Thoughts on flying with Virgin

[WickedDreamer]

Hey everyone!!!!!

So I have all the ADRS booked and hotel booked for my first trip to the world in January next year and have looked at both Qantas and Virgin flights from Sydney to Orlando and just wondering which to choose.

They both seem to have the same facilities although with virgin you have full access to thr kitchen to be able to make your own coffee and grab a snack during the flight, and I have heard you can also charge your devices using a USB cable in your seat??

I have heard good things about Qantas but just not sure and wnaned to see what other people thought about flying with either one or if you preferred one from the other.

This wil be my first overseas flight as well so excited



Shan

 

[hellosue]

Hi Shan,

We flew VAustralia in 2009 and going with them again in 17 days. I haven't had great service on Qantas and was impressed with VA. Their seats are comfortable and the choice of Movies/TV shows and games are great. Meals are great and yes you can fill up your drink bottle and help yourself to a snack.

Everyone has a different experience it will come down to availability and price & depending on how many stops you are prepared to make.

My vote is for V Australia but if I don't have a good flight this time I'll let you know....

 

[kylieh]

I'm a Qantas traveler, though we haven't tried Virgin. Qantas are hanging on to my business by a thread. If my upcoming flight is no good it will be time to change.

I'd go with who ever had the best schedule, number of connections, and price.

But remember to read the fine print of both carriers - how they look after you if a flight is canceled or delayed can make a big difference.

 

[Oz-kateer]

I don't do Virgin anything. So given a choice I'd say Qantas, although we've done Delta twice and are about to go in for round 3. They have been great all up and their arrival time in Orlando in early evening is perfect for kids. You arrive, shower and sleep, and then wake up the next day ready for action. No jet lag.

 

[Busy Busy]

We are very excited to be flying VAustralia in 4 weeks time. We will be in premium economy and besides the price being good, it looks gorgeous and the reviews were amazing.

I've flown lots of different airlines from here to there and I've never really had a bad flight, so I'm optimistic about VAustralia. It's taking us to our amazing holiday, so getting onto that flight on Friday 16th September is something that I can't wait for!

 

[ame]

I've flown V Australia erm... a few times in PE and regular economy. Twice to LAX with kids.

The seats are comfy, service is awesome and the in seat usb charging is very handy. There is no full access to a kitchen. There is a little snack section near the WCs. It's hit and miss if there is available snacks (thanks to some greedy people who think it's the last food they'll get for a month and walk back with arms loaded. It's just bikkies and crisps), but they do restock. In PE they are very forthcoming with snacks etc.. as you want. My kids love the entertainment, there is a wide chopice of games and movies for all ages (my kids have been aged as young as 6 and old as 12 when travelling).

THe new flight times out of Sydney mean that it does take a while for everyone to settle into a snooze, but it does mean you'll arrive at LAX in time for an onward connection that day.

If you do book with VA, try and get the LAX-MCO leg with Virgin America. Have flown them in regular and main cabin select. I heart Virgin America. Their service is awesome and even though it's not a full service airline you do get non-alcoholic drinks included.

Also, whichever airline you go with, book through on the one ticket to make luggage and possible missed connections due to delays easier.

 

[AussiePJ]

I was a strong Qantas flyer, Gold FF pushing Platinum but was getting sick and tired of the lack of support from them.

So I tried V Australia and they were fantastic. THe only time we will be going back to Qantas is to finish up the frequent flyer points.

V Australia is so far in front on every aspect. Service, value, customer dealings.

One of the posters mentioned they are going Premium. IMO V Premium is as good as Qantas Business with the exception of the seat size and how far it reclines.

Qantas frontline staff have always been good, but V are at least as good.

I always recommend V now and have moved alll our business away from Qantas.

 

[lovintheland]

Our family of five has flown to LA 3 times in the past 4 years. Once with Qantas, the other two VA. VA wins hands done in every aspect. Would not fly Qantas again unless it was an amazing deal.

 

[Travel Mum]

All this is very depressing considering we are flying Qantas! However, I must keep reminding myself that we are flying them in order to use up all remaining QF FF points (got two adult tickets). As soon as we used the points for these tickets, we changed our credit card to earn Air NZ Airpoints instead of QF FF points so all our eggs go in that basket now!

Virgin sounds fantastic but it would quite a drag for us to have to fly across the Tasman in both directions in order to fly them to L.A. It's much easier to do the 1 hour domestic flight to Auckland and fly direct from there - hence Air NZ and QF are our only choices.

 

[Mum from oz]

We haven't flown Qantas internationally but we have V and we loved it. I definitely recommend them.

