Up and away in J with VA!

[notzac]

Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to present my latest installment of [-]rampant alcoholism at 37000 feet[/-] happy flighting with VA! Y'all will appreciate the effort it took to not construct a salacious thread title, however a quick peruse of the forum rules suggested that such lewd language had no place here. Ah well.

A little background

The end of my qualification year was fast approaching and it appeared I wouldn't quite have the number of status credits required to requalify Velocity Gold. Not wanting to try my luck at being comped, I decided to book myself a little holiday! Remembering the crazy competition that VA ran a year or two ago called 4320:LA (we'll pay for your flights and accommodation, you have to post to twitter once per minute for the duration of the 3 day trip in LA) .. I decided that a weekend in LA sounded like a stupid idea, but just crazy enough that it might be fun!

I found a crazy cheap whY+ fare on the VA website and managed to convince a Starwood associate friend of mine to help me book one of the "insider" rates available for the W Hollywood. With the main components of the trip booked, a few finishing touches were required -- town car transfers for LAX, a new camera so I could avoid dragging along my SLR, warning my credit cards to gird their loins and so on -- and we're ready to go.

At the airport

Now, whY+ isn't J by any stretch of the imagination .. however, after getting out to MEL T2 and attempting to check in with a bit of a scary check in agent, she told me I couldn't have the seat I wanted because I had been shifted forward -- to 5G! I think I must have looked a fright, as she inquired if I was okay with that .. who was I to say no to a complimentary upgrade :?:

Off I wandered through the T2 shopping mall and found my way downstairs to the wonderful NZ Koru Club lounge, where I handed over my lounge invite and got myself set up for a buffet brekkie. Actually pretty decent, but the pancake machine wasn't behaving itself

[size=-2]Entrance to the NZ Koru Club at MEL T2[/size]

[size=-2]A wee glass of something nice + 1 x J boarding pass[/size]
​

 

[notzac]

On the plane

Soon enough boarding was called -- I walked down in to the new section of the International terminal, where I caught a glimpse of my chariot:

Straight down the speedy boarding lane, soon enough I was being welcomed to my seat (which is anything but private during boarding; when seated in row 5, I'd recommend waiting until boarding is mostly completed before boarding yourself -- will help to avoid the glares from the riff-raff seated down the back somewhere )

[size=-2]The middle block of 3 seats
(fortunately, the middle seat remained empty!)[/size]

[size=-2]The QF009 pose[/size]

[size=-2]The seat controls. Curiously, the massage function is called "Lumbar Refresh"[/size]

[size=-2]..now all covered up with a menu and a serious glass of pre-departure-champagne![/size]
​

 

[notzac]

Food and drink me!

Shortly after take off, the cabin managers came around to introduce themselves, have a quick chat and take meal orders. The menu is brand new (much like the whY+ menu) and is the first to be prepared by Luke Mangan, so they were soliciting feedback to see if it was up to scratch! Certainly looked tasty from the descriptions, and again it's wonderful to see a proper vego option on the main menu. No moar SPMLs for me! Let's get started with a signature coughtail and warmed nuts:

The FAs wouldn't be convinced to spill the beans on the recipe, but the menu describes it as being "..a blend of white spirits, cognac and cranberry juice, freshened with a ginger and lime syrup." After extensive and exhaustive sampling, I would personally describe it as being "damn tasty!"

After something of a delay, the meal started. One of my very few criticisms here -- if it was going to be a little while between setting my table and putting food on it, I would have liked to be informed and perhaps supplied with another ramekin of nuts or something to tide me over. I hasten to add it wasn't a ridiculously long delay, and soon enough I was entertaining my tastebuds with the following three courses:

[size=-2]Rich mushroom soup with fresh chives
Alkoomi Frankland River 2008 Riesling[/size]

[size=-2]Pan fried gnocchi with marinated artichokes, tomato, basil and green olives
Hanna Russian River Valley 2008 Chardonnay[/size]

[size=-2]Pat and Sticks Vanilla ice cream between layers of oat and almond lace cookie
Espresso[/size]
​

A few comments around the meals:

• The gnocchi was out of this world; quite possibly the best meal I've had on a plane!
• I'm normally a member of the ABC club, but the Russian River chardy was v drinkable
• The dessert was delivered in a plastic wrapper. I questioned this and the embarrassed FA said that they didn't like it themselves, but it's how the service standards say to deliver it. Once I got over myself, it was an insanely tasty dessert (and the coffee was surprisingly decent as well!)

