Mini-TR - Virgin Australia - SYD to MEL Return - Economy and Business
Mini-TR – Virgin Australia – Economy and Business – SYD-MEL-SYD
Background
Some extremely dear friends of mine have recently moved from the UK to Melbourne. Although my friend is Australian, he'd lived in the UK for the last 11 years. He subsequently met his wife and had his daughter in the UK so it was very difficult for them all to leave.
I couldn't wait to meet up with them so a few weeks after they arrived. They were still getting themselves organised and had very little furniture but I was happy enough to make do.
I had some Virgin Australia points to use up after 20 or so sectors to and from Adelaide with work. At the time of booking VA were having a sale and I was able to save 15% on the standard price for reward seats. I don't remember the costs exactly but I believe that an economy reward from SYD to MEL cost me 5900 points and business from MEL to SYD cost 11,300 without taxes. VA are quite flexible and allow you to include or exclude the taxes as required. These can be paid with cash. I also used up my remaining few hundred points to save a few more dollars off the total bill. In the end the flights cost 17,871 points and $32.16. I felt that this was actually very poor value. After all, the 17,871 points that I'd collected came from over 18,500 actual flown miles from 26 sectors. Rubbish if you ask me. I don't know what the earn and burn rates are on Qantas but I'd be surprised if they are worse than that.
I didn't take my proper camera with me on this trip so you'll have to make do with photos from my iPhone 5S which coped well in some cases and not so in others.
The Flight
I woke at 5.30am as normally happens when I have to be up early to fly, I just can't seem to get to sleep the night before. My flight wasn't until 9am and with no bags and online check in I felt that I could get away with arriving around 40 minutes before the flight was due to leave.
Checking in online was easy. I chose 29F at the back of the aircraft as VA allow you to disembark at the rear as well as the front so you are off pretty quickly, unlike when travelling on Qantas. I suppose that disembarking from the rear and onto the tarmac is still seen as a rather 'low cost carrier' approach but I like it.
I took the airport train and arrived on time, as planned. Upon entering the check in area it was clear that chaos was in progress. There were queues and people everywhere. There were even a few television news crews around the capture the mess on film. I checked a few of the news websites but couldn't find any details.
Weird Sydney weather
Museum station
Museum station
I went through security easy enough and I had a quick look around before heading to the gate. Terminal 2 isn't really an exciting place to be with it's low ceilings and long corridors. The Qantas domestic terminal (T3) is certainly much nicer.
I made my way to the gate and waited around for boarding. It was clear that the flight was going to be rather full. There were a few Christmas decorations around but for me, being English, it never feels like Christmas here, it's too hot.
View of the apron
Food hall at T2
Christmas decorations
The flight was showing a 10 minute delay. At 8.55 (5 minutes before our scheduled push back) boarding started. One thing that is very much 'low cost carrier' is boarding from the rear. I do have to say though that I quite enjoy this as you can get up close to the aircraft. A 737 from the ground is actually quite imposing. I can only imagine what viewing an A380 from the ground must be like.
I was welcomed on board and took my seat, 29F, the window seat, the second row from the back. The aircraft filled up pretty quickly and it was clear that it was full. I couldn't see a single free seat.
VH-YFK
Leg room
View across the cabin
Baggage loading
Leg room was fine, not particularly good but as you'd expect. The seats were comfortable enough. There was Wi-Fi IFE on this flight. In order to use it you had to download an app from either iTunes or Google Play. Once in the air, the Wifi was available and you could use the app to stream films, TV programmes and audio. I was on one of the first aircraft to have this service several months ago and it didn't work at all. Several flights later and it seemed ok and streamed well. It does eat up your battery though and there's no-where to charge your device in flight. I chose not to use it on this short flight.
We seemed to hang around on the tarmac for ages, I'm not sure why.
Eventually, push back took place and the usual recorded safety demonstration took place. I personally find the voice of the lady that they've chosen rather irritating. It's like she's about to explode in a shower of candy floss because she's so sickly sweet. We made our way out to the Eastern runway (the shorter one) and took off at around 9.35am, 35 minutes after our scheduled push back time which arguably put us at about 20-25 minutes late overall.
Once in the air the crew started rolling the trolleys down the aisles to start the service. Those who had purchased a flexi fare would get some sort of snack and a free drink. This didn't happen first though, so you'd still need to wait until the trolley got to you.
Mood lighting in the cabin shortly after take off
Cruising over rural NSW
Cruising over rural Victoria (note the clouds!)
As the flight was so full it was my impression that the crew barely finished the service before having to go back and collect everything. If I was on a flexi-fare and sitting near the back I'd be less than pleased.
The captain came on surely before descent to announce that we'd be landing in about 20 minutes at around 10.45, only 15 minutes or so behind scheduled. The crew went around to collect rubbish and then the seat belt sign went on the cabin was prepared for landing.
The touch down was quite bumpy with several drops and 'bottom clenching' moments before we actually hit the tarmac. The weather in Melbourne certainly didn't look as good as it was in Sydney.
Disembarking - I got told off by the ground staff for taking this photo
Good close ups from the gate area
After taking a few snaps of the nearby aircraft I made my way out of the departures area, past security and then towards the baggage area where I would meet my friend.
The Virgin Australia terminal has certainly changed a bit since I last went through, the baggage/arrivals area looked like it had been recently done up.
I met my friend near the coffee place and we said our hellos. He had been instructed to pick up a coffee for his wife to take back home as their coffee machine had not yet arrived from the UK. Coffee in hand we then headed to the car park and then on towards Eltham where my friend lives.
Verdict
A pretty straightforward uncomplicated Virgin Australia flight. The crew were friendly enough, the seats were reasonably comfortable, there was little more to ask for or expect. In my opinion, this was a very typical flight with VA.
Up Next
A night in Melbourne and a slightly weird flight with Virgin Australia in Business back to Sydney.