have faulty wiring.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  13 March 2009 : by Chris McQuaid

Day return SYD-CBR - first time with this airline, and very impressed. Checked in for both flights at a self-service kiosk in SYD terminal. Very pleasant staff at the boarding gate. Embraer 170 - both aircraft were spotless, with good seat pitch (although it became less so when the lady in front reclined her seat). Good mixture of flight attendants. All seemed happy, with the return crew competing to see who could tell the worst joke during the compulsory announcements. However, there was a downside because the return flight was nearly an hour late into Canberra, and 50 minutes late leaving. CBR staff apologised frequently over the PA for the late arrival, without giving a reason, but the flight crew made no mention at all until we were parked at SYD, which I thought was unprofessional.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  3 March 2009 : by B Vincent

HBA-MEL and MEL-PER. I flew Qantas until now, but on this occasion the fare difference was too much to ignore - unlike Qantas and/or Jetstar, Virgin offered the connecting flights for much less than the sum of the individual fares. Food/drink, checked baggage and in-flight entertainment all cost extra, but are more than covered by the fare savings. Both flights were operated on 737-800s, but the seat pitch was 2 inches better than Qantas on the same aircraft type. Both flights were delayed due to late arrival of inbound aircraft, but at the end the luggage arrived on the carousel so quickly that all is forgiven. From start to finish all ground and flight crew were professional while still managing to act like they enjoyed their jobs.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  27 February 2009 : by P Chan

SYD-MEL early afternoon flight. Was not charged for check in baggage despite being informed I would be - great news as I had 20kg. Very pleasant ground staff at Sydney. Flight on B737-800, cabin crew pleasant, did not buy any refreshments or use interactive entertainment system, as food and drink was allowed to be taken onboard. Best was the price of £36 one way which beats Qantas. Bags were quickly at the carousel in Melbourne, overall enjoyable and would travel on them again.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  13 February 2009 : by Peter Schweizer

Day trip BNE-SYD-BNE. Friendly crew both on the ground and in the air. Both flights on time and aircraft in good condition. 5 stars to the friendly ground crew in BNE and SYD for offering emergency exit free of charge as I am 6'7" tall. Will not hesitate to fly DJ if their fare is competitive.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  8 February 2009 : by Marshall Davies

OOL-MEL on DJ988 on 6 Feb 09. Flight boarded & departed 15 minutes late due to a 'missing' passenger. Seated in row 27 with very noisy babies/children in rows behind. Despite the noise, the flight was fairly comfortable with reasonable seating & legroom. Usual Virgin snacks are ok for the money & staff were friendly & helpful as always. Flight landed 10 minutes late at 2.50pm but disembarkation from both doors enabled me to make 3.00pm bus connection to Ballarat.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  28 January 2009 : by C Lau

Adelaide to Melbourne, Adelaide to Perth. We never have much luck with Virgin Blue. On both occasions crew did not offer seat belt to my infant. Despite having pressed the call-attendant button, cabin crews strolled down the aisle many times, ignoring the call and I had to physically attract their attention many times and to politely ask if they wouldn't mind providing me an infant seat belt. I felt like it is Virgin Blue's policy that they don't answer passengers call prior to takeoff, to avoid any delays. On the ground, passengers beware that if you have a slightly heavier baggage you will be slugged excess baggage fee of say $8 per kilo. You can prepurchase your luggage allowance for 23kg, there is no provision for purchasing extra luggage allowance, so if you are a poor student with a 30kg baggage (or you couldn't be bothered weighing your luggage at home) for example, you will be slugged excess baggage fee which might work out to cost more than your actual fare. They also make passengers seated on the rear half of the plane to embark/disembark using the rear staircase, which means getting down the stairs from the aerobridge, walking across the tarmac and climbing up the rear stairs into the plane in the heat while the other half more privileged passengers get to embark comfortably using the aerobridge. Yes in this instance despite seeing me holding an infant they still told me to use the rear staircase. I do feel like a second class citizen when flying Virgin Blue. Overall, budget quality and service in every way, however in my opinion at most times when I checked the fares they are actually more expensive than full service airlines like Qantas.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  27 January 2009 : by Bob Gatecliffe

Melbourne-Perth in Premium Economy. Seems this was a long flight (4hrs) I thought I would try Virgin Blue PE for the first time. It was my first and will be my very last. I normally fly in their exit row seats called Blue Zone. It gives extra legroom but the seats are hard and uncomfortable, but I pay the legroom which compensates. The Premium Economy is no better than the Blue Zone seating exept in colour. You get free Foxtel - mine was not working correctly, It had less than half the programmes that are available. Being 58 I am seriously over childrens programs! The free food is exactly the same as everybody else gets off their inflight menu. You get free drinks, again off the inflight menu. The seating is 2x2 instead of 3x3. All they do is section off the centre seat by putting a cup/tray holder in it. What really made my blood boil was the fact that the person sat in the adjoining seat was not a Premium Economy passenger. I asked him how much he paid for the seat. He paid less than half my cost which was $854.00. If you add up my extras it would only add approx $35.00 to his fare. I worked out that I paid an extra $400.00 for the so called privilege of flying Premium Economy. I feel conned! I will never fly Virgin Blue Premium Economy again nor will I advise people to fly it. It is a product that is not worthy consideration. On the positive side, the FA's were good.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  27 January 2009 : by K Chitoor

OOL to MEL. First flight of the morning, packed and on time. Cheerful cabin staff as ever. For the price and service, this is a very decent airline.

VIRGIN BLUE review :  26 January 2009 : by H Severin

MEL-SYD-MEL. Had one of the last flights of the day, so the plane wasn't really crowded. The seats were comfortable. Flight attendants very friendly and helpful. There had been a gate change in Sydney, which wasn't shown on the screens, but the ground crew was well organised and advised everyone, who came to the wrong gate. Will definitely fly again.

VIRGIN BLUE 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 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.