Long haul economy: Virgin Australia versus Air New Zealand
May 1, 2012, 2:45 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Auckland NZ
Programs: NZ Air Points (Gold Elite), Velocity (Platinum), Emirates (Gold)
Posts: 607
Long haul economy: Virgin Australia versus Air New Zealand
Hi everyone, I haven't been around much, but I wanted to post my comparison of my economy experiences with Virgin Australia on long-haul with my experiences on Air New Zealand long-haul.
Basically, there's almost no difference between them, except that Virgin Australia's seats are an amazing 18.8" wide - compare that to Air New Zealand's measly 17.1" wide on the 773! I found the service on Virgin Australia to be chipper and friendly, just like on Air New Zealand. The economy food was very good, just like on Air New Zealand. I am not a big user of entertainment systems, but I watched a few TV shows and found it to be very similar to Air New Zealand's system.
Virgin Australia did give all economy passengers an amenities pack, which included eye shades, ear plugs, and a postcard. Air New Zealand doesn't do this. All the food and alcohol was free on Virgin Australia, just like on Air New Zealand.
I did find the recognition of Platinum members to be lacking on Virgin Australia. On my flight over, no one said anything to me about my status and I did miss the usual glass of champange that I would get on an Air New Zealand flight. I also missed the noise cancelling headphones (I had my own but they didn't fit quite right in the Virgin plug). On the way back from LAX, someone did come by and say that because of my status, they wanted to ensure that I got my first meal choice, and they delivered my meals before the general meal service started. I actually would prefer to get it when everyone else does, because I prefer my wine with dinner.
So while the recognition of status customers wasn't as good as on Air New Zealand, everything else was as good or better. And of course, the seats were so much roomier - 1.7 inches makes a lot of difference on a long flight.
I plan to fly Virgin Australia over Air New Zealand any day (except to use up my 2 Gold upgrades when I get them after dropping down from Gold Elite). With Virgin Australia, the comfort is much better, the service and food are just as good, and even though you cannot currently upgrade on long-haul flights with Virgin Australia, the economy experience is just fine for me. That's all I'm really looking for: a roomy, comfortable seat; decent service; decent food. Air NZ can't provide the first anymore for me, so why bother?
Basically, there's almost no difference between them, except that Virgin Australia's seats are an amazing 18.8" wide - compare that to Air New Zealand's measly 17.1" wide on the 773! I found the service on Virgin Australia to be chipper and friendly, just like on Air New Zealand. The economy food was very good, just like on Air New Zealand. I am not a big user of entertainment systems, but I watched a few TV shows and found it to be very similar to Air New Zealand's system.
Virgin Australia did give all economy passengers an amenities pack, which included eye shades, ear plugs, and a postcard. Air New Zealand doesn't do this. All the food and alcohol was free on Virgin Australia, just like on Air New Zealand.
I did find the recognition of Platinum members to be lacking on Virgin Australia. On my flight over, no one said anything to me about my status and I did miss the usual glass of champange that I would get on an Air New Zealand flight. I also missed the noise cancelling headphones (I had my own but they didn't fit quite right in the Virgin plug). On the way back from LAX, someone did come by and say that because of my status, they wanted to ensure that I got my first meal choice, and they delivered my meals before the general meal service started. I actually would prefer to get it when everyone else does, because I prefer my wine with dinner.
So while the recognition of status customers wasn't as good as on Air New Zealand, everything else was as good or better. And of course, the seats were so much roomier - 1.7 inches makes a lot of difference on a long flight.
I plan to fly Virgin Australia over Air New Zealand any day (except to use up my 2 Gold upgrades when I get them after dropping down from Gold Elite). With Virgin Australia, the comfort is much better, the service and food are just as good, and even though you cannot currently upgrade on long-haul flights with Virgin Australia, the economy experience is just fine for me. That's all I'm really looking for: a roomy, comfortable seat; decent service; decent food. Air NZ can't provide the first anymore for me, so why bother?
