VA A330's almost completely gone from PER-BNE/SYD/MEL during June '17?

[Moopere]

I find the comp upgrades very hard / impossible to use. My works policy is a 'common sense' book the best non-refundable at the time you wish to fly. So the only way I could book a freedom fare is when Elevate fares are pretty expensive AND I can save a nights accommodation by flying a red-eye so it's a similar price overall. I was recently coming back from Perth and the red-eye was service by the 737. So I said cough* it and spent an extra night in Perth.

I'd never pay for a freedom fare to leisure travel and TBH I'd probably never fly to Perth for leisure. Ah well.

This is going to grow, in my mind at least, into a massive massive problem. The thing is, yes, I'll be disappointed not to use the plat comp upgrades ... but worse, both for me and for VFF, is that I have done a number of J points upgrades on the 737, several transcon many years ago and quite a number flying north south on the east coast - its this experience that led me to wonder if the Y seats were actually more comfortable than the wider J ones in this configuration ... so I won't be burning points on J upgrades to this platform ... My last 'give it a go' moment was full fare PER-DPS J on the 73H that used to service the route 18 months ago or so hoping that this might get me out of the scrum at least ... wife was less than impressed.

I have an absolute _mountain_ of VA points to burn ... perhaps they will end up converting over to KF? Once the 332's are gone domestically I'll have no where left to spend them.

Eeks, I never thought I'd say this, but I wonder if I should put out feelers with QFF for a status match? Even gold will do, better than slumming it if I have to move alliances ... cry cry cry.

Honestly now, I hate threads where everyone loudly states they will jump ship to the competition as soon as anything changes, but, I tell you, the thought is swishing about in my mind, PER is such a long way from anywhere and I've grown to have a real dislike for the whole 73H platform on long journeys. 1 or even 2 hours is fine .. whatever, I'm on a bus going to the supermarket, but once you break into 4 hours or more .. this platform shows itself (to me) to be noisy, cramped and uncomfortable.

 

[Oneworldplus2]

I've grown to have a real dislike for the whole 73H platform on long journeys. 1 or even 2 hours is fine .. whatever, I'm on a bus going to the supermarket, but once you break into 4 hours or more .. this platform shows itself (to me) to be noisy, cramped and uncomfortable.

This right here. Spot on.

If booking for leisure and choice was between VA or QF - 737 vs A330, l'd go A330 every time, regardless of lounge/points.

To top if off, VA's 737's only have wireless entertainment via smartphone/tablet/laptop - no seat back screens - with a very, very, very uninspiring choice of movies/doco's tbh.

 

[docjames]

This right here. Spot on.

If booking for leisure and choice was between VA or QF - 737 vs A330, l'd go A330 every time, regardless of lounge/points.

To top if off, VA's 737's only have wireless entertainment via smartphone/tablet/laptop - no seat back screens - with a very, very, very uninspiring choice of movies/doco's tbh.

Is the issue the aircraft or the fitout? It would seem VA could dramatically improve the 737 offering to a "Dreamtime" seat-style (cradled recliner) by sacrificing one row of Y. And then the 738 would be nowhere near as "bad" as current in J, and Y, well, Y is price driven and will always be the "cheapest" the airline can get away with. In which case a 738 in current confirg is pretty much "standard fare".

On a flight early january I remember the FA mentioning that they would no longer service this route but cannot remember exactly when or where they would be going or if he mentioned the destination. Although thinking about it I do beleive it was international and remember being a little surprised but then I was surprised by the size or lack of with the J meal. Sorry I cannot remember any more detail but whenever I try and talk frequent flyer stuff in front of my partner she continually tries to change the subject if I go on for more than a few minutes.

mrsdoc usually cuts me off at around the same timepoint with "Yes Rainman" and enforces a topic change also.

 

[fewings85]

wow just read all this thread and I seriously hope they are not sacrificing or discontinuing these 332's from perth, being based in perth myself and doing several trips a year between MEL & SYD and also 2-3 trips a year to LAX with VA which will obviously include a coast to coast domestic leg each way this is not good. BNE less of a deal but I feel for those who do as its even longer and there may be the odd time I do go to to BNE.

Its not going to win any Perth based customers or east coast pax whop frequent Perth a lot. I See this as a really big deal!

I avoid the 737's like the plague. They are horrible for the coast to coast trips.