 

[Eblink]

Air New Zealand, anyone? Lovely!!!

 

[Travel Mum]

Air New Zealand, anyone? Lovely!!!

Well, it's been awhile since I've flown them longhaul, but we are confident in them hence why all our credit card points now earn Air NZ Airpoints!

 

[ame]

Air New Zealand, anyone? Lovely!!!

I haven't flown Air NZ longhaul, but recently considered flying with their PE next July for DS & I. I decided against it as I wasn't keen on the reviews on their new PE seats. Economy seem to be the usual type of seats and they have the *sky couch* which would be a good product with a small child.

I really did like their flight schedules from AKL as (sleepwise) I hate the 10/11AM departures from Sydney.

Airline equality has lots of reviews. Mainly from disgruntled passengers, but gives you an idea if there's a current negative trend.

 

[Oz-kateer]

Air NZ put me off flying long haul when they halved the economy baggage allowance.

All the other carriers to the US allow 2 x 23kg bags, Air New Zealand now only allows one, unless you fly premium economy or higher.

Going is not so bad, but coming home can add $$ to your holiday budget.

As a matter of interest, are Air NZ now doing SYD - MCO? They never used to.

 

[australiankaren]

hey
DH flew ANZ prem econ last year, loved it, but it was on the older 747, top deck. Plenty of space.
Flying V in a few weeks, prem econ, cant wait.
have flown delta twice in the last 2 years,solid product for what you pay for. They now have economy comfort seats, so may try that next year.
Flew QF econ, never again.....
counting down...

 

[Busy Busy]

We flew Qantas economy home from London on the new A380 in 2009 (turned out that it was the one that had the big hole blown in the side about a year later).

DH had the seat on the aisle that has no seat in front of it - there is a hatch in the floor that the crew can jump up through from where they sleep if their usual door is blocked It was very comfy for him to stretch his legs out the entire time, and watching people do a double-take as they walked past him was really funny. You could read their minds as they thought - why the hell didn't I book that seat?! What wasn't so funny was DS, DD and in our seats with the people in front reclined into our laps while we watched DH lay back and enjoy his leg room....boooo!

 

[Aussie Wendy]

We just took our first VAustralia flight to LAX and then on to NY with Virgin America. Previous US trips have been with Qantas but like so many getting very disillusioned with them and their use of old planes on that route and lacklustre service-and whilst it was peak season they wanted exorbitant prices. V felt like the there was more space between the rows of seats in Economy than our last flights with other airlines, good choice of movies, games etc, food was good, nighttime snacks pretty basic as already mentioned, very attentive staff. Also found Virgin America good. Whilst V wasn't up there with Singapore or Malaysian it came close and will be our first choice for future trips to the US. Have a fantastic trip however you fly there!!

 

[aussietravellers]

Have flown both Qantas and VAustralia internationally. Am a gold Qantas FF, but I have to say, I prefer VAustralia. The staff were much better, friendly, far superiour service, the seats were more comfortable. Only problem we had with VAustralia was on our return journey, with a severe peanut allergy, on finding out about this (it was noted in our booking and a special meal had been ordered), they delayed the flight for 20 minutes whilst the captain decided if he was going to let us travel or off load us due to peanuts being served on the flight!!!! We were not happy, particularly as we have been flying for years without issue and flew over with them without issue. It was just that Captain was worried I may have an airbourne reaction midflight.

So for that reason and only that reason we won't and don't fly with them, not because they serve peanuts but being about going through the possible offload drama if the Captain doesn't want someone with a PA onboard, just easier to fly Qantas, never had a problem with them.

Aside from that, I would fly VAustralia anyday, I would go with whoever had the cheapest flights.

 

[australiankaren]

We just took our first VAustralia flight to LAX and then on to NY with Virgin America. Previous US trips have been with Qantas but like so many getting very disillusioned with them and their use of old planes on that route and lacklustre service-and whilst it was peak season they wanted exorbitant prices. V felt like the there was more space between the rows of seats in Economy than our last flights with other airlines, good choice of movies, games etc, food was good, nighttime snacks pretty basic as already mentioned, very attentive staff. Also found Virgin America good. Whilst V wasn't up there with Singapore or Malaysian it came close and will be our first choice for future trips to the US. Have a fantastic trip however you fly there!!

I'm so excited...flying V in 17 days, cant wait....have really heard nothing bad about them compared to Qantas......so fingers crossed we get a great flight

 

[Toy Story]

For those flying Virgin, have you seen that Virgin is status matching Qantas points with the launch of the new frequent flyer program? It is only or a limited time....