Business Class Discussion - Seats/IFE/General Thoughts etc

[maninblack]

As in Lufthansa who developed the technology?

Lufthansa Systems is business that developed Boardconnect as a product to sell. About us - Lufthansa Systems

Lufthansa the airline has built-in conventional AVOD IFE on their aircraft. Lufthansa ® - Inflight Entertainment
Photos: Airbus A380-841 Aircraft Pictures | Airliners.net

Just noticed lovestotravel's reply covers the same ground but anyway...great minds think alike.

 

[777]

Lufthansa Systems is business that developed Boardconnect as a product to sell. About us - Lufthansa Systems

Lufthansa the airline has built-in conventional AVOD IFE on their aircraft. Lufthansa ® - Inflight Entertainment
Photos: Airbus A380-841 Aircraft Pictures | Airliners.net

Just noticed lovestotravel's reply covers the same ground but anyway...great minds think alike.

My point was simply that generalizations of the kind that you both love to reduce everything to are basically meaningless verging on stupid. You can actually have a sensible discussion about virgins IFE strategy or a anything else they may or may not be doing without having to resort to clearly over the top generalizations.

so BOB anything = LCC. Therefore pretty much every US domestic carrier is a LCC correct?

So BYOD IFE = LCC. Therefore qantas are an LCC having been the first Australian airline to implement it. Correct?

Insert pretty much any term in any either of the above sentences and it will immediately prove only that generalizing is stupid because there will be a dozen examples that contradict the rule.

Surely it's possible to argue the merit or otherwise of the approach without resorting to this?

 

[lovestotravel]

So a chunk of my MEL-CBR-MEL flights over the next few months have changed to the E190.....

Given that you still get J food on this flight, it's a hard call to make if I should call up/online and change my flights

 

[MarkD]

I would think eventually they will all be ATR flights.

 

[lovestotravel]

Don't think so, they need J class on the CBR flights!

Also 68 seats is not enough capacity on the ATRs

 

[greenfish]

Don't think so, they need J class on the CBR flights!

Also 68 seats is not enough capacity on the ATRs

Not to mention they're too slow and wouldn't compete with the QF jet service on the same route.

 

[MichaelD]

So a chunk of my MEL-CBR-MEL flights over the next few months have changed to the E190.....

Given that you still get J food on this flight, it's a hard call to make if I should call up/online and change my flights

I have now experienced MEL-CBR in both Qantas 737-400 J and Virgin E190 "J", courtesy of just missing the last Qantas flight out of CBR.

The E190 J is basically a poor man's Qantas 737-400 J at the moment. It's OK at a pinch, and there's nothing really wrong with it as such for such a short sector since you are sitting on your own.
The 737-400 J is the runt of Qantas' offering.

Seating - prefer 737-400. Suspect I will prefer E190 when they have proper J installed. Not a lot in it as the 737-400 is not a particularly comfortable J seat.
Food - hands-down Qantas ahead by a mile.

Double status credits for me on Virgin at the moment made me actually see the product as tolerable value (4400 points, 80 SCs for 37 mins of flying).

 

[maninblack]

My point was simply that generalizations of the kind that you both love to reduce everything to are basically meaningless verging on stupid. You can actually have a sensible discussion about virgins IFE strategy or a anything else they may or may not be doing without having to resort to clearly over the top generalizations.

so BOB anything = LCC. Therefore pretty much every US domestic carrier is a LCC correct?

So BYOD IFE = LCC. Therefore qantas are an LCC having been the first Australian airline to implement it. Correct?

Insert pretty much any term in any either of the above sentences and it will immediately prove only that generalizing is stupid because there will be a dozen examples that contradict the rule.

Surely it's possible to argue the merit or otherwise of the approach without resorting to this?

Hamlet Act 3, scene 2, 230

 

[pat25d]

Don't get the Hamlet reference But J Syd-Per last night was fantastic.

Comfortable seats, extremely friendly and efficient staff and a great 4 course meal. Plus they gave us a bottle of Champagne as a gift (I think due to my WP status, Wife thinks due to her flirting while I was asleep).

Downsides were a 45 min delay out and poor IFE but we just use our own devices anyway so not a big issue.

 

[Justchecking]

Downsides were a 45 min delay out and poor IFE but we just use our own devices anyway so not a big issue.

Then maybe all this insistence that AVOD is the one true path, is a lot of hot air? Seems you coped quite well without it. Maybe others will too.

 

[airbus380]

Wow pat25d if this were the completion.. A 5 min delay and bad Ife, the world would have ended!!! Lol

 

[markis10]

Wow pat25d if this were the completion.. A 5 min delay and bad Ife, the world would have ended!!! Lol

Your post makes no sense!

 

[Justchecking]

Your post makes no sense!

substitute competition for 'completion' and it might make sense.

 

[lovestotravel]

It seems that VA have moved forward the slight price increase on J fares...

$4 increase on the 1st of July, it was loaded to be around September/October as of a few days ago...

Also seems to be lots of other big price rises for travel in June and early July that occurred in the last 48 hours..

 

[markis10]

It seems that VA have moved forward the slight price increase on J fares...

$4 increase on the 1st of July, it was loaded to be around September/October as of a few days ago...