So -- I can say without reservation or hesitation that the food in J on VA is truly excellent! I certainly hope it remains at this level of quality.

 

[notzac]

J Bar me!

Once meals were cleared away, I decided I needed to stretch my legs .. oh, what's this? An onboard bar? With cabin managers offering to fix me a coughtail? Did they honestly think I'd say 'no'?

[size=-2]Well, hello there..[/size]

[size=-2]Om nom nom Cosmopolitan! (apparently v much outside of the normal service standards)
None of the requisite bar equipment was on board, so a certain level of experimentation was required![/size]
​

Unfortunately, shortly after I was all coughtailed up -- we hit a little turbulence and I had to go back to my seat. Soon enough though I was back at the bar; it's a little bit of a novelty I guess (and one that's rumoured to be removed? I certainly hope not! ), but it's a great way to while away the flight and enjoy random conversations with random pax. The FAs continued to be entirely wonderful, joining in the conversation on occasion and (most importantly) offering v frequent top ups! Alas, no further coughtails were offered, however there were plenty of other things available to keep my tastebuds entertained

Sleepytime

At some point in the afternoon/evening, the curtains had been drawn around row 5 and my seat had been turned in to a bed, complete with a thin mattress pad and duvet. I took the opportunity to change clothes (no pyjamas were distributed and I clean forgot to ask about them), then got myself buckled in for a little nap. In terms of seat comfort (as a comparison with QF), it's way ahead of the SkySlopes but perhaps not quite as good as the A380 version. The seat padding lets them down here, but that could probably be corrected with a better mattress pad. All that aside -- it's horizontal and I was pretty well boozed up, so it took almost no time to fall asleep! Shortly before I [-]passed out[/-] drifted off, I grabbed a snapshot of the private cabin area for row 5:

[size=-2]Love the LED "star lights", perhaps not so much the seatbelt/toilet signs..[/size]
​

 

[notzac]

Brekkie and final thoughts

I woke up as the FAs were preparing the cabin for brekkie; it's similar to other carriers in that a brekkie card is distributed with the menu, you tick a few boxes and something resembling food arrives a few hours before touchdown.

I always forget to order enough, so I made a conscious effort to tick moar boxes that I otherwise might have. Here's the result:

As you can see, I passed on the hot breakfast option (never been a fan). As for what I had .. the coffee wasn't stunning, but better than average. Muesli was really good! I also had what I think was a banana and strawberry smoothie, which was really tasty.

Landing was uneventful, but the timing couldn't have been better. The backlog from QF93 and VA1 had just been cleared, meaning I waited for just a few minutes to complete immigration formalities .. then no checked luggage meant almost no time to get through customs. All in all, I went from plane to landside in just under 20 minutes -- a personal best! From there I was picked up and driven to the W Hollywood, which has already been the subject of a TR

I remembered to take a snapshot of the amenity kit once I got to the hotel:

All of the usual suspects were included, inside this massive satchel thingy (think: something that would comfortably fit a netbook and some papers). I didn't care for most of the amenities; the Bulgari lip balm was horrible and I don't like roll-on deoderant. The pen is nice! I've heard a rumour or two that JB really doesn't like the satchels (and apparently the pax don't either: on leaving the aircraft, I was probably the only person that took one), so hopefully that gets replaced with something a little smaller and more useful.

So what did I think? Loved it! If VA can maintain this level of service, expand/solidify the network and partnerships a little and keep the competitive pricing, QF is in serious trouble. Look beyond the fact that they're not in an alliance for a moment (is it really honestly that important?) and maybe you'll see QF for what it is -- overpriced with hugely variable service. If all the rumoured improvements come true, I'll happily forgo the WP benefits for a more consistent, enjoyable experience that's a little lighter on the wallet!

Coming up .. my return journey as always, comments and questions v welcome!

 

[thewinchester]

You know if you're laughing before you've finished the first paragraph, the TR is set to be a cracker. And this doesn't dissapoint, nice work notzac.

 

[Homer]

Very good report, thanks very much for making the effort. I’m on VA1 SYD-LAX in three weeks in J and so your report was particularly relevant for me.

 

[Homer]

I took the opportunity to change clothes (no pyjamas were distributed and I clean forgot to ask about them)

I wonder whether VA PJs are no longer supplied? This is the second time I’ve read a VA J trip report where the PJs were not handed out.

