Virgin Australia

Flew from Sydney to Denpasar with Virgin and will never fly with them again. Reason plane was a 737 800 seats extremely uncomfortable no leg room for entertainment we had to watch movies on our phones. This plane is good for 3 hour trips not 6 hour trips.

I was travelling from Nadi to Brisbane on Friday 24th October 2014 flight VA176 in one of their premium economy seats. Not only was this flight delayed 2 hours - the message Virgin sent did not specify the delay time - but the premium economy seats on the B737-800 were actually economy seats with a drop down table in the centre seat. What a difference to flight VA175 5 days earlier where the seats were proper premium economy seats with a delineation between this section and the economy section slightly more leg room and the crew were much better organised. Why use these old planes with inferior seating when one is paying quite a premium for the supposed premium economy seat. This is certainly not satisfactory. In addition something has to be done about the toilet situation as there was a constant queue of people during the entire flight for the toilet situated in the front of the aircraft. Obviously this needs addressing. The crew on VA176 were frazzled and the service not up to the usual Virgin standard. It is not the passenger's problem that the flight is delayed and I think all passengers were well behaved despite the long delay. Virgin are doing themselves a disservice by using these old planes and I for one will not use them again for this leg. I realise these flights originate in New Zealand so perhaps scheduling needs to be addressed due to the curfew in Wellington.

Sydney - Perth in Business class. Booked on the A330 service which Virgin has been advertising only to be told of a plane change to a 737. The service and experience cannot be described as business class. You have to hang your own jacket behind the seat. The seat only has limited recline and no foot rest. The front seat reclines right into your space so you can barely get the table out. There is only limited galaxy tablets available so I missed out. No seat power to charge your phone. There was no choice of meal as not enough where loaded and did not receive main meal until 2 and half hours into the trip. There was only one cabin crew to serve and was nowhere to be seen for most of the flight. No tea or coffee service. After paying a full business class fare I would have been better off in economy as effectively it was economy service with a little extra leg room. This is not a business class product.

We travelled business class from Perth to Brisbane and return. The outward trip was very good but the return trip was premium economy and not business for which we had paid. The seat in front came back into your space your own seat would only go back a few inches there was no foot rest. There was no TV only a portable ipad so you could not watch it whilst eating as it had to sit on your table and there were only ear plugs to listen with not ear phones. Virgin are conning people by describing this as business class and should downgrade it to premium economy and charge accordingly. Australians should make more of a noise and stop this airline from conning people!

Melbourne to Canberra. Flight delayed in Melbourne because of weather. We were kept informed about the delay. Cabin crew were friendly and managed to provide a light snack on this short flight. Both Cabin and toilet were clean. Helpful check in staff who gave me the seat I wanted. No problems with a slightly overweight bag (problem coming from International Business to Domestic Economy as far as weight is concerned). Flight slightly late in landing (because of late departure but this was beyond the control of the Airline).

SYD-LAX-SYD in Y. Just swapped over to Velocity from QFF so was my first time flying VA to the USA which I do once a year. The 777-300 is a very comfortable aircraft and the 3x3x3 layout is very much appreciated compared to some airlines who squish 10 across on the same aircraft. The cabin was nice and spacious mood lighting adding to the comfort. Cabin crew were fantastic on both legs - all had huge smiles very helpful and cheery and genuinely looked like they cared. In this respect they're better than Qantas. Where they fall down is in the food and IFE. Dinner was nothing spectacular and breakfast options were limited. IFE was worst I've experienced on any long haul airline. There were probably only around 40 or so movies many of which were either kids or foreign language. The few TV series also only featured two or three episodes. QF's IFE is one of the best. I would fly Virgin Australia again.

Having recently flown BNE-PER on Virgin Australia and loving it we treated ourselves Business BNE-MEL return as we normally only fly economy on a route this short. Flight down was great with a personable and helpful crew member looking after the small business class 737 cabin and we really enjoyed the flight. Wine was great and the snack was fine. On the way back the flight was delayed for two hours as two staff didn't turn up for work causing confusion in the lounge and the gate. We had to rush to the plane as the board changed from delayed to flight closed given this rush when on board I asked to use the bathroom and was told "No". When seated I was offered water my wife asked for water but got none but she got wine when in the air. The crew member was surly and we only saw her once after take off. I didn't get offered wine. I asked for a food ingredient list as Virgin Australia don't do domestic special meals and was told there wasn't one and it was "too bad" so nothing to eat for me as well. The only consolation was I saw the crew member who was roughly treating meals dropped several meals in the galley from the oven so only one person got their choice in any case. It was as poor a business class flight as we can recall particularly for me with a glass of water and a scowl my memories of the trip home. The crew member did not want to be on board and we felt was punishing us for being there.

VA 171 to Port Vila. We all realise weather can interrupt travel plans but this was an absolute joke. 13 hours of flying in the South Pacific to arrive back in Brisbane with the banal comment from the Captain and Lead Flight Attendant of "Hope you make it to Vila tomorrow". A flight full of families with young children and one sandwich and a cup of juice for them. We all know you pay for what you get but this is well below substandard. I have had better service of Aeroflot. No wonder it has been 8 years since I have given Virgin Australia my money for the exact same reason of poor customer care.

Perth to Sydney on a brand new a330-200. Seat and legroom are good. IFE excellent! Had both on demand and live air channels with a large touch screen. The food not the best but the service is great. Arrive before the scheduled time. All together better than what Qantas offer on their not yet refurbished a330-300 and some 200s.

HBA-MEL-CNS return. These flights were as I expected: They got me from origin to destination. Booked by my employer I was a little disappointed that I was unable to check-in before arriving at the airport. In-flight service was quite satisfactory although I think many passengers would prefer a better selection of food for purchase. This would possibly make fares a little higher and thus could be an unpopular move. I like the idea of passenger-supplied electronic entertainment; it saves complaints regarding the size quality and condition of seatback screen units. I can recommend VA flights and will be happy to fly with them again.