Also seems to be lots of other big price rises for travel in June and early July that occurred in the last 48 hours..

Carbon Tax effect.

 

[lovestotravel]

Carbon Tax effect.

:evil:

I keep forgetting about that lovely tax.....

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Carbon Tax effect.

Is my memory playing tricks, or have I read the "carbon tax" reason previously.

How many price rises can the carbon tax be blamed for? I personally wouldn't have thought the carbon tax would impact that significantly, or are we seeing the ideal chance to slide through larger increases (didn't Howard try to prevent that when the GST was introduced)?

PS........Please don't misunderstand me, I'm not a carbon tax supporter at all!

 

[cityloop]

I've taken quite a number of J flights around Australia in the past few weeks OOL SYD MEL PER and on a mix of B737 and A330. I can say without a doubt that the service, seating, meals, atmosphere, ife... basically everything is leaps and bounds ahead on the PER-East Coast A330 routes than any of the B737 flights. It's quite shocking actually how vastly different they are. The A330 business class experience is what I think everyone imagines to be business class.
I've compiled a quick comparison of what I feel outlines the key difference between the A330 and B737:

A330

• Warm and personalised greetings.
• Large open cabin.
• Comfortable and roomy seats with a very good recline and feet resting positions.
• A menu with excellent selections and containing 3 or more courses.
• Food and Drinks well presented and served.
• Real Champagne as a pre flight drink.
• Excellent, quality amenity kit.
• Real coffee (eg latte)
• Complete separation from the economy cabin.
• Professional staff
• Integrated IFE

B737

• Often not greeted as a J passenger, Often no personalisation. Sometimes cold.
• Smaller cabin, however appropriate for the 737.
• Wide seats, however limited recline and no feet rest support. Less leg room.
• Set menu (no menu cards), limited choice and often just one or two courses.
• Sometimes meals and drinks not served well.
• Water or Mocktail as pre flight drink.
• No amenity kit.
• Filter coffee.
• Integrated with economy cabin. Often times economy passengers breaking barrier to use front toilet.
• Hit and miss staff, have only experienced one professional staff member, the remaining take less care.
• No IFE, or digiplayer

This is a fairly subjective list but is what I personally have experienced on many J routes. In particular I am extremely annoyed at how Virgin can charge the same amount for a B737 PER - SYD flight as the A330 PER - SYD flight given that the two products are worlds apart. I'd be happy to pay less for a PER - SYD product given the difference but paying the same amount is obscene. Even better would be to bring all B737 J products up to the same exemplary standard as the A330 product.

 

[Mogul]

I've taken quite a number of J flights around Australia in the past few weeks OOL SYD MEL PER and on a mix of B737 and A330. I can say without a doubt that the service, seating, meals, atmosphere, ife... basically everything is leaps and bounds ahead on the PER-East Coast A330 routes than any of the B737 flights. It's quite shocking actually how vastly different they are. The A330 business class experience is what I think everyone imagines to be business class.
I've compiled a quick comparison of what I feel outlines the key difference between the A330 and B737:

A330

• Warm and personalised greetings.
• Large open cabin.
• Comfortable and roomy seats with a very good recline and feet resting positions.
• A menu with excellent selections and containing 3 or more courses.
• Food and Drinks well presented and served.
• Real Champagne as a pre flight drink.
• Excellent, quality amenity kit.
• Real coffee (eg latte)
• Complete separation from the economy cabin.
• Professional staff
• Integrated IFE

B737

• Often not greeted as a J passenger, Often no personalisation. Sometimes cold.
• Smaller cabin, however appropriate for the 737.
• Wide seats, however limited recline and no feet rest support. Less leg room.
• Set menu (no menu cards), limited choice and often just one or two courses.
• Sometimes meals and drinks not served well.
• Water or Mocktail as pre flight drink.
• No amenity kit.
• Filter coffee.
• Integrated with economy cabin. Often times economy passengers breaking barrier to use front toilet.
• Hit and miss staff, have only experienced one professional staff member, the remaining take less care.
• No IFE, or digiplayer

This is a fairly subjective list but is what I personally have experienced on many J routes. In particular I am extremely annoyed at how Virgin can charge the same amount for a B737 PER - SYD flight as the A330 PER - SYD flight given that the two products are worlds apart. I'd be happy to pay less for a PER - SYD product given the difference but paying the same amount is obscene. Even better would be to bring all B737 J products up to the same exemplary standard as the A330 product.

100% agree. I have been saying this since day one of J on the Coast to Coast service. Will only fly J to Perth on the A330 now.

This mornings trip to Perth was thumbs up for all area's from priority boarding to priority baggage (even managed to take 63kg's of baggage). J cabin had myself and 4 others in it.

VA really shouldn't be charging the same amount for the 737 J as they do for the A330 especially on the coast to coast service. Have done a 737 in J and never again.

That reminds me need to open the new amenity kit.

 

[serfty]

• Set menu (no menu cards), limited choice and often just one or two courses.

Apparently you are entitled to ask for items off the economy menu ...

... which you have to ask for as they have been removed from the Business class seat pockets.

Here's a link to a current copy - you may like to print it out and take it with you:

• Virgin Australia - the menu