 

[Keith009]

V nice! Ta for sharing. Love the rather hip dining ware. And the coughtails look fabulicious!

Yes the amenity kit looks daggy...

I love QF not because it's in an alliance but because I genuinely think it's the best choice for a full service Australian-based international carrier, especially network wise, and I've always been very happy with the service. However I am also happy that Virgin appears to be doing so well and shaping up to be a solid alternative for someone like myself who wants to support an Aussie carrier. The more choice the better. I don't mind that V Australia isn't in an alliance, as they're doing a rather good job of signing bilateral agreements with other airlines to provide the kind of interline status recognition that you'd expect of an alliance, as well as essential interline services such as through check. But I do look forward to a more comprehensive network. An Asian focus city would be nice, though you do have the option of MH for Velocity points and SCs for Asia (albeit without mutual status recognition).

And they have some very good J and PE fares to the US!

Eagerly anticipating the next wave of changes to come.

 

[albatross710]

Brekkie and final thoughts and I don't like roll-on deoderant.

Deodorant is the one thing I would like to see in more amenity kits. SQ provide almost everything except deodorant which is the one liquid I end up having to carry and separate going through security.

 

[notzac]

Time to come back home

After a Wonderful Weekend away, catching up with friends and entertaining my liver at various specialty establishments of liquid refreshment, it was time to head home. My friend took pity on me and offered a lift back out to LAX, which was very welcome!

After descending on the hellhole that is LAX T3, I found my way to the priority check in facility for Velocity Gold cardholders and proceeded to attempt to get checked in. Problem. *tap tap tap* Seat change. *tap tap tap* Mr notzac, I'd like to offer you an upgrade to business class for this evening's flight - I've got you in 5H. Happy flighting!

:mrgreen: :mrgreen:

After coming back down to earth, I made my way upstairs and through security; US airports are mostly miserable but T3 pushes that to extremes. Duty free is a bit of a joke, however a litre of Tanq 10 for USD 32? Sold! Finding my way upstairs to the dubious comforts of the AS Board Room, I settled in with a cream of something-that-might-have-been-spinach-once soup and a wee glass of Washington State Merlot to wait for my flight.

[size=-2]My chariot finding its' way to the gate..[/size]​

Now, I thought that the crew on the way over were fabulous (and they were); but the crew operating back to MEL were something else again! Normally you get less-than-enthusiastic crew on the overnight flight back to Australia, but this was definitely not the case here: from the moment I sat down I was plied with booze (Mr notzac, you look like you need a glass of champagne..), my seatmate across the aisle was an entertaining sort and soon enough we had the crew laughing along with us .. drinks were promptly refilled after convincing the FA that gin fizzes were definitely in order and in no time at all we were in the air, flying away from the bright lights of Los Angeles and out over the Pacific Ocean.

On this flight, we had a much more practical amenity kit (same contents, different bag) -- a fairly small Bulgari wash bag with magnetic fasteners; fit everything that was included but I doubt you'd want to use it for much else. The QF ones have the upper hand here. Also making an appearance on this flight was some pyjamas; much like other airlines, they only come in bargearse sizes, so no good for me. I took a set for posterity; they're black and come in a nice drawstring bag with one of the motifs from the wallpaper on the feature wall behind the bar:

Feed and water me!

Once the seatbelt signs were off, the FAs sprang in to action and my supper started arriving in fairly short order (no delays this time!):

[size=-2]Carrot and ginger soup
Lanson Gold Label Brut 1999 Vintage and Alkoomi Frankland River 2008 Riesling[/size]

[size=-2]Zucchini and parmesan frittata with corn, fava bean and tomato salsa
Saddlers Creek Hunter Valley 2009 "2 Wheels" Rose[/size]

[size=-2]Häagen-Dazs strawberry ice cream
Juniper Estate Margaret River 2009 Cane Cut Riesling[/size]
​

Once again, the food didn't disappoint -- the soup was outstanding, as was the pairing of the frittata and rose wine. Definitely very pleased to get such good food up in the air!

 

[notzac]

Moar drinks? Why not!

After the evening meal service was all packed away, I made a beeline for the bar -- as did a few other pax from further up the cabin.

