Yada Yada
Established Member
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2004
- Posts
- 1,875
Dear Brett,
RE: DJ434 PER-SYD FRI 31 MAR
I thought that I'd share a few thoughts from my Perth to Sydney flight on Friday afternoon/evening:
1. One of the things that Virgin Blue promotes is having Australia's "youngest fleet". Your equipment is indeed generally very clean and tidy, but on this flight I noticed some problems that detracted from the experience:
1a. Firstly, there was a very unattractive odour coming from the recess in the arm of the chair where the tray table is stowed. It really was quite unpleasant.
1b. As you would know, in the front row of the cabin the tray tables are only half size and are hinged in the middle. Unfortunately mine (seat 1A) was broken and would not stay horizontal, so I had to support it with my leg but even then it was next to useless. On a coast-to-coast flight that was basically full, the tray tables in every seat need to work.
1c. The inflight audio system on this plane was broken. Channels 1-4 were operating OK although the volume varied up and down. Channels 5-8 had such choppy sound that they were not useable. The audio selections also seemed very limited in terms of style and could do with a review, in my opinion.
2. Seat 1A should be excluded as a Blue Zone seat. It seems to be more narrow than the others, has obstructed leg space due to the moulding of the door right in front of it, a tiny tray table, and the space in front of that row is the waiting area for those wishing to use the toilet. It is a poor cousin to other Blue Zone seats.
Now for a few compliments:
3. I usually fly between SYD-MEL and SYD-BNE so rarely need to purchase anything to eat or drink. Being my first SYD-PER trip on DJ, I did purchase some food and can say that the selections are great. The Beef Burgundy I had on the flight over was delicious, and the Chicken Wrap I had on the return flight was equally as good. The red wines were good value and good quality.
4. Your crew were sensational. Sitting in 1A on the return flight gave me a close-up view of a few of them in action and interacting with one another. It was a very full flight yet they handled the passengers, some of whom were quite demanding, extremely well and always in good humour. We experienced what was described as "moderate turbulence" for quite some time, resulting in them having to clean up a few messes :shock: , yet they did so without even the slightest hint of a grimmace. (FYI, the cabin supervisor was Stephanie).
Virgin Blue has a great product. I have never felt previously that it was a poor cousin to QF nor a true Low Cost Carrier in terms of service. While the issues I raise are probably considered minor, they do impact on one's experience when sitting in an economy class seat on a crowded aircraft for over 4 hours. I hope that you can find the resources to ensure that your planes are cleaned properly and that the seats/tray-tables/audio system are fully operational so that they do not detract from the product as a whole.
Yours sincerely,
Peter.
RE: DJ434 PER-SYD FRI 31 MAR
I thought that I'd share a few thoughts from my Perth to Sydney flight on Friday afternoon/evening:
1. One of the things that Virgin Blue promotes is having Australia's "youngest fleet". Your equipment is indeed generally very clean and tidy, but on this flight I noticed some problems that detracted from the experience:
1a. Firstly, there was a very unattractive odour coming from the recess in the arm of the chair where the tray table is stowed. It really was quite unpleasant.
1b. As you would know, in the front row of the cabin the tray tables are only half size and are hinged in the middle. Unfortunately mine (seat 1A) was broken and would not stay horizontal, so I had to support it with my leg but even then it was next to useless. On a coast-to-coast flight that was basically full, the tray tables in every seat need to work.
1c. The inflight audio system on this plane was broken. Channels 1-4 were operating OK although the volume varied up and down. Channels 5-8 had such choppy sound that they were not useable. The audio selections also seemed very limited in terms of style and could do with a review, in my opinion.
2. Seat 1A should be excluded as a Blue Zone seat. It seems to be more narrow than the others, has obstructed leg space due to the moulding of the door right in front of it, a tiny tray table, and the space in front of that row is the waiting area for those wishing to use the toilet. It is a poor cousin to other Blue Zone seats.
Now for a few compliments:
3. I usually fly between SYD-MEL and SYD-BNE so rarely need to purchase anything to eat or drink. Being my first SYD-PER trip on DJ, I did purchase some food and can say that the selections are great. The Beef Burgundy I had on the flight over was delicious, and the Chicken Wrap I had on the return flight was equally as good. The red wines were good value and good quality.
4. Your crew were sensational. Sitting in 1A on the return flight gave me a close-up view of a few of them in action and interacting with one another. It was a very full flight yet they handled the passengers, some of whom were quite demanding, extremely well and always in good humour. We experienced what was described as "moderate turbulence" for quite some time, resulting in them having to clean up a few messes :shock: , yet they did so without even the slightest hint of a grimmace. (FYI, the cabin supervisor was Stephanie).
Virgin Blue has a great product. I have never felt previously that it was a poor cousin to QF nor a true Low Cost Carrier in terms of service. While the issues I raise are probably considered minor, they do impact on one's experience when sitting in an economy class seat on a crowded aircraft for over 4 hours. I hope that you can find the resources to ensure that your planes are cleaned properly and that the seats/tray-tables/audio system are fully operational so that they do not detract from the product as a whole.
Yours sincerely,
Peter.