Last year I was flying back from LAX and due to a delay I missed my connecting flight from SYD to PER. They moved me to the next flight, my original booking was on a 332. I had used the upgrade me points option to J prior to the missed flight and arrived to find the new flight was on the one 737 they were using for all flights that day. Needless to say I was not happy, I tried asking in the lounge if I could cancel my upgrade as I didn't want to waste it on a 737 but they wouldn't let me. I know the poor girl had no choice but I just mentioned to her that its really cough how it costs the same $$ or points for a much less service or that fact I cannot change because it has been downgraded effectively.

With the in-consistencies with their lounge services, the recent LAX lounge issue and all the holes they have with the velocity lounge access world wide and uncertainty i.e changes that can happen due to agreements with partners etc. Now with possible loss of aircrafts on these routes its not doing VA many wonders, I would seriously have to reconsider looking at Qantas as some said above, the issues is I don't think they would status much for me and id have to work my way up from red. :\

 

[Dannyism]

mrsdoc usually cuts me off at around the same timepoint with "Yes Rainman" and enforces a topic change also.

I get a blank look and 'uh huh, can we get back to the other thing we were talking about/doing'

 

[Bagpuss]

Been flying BNE-PER for the last 7 months and all my flights have been 737...

A330's still fly Perth - Brisbane, my last flight was and I'm booked on VA470 on a Sunday in June and that is still an a330.

Perth - Brisbane went to a daily (which is probably now mostly daily) when XFA and XFB exited the fleet.

The A330's arent going to disappear domestically, just reduced.

 

[Moopere]

A330's still fly Perth - Brisbane, my last flight was and I'm booked on VA470 on a Sunday in June and that is still an a330.

Sigh of relief....

Ok. I'm going to look harder then. I might have missed a day when I kept moving forward in time (early June) to try and find a 332 flight PER-BNE.

 

[Pleb Status]

A330's still fly Perth - Brisbane, my last flight was and I'm booked on VA470 on a Sunday in June and that is still an a330.

I am currently booked on the same flight (BNE-PER). I will wave from the behind the curtain (or cry from behind the 'rope').

 

[Bagpuss]

If I was to guess the stance on a330's domestically I would say they would keep at least 2 available for domestic schedules. I wouldn't be surprised if the minimum of the 1 dedicated flight each direction is timed to work with the B777 schedule LAX (thought that requires 3 for parts of some days). I also think they may be utilized to fly the "golden tingle" ( Aka BNE SYD MEL) for positioning.

As a guide, look at the flight schedules XFA and XFB originally had.

 

[JohnPhelan]

If the A330 is to be used for transcon, then they really need a different config. I know lots of people love the flat beds in J, but the reality is that the PER-BNE/SYD/MEL route is too short for the flat bed to be justified (or useful, in my view). So they need to move to a more 'domestic' type of J config for the A330, which would be 2-2-2 with probably a 40" pitch.

But the bigger issue is - are they getting a sufficient yield from the A330 on the PER routes? If a cheaper 737 can cater for demand, why would they use a much bigger aircraft? First and foremost, they are running a business. Ansett was a great airline, but a lousy business. We don't want VA to go the same way.

 

[Bagpuss]

But the bigger issue is - are they getting a sufficient yield from the A330 on the PER routes? If a cheaper 737 can cater for demand, why would they use a much bigger aircraft? First and foremost, they are running a business. Ansett was a great airline, but a lousy business. We don't want VA to go the same way.

Looking up random dates atm...

Perth - Sydney return in Business is $4,544

Sydney - Lax in Business is $5,588

For a paid tickets, it's highly profitable on transcon and would be more profitable than international.

The issue is really is that there is too much capacity on the route, therefore lowering capacity will alleviate that

 

[Moopere]

If the A330 is to be used for transcon, then they really need a different config. I know lots of people love the flat beds in J, but the reality is that the PER-BNE/SYD/MEL route is too short for the flat bed to be justified (or useful, in my view). So they need to move to a more 'domestic' type of J config for the A330, which would be 2-2-2 with probably a 40" pitch.

I've always said this. I love the new config, don't get me wrong, but was suitably satisfied, given time in the air, with the old EK config of XFA/B. Having said that, its a pricey route it really is and if they want to charge that amount of money then they have to have a top shelf product.

