Age old question Virgin Australia OR Qantas A380

[Aussiefamof5]

Hi Guys

I know most of you have heard this all before, but Im torn between flying with Virgin Australia and Qantas. We will be flying economy as a family of five... 3 adults and two kidlets..... and cant decide between the both. Not to mention that we are departing from Tassie, so we have to factor in a phenomenal price just to leave the state.... we could fly to bali just for that sector alone LOL

Im looking for pros and cons for anyone who has flown with either recently.

Your help would be greatly appreciated

 

[aussie shaz]

I asked the exact same question when I was booking for this trip, except I asked it on Tripadvisor. There are about 50 replies, so that might help.

I decided on Virgin. We flew them last time to LA and they were fine. The price is also better, so that helped the decision. I'm pretty happy with my decision. We will see how it goes in March!

 

[Aussiefamof5]

I asked the exact same question when I was booking for this trip, except I asked it on Tripadvisor. There are about 50 replies, so that might help.

I decided on Virgin. We flew them last time to LA and they were fine. The price is also better, so that helped the decision. I'm pretty happy with my decision. We will see how it goes in March!

Thanks aussieshaz, yep i have looked on there too and im still at the same point LOL when you flew with them last year, was that with the new seating or old? I have heard a lot of reports as to how hard they are/were

 

[aussie shaz]

We went in August 2011. I think they are the same planes that they fly now. Not 100% sure. The seats were fine.

 

[mumoftriplets]

We flew with Qantas A380 last August - but to London. I loved it. We are a family 2 adults 3 kids. We were seated at the back of the plane and it didn't feel like it at all. I thought alot of room, considering we were at the back. I usually hear ever possible noise and I didn't hear anything. I haven't flown Virgin, so I can't compare.

 

[gogo65]

I have flown both and prefer virgin.
I find the service on qantas seriously lacking, however the last time I flew qantas it wasn't too bad(although it was prem economy)
My last visit to WDW we flew to Dallas then onto Orlando with qantas, if you are going to WDW I would probably pick qantas just for the convenience, however coming home from dallas you stop in Brisbane which isn't great.

I would weigh up departure time, price layover time etc and choose from there.
I have flown the a380 with qantas and Singapore and the only benefit I find is the economy seating up top with Singapore, I certainly wouldn't choose airline based on the fact it was an a380.

 

[coco392]

have flown both- Virgin are much better, friendlier and better value.
have booked virgin again in September

 

[Minnie Sue Oz]

I too have flown with both Qantas and Virgin with the latter late last year.

Virgin is my pick and we will be flying with them again in September!

 

[Aussiefamof5]

We flew with Qantas A380 last August - but to London. I loved it. We are a family 2 adults 3 kids. We were seated at the back of the plane and it didn't feel like it at all. I thought alot of room, considering we were at the back. I usually hear ever possible noise and I didn't hear anything. I haven't flown Virgin, so I can't compare.

It does look a lot roomier and have heard that it is quieter, my little princess is sensitive to noise this may be better for her.


We are flying to LAX so a departure from Melbourne would be ideal. I have heard on the grapevine that Virgin Australia will no longer be flying direct from Melbourne, they are outsourcing it through Brisbane, and letting Delta take over, from Melbourne. Time wise Im leaning more towards Qantas, rushing around with 2 kiddies and not enough time to spare makes me cringe

 

[SnowWhite09]

We flew Virgin Australia in 2009 and they were fantastic with our then 12 your old daugther. Great movies, great flight, great attendants and our flights were all on time! We are flying with them again this year!

 

[gogo65]

If the qantas times suit you better then go with them.
However.....to compare planes
Qantas A380 seat width 18.1 inches
Qantas 747 seat width 17.5 inches
Virgin 777 seat width 18.5 inches

Leg room
Qantas A 380 /747 31 inches
Virgin 32inches.

So the vrigin seats are wider and have more leg room.
I have flown the A380 both upstairs and downstairs, downstairs is huge and there are a lot of people, if you can go upstairs then you are better off, also be aware qantas have reconfigured some of there a380 and as a result have cut down on number of bathrooms, so lines can be long

 

[marvel]

Whilst we have flown the A380 previous trip and thought it was great, we are flying virgin in April. Price is what sold us and the bigger seats. With 4 adult fares, A380 was almost $200 more each, and that just didnt seem worth it.

