Virgin Australia

MEL-NTL. Plane on time. Nice welcome on board by name but wasn't mentioned again like Qantas tends to do. Comfortable seat although a few more inches of recline wouldn't go astray and I would prefer a footrest. Cabin manager very friendly throughout. Meal was fantastic - a great piece of salmon and accompaniments for lunch. A fraction overcooked but it was great nonetheless. Got told they had a chardonnay when it was sav blanc. Drinks freely topped up. Offered Galaxy tabs for entertainment which I declined. It's a great business class on a great airline. Absolute bargain too as ticket was purchased during a sale.

I travelled on 26/2/14 only because Air NZ didn't have a direct flight into Queenstown on 26/2/14. When I asked ground staff at Gate 27/28 to assist me up the airline stairs staff said they couldn't help I was a little offended that they did not offer any help whatsoever. The flight attendants came forward and said that they would help me. But as it turned out they were not there they later came to me and said that they were sorry about not helping but would help on arrival in Queenstown which was great and they did. I would like to say that I am glad that the old rule about height weight & size has been thrown out the door. It was so nice to see voluptuous women serving on the flight with great smiles and very courteous. Seating was great as there was more room for tall people like myself.

VA 1722 from Karratha to Perth. Flight on time as usual very friendly and accommodating cabin crew. Overall pleasant experience.

I flew Sydney - Los Angeles - Sydney in Premium Economy. The seats are comfortable and the help yourself bar / snack area is greatly appreciated. On Qantas you do get an enhanced meal service (Same standard as Qantas Business domestic) but the meal on VA was satisfactory. Passengers must remember this is premium economy not business light and the VA price reflects this being cheaper than Qantas on the same route.

Flew Virgin Australia ex Hobart for connecting flight with Singapore Airlines to Yangon Myanmar on 1 Feb. The upside they checked my bags all the way to Yangon thank goodness. The downside there was a technical fault with the seatbelts causing a delay by 1.5 hours. Why were they not checked earlier? I did make it to Melb in time to catch my international flight (plus immigration had put on extra staff in Melb which helped enormously) however there were others who had international connections that were delayed by 24 hours. I found a staff member in Hobart to be quite curt but the other Virgin representative was very nice and managed the customers very well. I was thrown a breakfast because it was part of my ticket but I did not want it. Ended up handing it back to another flight attendant. Return flight from Melbourne was better and on time (food average-dry biscuit and cheese).

VA523 Sydney to Gold Coast 21 Feb 14. Not impressed with the level of professionalism of ground staff. 1 person checking boarding passes for a loaded 737. He was doing his best. Another a woman stationed at a counter nearby making one or two announcements including one for passengers in the rear of the aircraft to board. No one listened of course. The queue shortened and a final boarding call was made. I approached the guy checking boarding passes. In front was a man and woman with multiple pieces of carry on luggage without a boarding pass. I was frustrated and said could I go ahead and get on. The Virgin staff member accused me of not waiting my turn. On the way to my seat there was an argument between passengers over seat allocation with crew standing and looking on. Flying up the GC it occurred to me that true their glossy advertising Virgin Australia are all gloss no substance.

OOL-SYD-OOL in business. Easy and fast check in good lounges at either end and priority boarding. On board the seats are ok for a short flight much like domestic US first class. Entertainment available on a tablet or through the Virgin app on your own tablet and the content is quite good. Catering average but forgivable for a short 80 minute flight. Good range of drinks available. In the end the whole experience comes down to the crew. Outbound we had a fabulous FA who couldn't do enough for you. Inbound the FA was fairly disinterested and did the bare minimum. These flight were redeemed on points during a promotional discount and I don't think it would be good value if paying full fare cash.

BNE-SYD-LAX JFK-LAX-BNE. Would recommend flying Virgin Australia. International flights were comfortable and was able to get decent sleep for a couple of hours with the use of the travel pillow blanket and sleep mask. I was served 2 main meals and 2 snacks on the international flight and received them earlier than other passengers because of dietary restrictions. Food not flash but edible enough. Cabin crew could not be more helpful and attentive. The pilot on return from LAX kept us updated on the extreme turbulence we experienced for the majority of the trip which was calming. Excellent array of in flight entertainment. International flights weren't sold out which meant I could lie down across 2 seats. Check in and arrival was smooth. No delays. Aircraft comfortable spacious and quiet. Have booked Virgin Australia again for my holiday to Fiji and always fly with them for domestic flights with no dramas.

Melb-Hobart Return. Both flights on time and Melb to Hobart leg on Embraer 190. Service was excellent with great cabin crew and pilot was pointing out scenic parts of the flight. Return left slightly late but again crew were fantastic with the lights turned down for take-off and as we were not landing until late in Melbourne the view from the 737-800 was fantastic. Overall another great couple of flights with VA. Their check in staff at both airports were also great and as a Gold Flier with VA I really appreciate the Priority lines.

VA342 BNE-MEL. The pleasant service at the Virgin Australia lounge continued on board the flight. On arriving I was offered a choice of a refreshing non-alcoholic cocktail water or coffee. The seat was spacious and comfortable even without reclining. The 4.55pm departure meant that a "late-afternoon snack" was served with a choice of a cold meat platter (which I found to be delectable) or vegetarian enchilada on offer. The IFE included use of the "wireless in-flight entertainment" as well as complimentary use of a Samsung tablet. The tablet was relatively user-friendly. Overall I was very pleased with the service and highly recommend it to anyone.