Virgin Australia

Newcastle - Melbourne return. They charge more than Jetstar and it shows. Friendly staff on time flights and unlike Jetstar they offer complimentary coffee - a much appreciated gesture for caffeine addicts. The only improvement I would suggest would be to offer two direct flights a day rather than one Newcastle Brisbane Melbourne is a very long winded way to get to Melbourne from Newcastle.

Flew on Virgin Australia between Kalgoorlie and Perth on their Boeing 737-800 the flight was on time and the airline now definitely has a better edge then Qantas. The flight had individual TV's and inflight WIFI and the food was good. As part of Inflight you got to select what u were watching unlike the other rivals on this leg. Good decision flying Virgin over Qantas.

Have been flying Virgin Australia extensively throughout October and November and have been very happy. Travelled from Melbourne to Sydney over the weekend on their 737-800 services and both flights were very comfortable. Staff are efficient and friendly and always smiling. I do have a concern actually with some of the their male flight attendants. Many have too much "attitude" and sadly are a reminder of the male cabin crews with their competitor here in Australia. This is certainly a recruitment issue that needs to be watched. Otherwise a good airline.

Mel-Lax put in seats next to young baby plane third empty we asked to move but it was too much trouble for the steward we asked another who moved us straight away food very poor bread rolls stale genuinely the worst airline food I have eaten. Lax-Syd again poor food but quick service for delivery/clean up although they seemed a bit put out when I asked for a drink reply "we will serve it with dinner" wasn't really what I expected. Plane arrived late in Sydney meaning we missed our connection to Perth we didn't know that while standing in a line waiting to check in (no information at all from cabin crew on flight). On checking in greeted by a man from Virgin who thought it was funny that we were now being sent via Melbourne and then onto Perth 5 hours later on us getting a bit annoyed with the whole Virgin experience. Taking away the poor service rubbish food there was plenty of leg room and on board entertainment was good but I cant get past the very poor service and will never fly Virgin again.

MEL-OOL Return in Economy. Flight departed Melbourne on time and was allocated aisle seat in front row of economy. Offered water or juice during the meal run. Seating very comfortable with the extra leg-room. Landed on time and luggage delivered promptly. Return flight delayed due late in-bound aircraft but kept fully informed by staff. Had checked in on-line for seat 3C however found I was allocated 3E which is in the middle. Asked at the excellent Virgin lounge at Gold Coast airport if an aisle seat was available and was then offered an aisle seat in the exit row which was great. Not Virgins fault but the Gold Coast airport is a shambles! They have spent a lot of money on renovations but there are people milling about all over the place waiting to board flights. Flight to Melbourne was terrific and purchased a sandwich for lunch and again was offered tea/coffee/juice or water. Landed around 15 mins late and luggage was on the carousel when I had arrived to collect it. Overall another excellent flight with VA. The only downside was the wi-fi entertainment system was not working on both flights. Luckily had a book to read.

Flights booked for trip to Cook Islands (Raro) to fly from Sydney to Rar. Decided to pay for the works ie food and entertainment. No problem to Auckland. Auckland to Rara we were bumped off the list and in the confusion were not allocated food beverages or entertainment. The flight was delayed over an hour. Cabin crew insisted we were not paying passengers. Then returning from Raro to Auckland we were again bumped off the list and had to wait till 99 to get seats. We were then offered exit position seat as that was all that was available despite having paid for the works. The best part of this ordeal was the last leg from Auckland to Sydney probably due to the fact that it was not a VA flight but Air NZ. Found the cabin crew mostly sullen and unhelpful.

Sydney to Denpasar Oct 28. Flew business class but I can honestly tell you do not waste your money with this airline. I fly frequently so I am used to a few problems etc. but this was a joke from the beginning. 8 seats which have very little recline very similar to economy. No bubbly offered apparently no longer on offer. No foot rest my partner and I were offered two choices for lunch. One was goat cheese salad and the other was salmon however it had run out. Let's not forget there are only eight people in business? So I said I would have the cheese packet you get on flights but no they also no longer do that either so I ate nothing. Then I was offered ice cream which came out warm. They quickly removed them apologising. Luggage last off plane. It was embarrassing. Staff however excellent.

MEL-PER VA 685. PER-MEL VA 686. Virgin Australia (domestic) have lifted their game since we last used them. They now provide free beer and wine and a meal at least on the Melbourne-Perth route. This is a definite improvement on the $7 chicken roll. I guess they are repositioning the brand since they bought Tiger. Being tall the ability to pay extra to secure an exit row seat is the big decider in selecting a domestic airline.

Night Flight MEL-PER. I was seated in the very back row of economy - on the aisle and pleased (at least) to have the only spare seat on the plane next to me. Soon to be seen struggling down the aisle was a parent and infant. The parent took up the single aisle seat across the aisle from me. Babe in arms. I offered to swap seats as I had the free seat next to me. Done - thanks all around- I know what it is like to be travelling with a child so was happy to provide them the extra seat space. After take off I was tapped on the shoulder by FA and escorted into business class. During the flight I was approached by every one of the cabin crew and thanked for my gesture. Surprised and appreciative - and advised by the crew that sadly my simple gesture was very rare indeed. Now that is disappointing! Well done Virgin Australia for excellent customer service.

No inflight entertainment cramped seating arrangement for long haul flight from Auckland to Bali via Brisbane. Staff were very average the only good thing I have to say with travelling Virgin Australia was that the food and beverages on offer were decent.