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Havent flown with Virgin but have flown with Qantas.

In all honesty, I would fly with whichever one had the best price. It all comes down to extra dollars to spend on amazing experiences on the trip for me.

 

[tapdancer]

Waving from Tassie also

Have you looked at Delta? We flew with them from Sydney last trip and were very impressed. Price was great, in flight entertainment and meals fabulous and we are looking again at Delta for our September trip.

Last trip (and this one) we have booked separate flights from Hobart to Sydney return with Jetstar. We overnight in Sydney on the way over and this time are also overnighting on the way home.

 

[Aussiefamof5]

Waving from Tassie also

Have you looked at Delta? We flew with them from Sydney last trip and were very impressed. Price was great, in flight entertainment and meals fabulous and we are looking again at Delta for our September trip.

Last trip (and this one) we have booked separate flights from Hobart to Sydney return with Jetstar. We overnight in Sydney on the way over and this time are also overnighting on the way home.

hi Tapdancer, how expensive is it to get out of Hobart grrrrr
we are seriously contemplating flying out the day before as connections can be quiet tight....Delta my partner wont even consider Delta, however I believe you can select economy seats with extra legroom on certain flights, Im still confused about who to select but i think at the end of the day price will win

 

[alicia1506]

we flew virgin and they were fantastic, no issues with them, and they got us to lax earlier than advertised.

we are flying virgin again this trip, and have booked seats at the rear of the plane.

for me, i fly with virgin australia as they do direct flights from my home airport, meaning less hassles with connections, and they offered the best price.

i would go with whichever option was the cheapest and had the least amount of pain (ie connection stress, layovers etc) for your family. at the end of the day, if i can save $$ to put towards another experience on the trip, and it results in less hassle for my family, that's the winning option for me

 

[Aussiefamof5]

we flew virgin and they were fantastic, no issues with them, and they got us to lax earlier than advertised.

we are flying virgin again this trip, and have booked seats at the rear of the plane.

for me, i fly with virgin australia as they do direct flights from my home airport, meaning less hassles with connections, and they offered the best price.

i would go with whichever option was the cheapest and had the least amount of pain (ie connection stress, layovers etc) for your family. at the end of the day, if i can save $$ to put towards another experience on the trip, and it results in less hassle for my family, that's the winning option for me

Thanks alicia1506 price is definitely going to be the overall winner, we have decided to fly out the day before and stay overnight in melbs or sydney incase there are issues connecting from Hobart..... which there usually is

 

[ky71]

Qantas every time I can! (Except when I can fly Cathay Pacific).

Virgin only if it is the only airline with seats left...so barely NEVER.

 

[Melbourne5]

They are both good as a gold or plat ff with both they really look after you. Of its a simple trip to lax then Virgin is usually cheaper , service very good and lounge at lax ok. If you are moving around the USA then qantas /aa and luggage and lounge benefits are hard to beat and unless there is a massive ( for us more then $200 pp diff) then we stick with qantas for the convenience.

 

[Minniemum]

Aussiefamof5 - Others have already spoken about the difference in service and seating dimensions, I think a slight edge to Virgin but they're really much of a muchness. The big difference for us is their respective Frequent Flyer programs, particularly with a family in tow. Velocity (Virgin) has a function called family pooling. We have nominated DH to receive each family members points (earned for flights) and status credits (determines your FF membership level).

To give you a bit of an idea how this works, a MEL-LAX (one way) is 40 status credits each. From Tassie I imagine it would be at least 50 points or 250 for your family of 5. 250 points would get you a Silver membership. The most useful Silver entitlements are:
1 extra bag for the primary account holder (it's an excuse to shop more!),
50% points bonus for the primary account holder,
Priority check-in for the primary account holder and family (if on same booking),
Lounge access for 2 adults and children of account holder.

All this (and more) for you to utilise on your return leg!

We were Qantas snobs until last year and now we can't ever imagine going back.

P.S. They are also consistently cheaper than Qantas which is a huge bonus with a family.