Virgin Australia

Flew Virgin Australia for the first time SYD-LAX-SYD due to discounted fares so was aware that I was not paying for the same product as Qantas. For a 13 to 14 hour flight the Red entertainment system is okay but nothing special. Seats nice and roomy but so hard underneath they are about as comfortable as sitting on a park bench. The cabin on both flights was unbearably hot with no ability to control your own air vents so expect a warm and sweaty flight. The staff are very friendly but not at all attentive and disappear for most of the flight leaving passengers to "self serve" chips and water from the snack bar. This is fine if you are in an aisle seat but useless for anyone else unless you want to keep waking up the passengers seated next to you. The cost cutting is most apparent in the food. I am pretty forgiving of airline food generally but Virgin Australia long haul is not generous with food and drink service and when meals are served they consist of mismatched menu items (like a chicken salad starter for a beef main) and other oddities like a dry microwaved omelette in a sealed cardboard box that simply cannot be described as edible or even as food. Not only that but on the SYD-LAX leg the dry omelette was served twice! Hungry is the word I would most associate with these flights. Bring your own food and water, an extra pillow for the seat, dress for the desert and don't expect to see any cabin crew for most of your flight and you too can spend 14 hours calculating whether the money saved on the fare was worth it.

Cabin crew on this Virgin Australia flight were very nice and polite. This trip was around 2 hours and 20 mins, they offered free drink and snack, and when I asked them had a extra drink, they was happy to serve this. The inflight entertainment needs to improve as they are not enough movies and don't update, but the WIFI connect was quite good . I wish I could go to other website, not only Virgin entertain phone APP, it will be more better. The cabin is new and seats are leather so it is comfortable.

Virgin Australia from Perth to Denpasar, and business class seats are not comfortable. Very little recline and very poor for an international business class cabin. Food and beverage is very average, as is the cabin crew service. Standard of inflight entertainment very poor, with poor content and use of mini iPad. Almost a con to call this a business class, never again! Seriously, it is the worst business class I have flown anywhere, at a price that is above most competitors.

Normally fly Qantas however as they don't fly Melbourne to Gold Coast (without stopping in SYD or going to BNE) thought we'd try Virgin Australia. Did the online check in without any trouble on the website and bag drop was equally hassle free (23kg included checked baggage is quite generous for domestic). Flight from MEL delayed slightly due to some low lying fog but the flight made up time in the air. The inflight entertainment was streamed to your own device via wifi and content was limited, however there was more than sufficient for the short haul flight. Inflight snack was a pretty small muffin but a nice touch anyway. Didn't use the toilet so can't comment on that. Smooth landing to the south gave a view of the Pacific and Surfers Paradise. Didn't take long to get off and begin the holiday! Flight back was similar however snack was a tiny sandwich and it was an older aircraft (ex-pacific blue). All up a good flight would do it again if price was less than Qantas.

I flew from Bali to Brisbane with Virgin Australia in Economy class on Boeing 737. I had to sit in a window seat economy with two large blokes on my outside, who immediately slept the entire 5 hour flight. Going to the toilet was impossible. The service was very mixed, from a very jovial cabin steward, to a rather grumpy unfriendly ageing stewardess. The food was pretty good, as is the inflight wifi entertainment. The discomfort of the small seats on a small plane will make me review my carrier for this frequent trip.

Outbound Virgin Australia flight to Apia departed an hour late (22.00), even though all passengers were on board by 21.00. Many passengers boarded with ludicrously large pieces of hand luggage, and it came as no surprise when the Captain announced that passengers had to be offloaded because the aircraft's maximum take-off weight had been exceeded. Hand luggage is a real issue on the Pacific Islands flights, according to the lead flight attendant. Surely Virgin Australia could prevent this by checking hand luggage weights at check-in? Seats 1A and 1C were fine. Not super comfortable for a premium product, and the amount of recline is really quite poor. Also, after 5 hours of flying, the seat is decidedly uncomfortable. Legroom in row 1 is average too, with the bulkhead directly in front of you. Flew the return leg in Economy and paid for the exit row seats. Far more comfortable there than in the premium seats! The food on the outbound leg was very good, and the cabin service excellent. The Virgin Australia premium seats are fine for short-haul, bot on 4+ hour flights they really aren't up to scratch. Save your money and book an exit row economy seat if it's legroom you require.

Los Angeles to Sydney with Virgin Australia, and cabin crew were friendly and helpful. The food was incredible and beautifully presented. The seat lays flat, but there isn't much privacy between the seats unlike British Airways or Japan Airlines. The memory foam mattress that they put on the seat to sleep makes it comfy.

Virgin Australia, Boeing 737-800 from Melbourne to Sydney. Half-empty flight, got a whole row to myself. My seat was quite comfortable. Cabin staff were courteous and friendly. Flight departed MEL a little late but arrived in SYD early. I enjoyed the coffee that was served on-board - also given a muffin that tasted bland and cakey. Overall it was an enjoyable early morning flight.

I connected after an Air Serbia flight to Virgin Australia from Abu Dhabi to Sydney on August 31st. The flight seemed to take quite a while to load passengers, it was certainly after the boarding time scheduled, but they made up time with a quick taxi/reduced flight time. Apparently the Australian government requires a second bag check within the departure lounge for liquids etc, which slows the entire process down and looks quite inefficient. Announcements from captain and air crew ok, however no menu handed out so another member of cabin staff struggled through menu with many mispronounced words, seemed unprofessional. Food otherwise ok, I was expecting a little more, particularly after recent Emirates and Qantas flights. Overall, I had the impression that this product is from yesteryear, nothing has really changed since they bought these planes back in 2009, as V Australia. IFE seems slow and outdated, cabin cleanliness was ok. Service was fun and cheerful. Compared to a Virgin A330 I took Perth to Sydney in 2014, this service felt like a regular domestic flight. I hear they are taking these planes out of service later this year to retrofit some of the classes.

Only complaint - long waits at bag drop. But did get bumped up queue as check in was about to close. Being annoyed waiting was forgotten about when attendant gave upgrade to emergeny exit row with extra leg room which was great for someone 6'4. Aircraft was good to travel on and coffee and muffin reasonable for an hours flight.