Most of the pax at the bar had a drink or two and then retired, leaving me to chat with the [-]dedicated drinkers[/-] folk that still had room for a few more, along with the fabulous FAs. One of the pax was clearly quite taken with one of the FAs, and had perhaps had one or two too many .. some of the things they were saying were pushing the line quite a bit (innuendo had nothing on this one I tells ya), but the FA in question took it in good humour .. was actually kind of fun to watch.

The crushing reality of work the following morning reared its' ugly head, so I started spacing out my beverages and confusing my liver with bottles of w***r (the sacrifices we have to make ) .. by now it was probably close to 3 am LA time and my eyes were beginning to hang out of my head, so I bid the crew goodnight and retired to my bed (again, magically made up for me at some point during the evening).

Sometime shortly before brekkie service I woke up feeling peckish, so ordered a juice and a pecan pie (from the anytime snack menu) from a passing FA:

[size=-2]In case it's too hard to read, the plate says "Look, a flying saucer" [/size]​

A nice little entree for the brekkie service. I ordered much the same thing as I did on the way over:

Again, very tasty and just the right amount of food for me. I'd asked one of the FAs earlier if I could get some cabin snapshots after the meal service to give y'all a sense of the cabin ambience, which they were only too happy for me to do provided I avoided getting faces in the photos..:

[size=-2]The whY+ cabin[/size]

[size=-2]The J cabin[/size]
​

Soon enough, we were on descent in to MEL for a stupid o'clock arrival in to T2. Possibly the only good thing about arriving that early is that we got in ahead of the hordes; the immigration and customs dance took all of about 10 minutes. From there I made my way to work, and there ends my trip report.

Thanks for reading!

 

[notzac]

Deodorant is the one thing I would like to see in more amenity kits. SQ provide almost everything except deodorant which is the one liquid I end up having to carry and separate going through security.

I guess I'm just picky when it comes to deoderant - I've got the one I like, so I stick to that. And roll-on deoderant is just yuck, IMHO..

 

[Keith009]

V awesome pics again! Thx for the extra shots of whY+, v smart looking cabin with the cool mood lighting.

 

[Bundy Bear]

Great read, and the upgrade to J probably made the 72 hour trip to LA that much easier on the body.

 

[extracta]

J Bar me!


Unfortunately, shortly after I was all coughtailed up -- we hit a little turbulence and I had to go back to my seat. Soon enough though I was back at the bar;

I have been on a few of these and on one trip the guys at the bar were getting a bit carried away trying to drink their through the spirits supplied.

The fasten seat belt due to turbulence kept on coming across the speakers and then there would be no turbulence. Later on one of the FA confided in me that when the people at the bar get a bit unruly then they get the pilots to put on the fasten seat belt sign due to turbulence.

Smart move I thought.

 

[haydensydney]

Nice report Notzac and the pics were great.

I had an average J HKT flight on VA sometime ago and I haven't been overly inspired to fly them again - but the bar is a nice addition that would diminish the offering if removed...

 

[Homer]

Yeah great report. Many thanks for sharing. As I mentioned earlier, I’m doing a similar trip in a few weeks except via SYD. Our flight leaves a couple of hours later than the one to MEL which means cooling our heals in the (shudder) “Board Room” lounge over what would normally be our dinner time. I understand there are no showers but could you elaborate on the food options available? Our 5 year old will likely be very tired by the time we board so I’d like to work out whether she can eat well enough in the lounge to be able to go straight to bed once on board.

 

[notzac]

I understand there are no showers but could you elaborate on the food options available? Our 5 year old will likely be very tired by the time we board so I’d like to work out whether she can eat well enough in the lounge to be able to go straight to bed once on board.

Don't expect much, to be honest. When I was there last, there was some soup, a salad, cheeses and crackers, chips (the kind that comes from a packet) and coffee. It's pretty limited. There's a resto downstairs, but it's seafood I think (so I didn't look too closely).

I'd really recommend either eating before arriving at the airport or waiting until you're on board the flight. Supper was served pretty promptly after take off, so you wouldn't be left waiting long.

 

[Homer]

Thanks again. We’ve driving up from San Diego and I’m aiming to arrive at LAX between 8 and 8:30pm so I guess we’ll give her a very early dinner before we leave the hotel in San Diego and then a few snacks in the lounge. We’ll have to eat on board and watch at least one movie because neither Marge nor I have ever managed more than about 7 hours on a flight (and every time we’ve had ~7 hours has been in F) so going straight to bed isn’t an option. I hope we get more than “supper” though...