Which leads me to:

But the bigger issue is - are they getting a sufficient yield from the A330 on the PER routes? If a cheaper 737 can cater for demand, why would they use a much bigger aircraft? First and foremost, they are running a business. Ansett was a great airline, but a lousy business. We don't want VA to go the same way.

I understand, but the transcon is just too long for this platform in my view. Up and down the east coast, sure - done it a million times in the 73H and its fine - likewise when I skip around Asia ... 1, 1.5, 2 hour flights, so long as they are cheap, sure, its fine. The thing is, people won't eat their dogfood if there is better fare available, so though VA probably, in reality, would love to run 737's pretty much everywhere (thinking of the old PER-HKT run here, which I did ... all 6.5 hours of it ... yikes!), they really shouldn't on routes they care about keeping.

I'd offer the opinion that very few non captive PAX will pay $4000 for a return J seat PER-MEL/SYD/BNE on the current 73H ... so if the narrow body is the future, then they might as well give up on the J 'dream' altogether .. either that or pursue realistic pricing for the product they currently call J.

 

[Jet L]

A330 were always going to change to international imo but if they refurbish some 737s then transcon J would be better maybe a 1 - 1 x 4

 

[bean]

Whilst I loved the lie flat I always felt the wide body was overkill for a 4 hour flight, as was the whole turndown service. That being said the prices they charge for J in a 73 is insane (especially when you have the 'privilege' of holding a coughpy ipad for your IFE...). If they are going to fly 73's then the price needs to come down considerably.

But if this change is true its just another example to the public that Virgin are in state of confusion with no clear strategy-after all the fanfare and advertising promoting the wide body transcon J it would be embarrassing to dump it. And to think...there are people getting paid hundreds of thousands of dollars who are supposed to be guiding the company in a clearly defined path..

 

[Oneworldplus2]

A330's still fly Perth - Brisbane, my last flight was and I'm booked on VA470 on a Sunday in June and that is still an a330.

Perth - Brisbane went to a daily (which is probably now mostly daily) when XFA and XFB exited the fleet.

The A330's arent going to disappear domestically, just reduced.

Daily BNE-PER direct?

VA464 (737)
VA466 (737)
VA468 (737)
VA474 (A330)

 

[Fruity]

I'm sure I remember reading an interview with John Borghetti where he recognised there would be a downgrade in transcon product once HK came online and hinted that a reconfig of a few dedicated 737s was on the table. Or am I imagining things?

 

[EuroKick]

VA also had delays to certification of their business seats as they are at a greater angle that the off the shelf product. This enables them to be fitted to 737 aircraft. Make what you will of that.

 

[jaspon]

I'm sure I remember reading an interview with John Borghetti where he recognised there would be a downgrade in transcon product once HK came online and hinted that a reconfig of a few dedicated 737s was on the table. Or am I imagining things?

I believe they are moving in the direction of the Delta Comfort+ style seating on the 737's with the first few rows of economy

 

[Mr Pumblechook]

He did hint that but I suspect the narrow 737 fuselage will rule out anything too fancy like a JetBlue Mint-style product or a herringbone layout. I'd expect to see leg rests and a lowering of the price instead.

While we're talking about J, it's worth noting that in Y, VA and QF 737s offer less shoulder room than JQ or TT 320s - something to consider when your flight's >3 hours and you may only spend 30 minutes in the lounge!

 

[Moopere]

Daily BNE-PER direct?

VA464 (737)
VA466 (737)
VA468 (737)
VA474 (A330)

Yes,but something seems to have happened for June.

I just had a close look at Jun 5-11, 7 days just now

PER-BNE / BNE-PER

MON VA469 (332) / VA476 (332)
TUE
WED
THU
FRI VA469 (332) / VA474 (332)
SAT VA467 (332) / ....
SUN .... / VA470 (332)

Whats happening on Saturday after the 2:20pm lands in BNE? Does the plane sit until Sunday afternoon at 5:30pm? Or is it doing a North-South run? Anyway, doesn't matter. This is admittedly only a single week view, perhaps other weeks are better or worse and other months who knows ... but random date choosing seems to be indicating a serious change in 332 flights transcon from-to BNE.

This is what prompted my OP. I then quickly whipped off to look at the PER-MEL/SYD and found lots of flights still available, but still significantly less than previously. Thus the thread ... the argh! thread