VA A330s - New Business Class Rollout

[Nizar]

i laugh at the fact the OP was the ONLY pax in J/C on an A330 C2C...regardless of time of day!! that doesn't bode well for VA

Pax probably want to wait until they have certainty of new product before booking. I know I would.

 

[under the radar]

Pax probably want to wait until they have certainty of new product before booking. I know I would.

LOL LOL LOL...apparently VA still had the 'better' product PRE refurb...enough from me...bye bye

 

[lovestotravel]

i laugh at the fact the OP was the ONLY pax in J/C on an A330 C2C...regardless of time of day!! that doesn't bode well for VA

Mining boom is dead
VA J is rarely full as people who want a true full service airline fly Qantas

No surprise

 

[Milefest]

Mining boom is dead
VA J is rarely full as people who want a true full service airline fly Qantas

No surprise

I agree with you that if economy pax want a full service airline they fly QF, but my experience with VA/QF J is pretty similar

 

[shbap]

"Congratulations, You Have Been Upgraded!" Yay! Put in the minimum $$ bid, at the last minute and "won". At least I'll get to experience the old config before it's replaced haha

 

[Milefest]

"Congratulations, You Have Been Upgraded!" Yay! Put in the minimum $$ bid, at the last minute and "won". At least I'll get to experience the old config before it's replaced haha

Out of curiosity, what route are you taking and what was the minimum bid? I've had quite a bit of success with upgrademe.

 

[shbap]

Out of curiosity, what route are you taking and what was the minimum bid? I've had quite a bit of success with upgrademe.

Perth to Sydney on the red eye. Min bid was $440.

And I've just had a look on ExperFlyer which is now showing the 1-2-1 config!?! VA's website has me on allocated on seat "2H" but the 1-2-1 doesn't appear to have H. Maybe it's just the way they treat WC Eagles after the grand final performance What I do find weird is that after flying the outbound flight, I cannot select seats for the inbound - get a message "The system has detected that your itinerary does not qualify for online changes." which I don't understand and find rather annoying. Anyway, happy with the upgrade and even more so if it's on the new config...

 

[Blue Chameleon]

Flying VA697 from MEL-PER tomorrow and it seems it's in the new 1-2-1 config.

Only 4 seats booked, all left side of plane.

Here's hoping no late sub...

 

[Wunala Dreaming]

VH-XFC will be the next aircraft to have the new Business Class seats fitted, with the upgrade expected to commence Monday 12 October.

 

[shbap]

Flight I was on was fairly full. I'd say maybe 1 or 2 business class seats were empty. And what a great experience it was - first time "properly" travelling business class which made it all the more exciting. The service was wonderful, only wish that I had experienced it on a longer flight! To top it off, it tipped me over the SCs need for Platinum - another first. Oct 2015 will be memorable!!

 

[legalistic]

About to fly c to c on these babies and curious to those who have flown lately... is there a 'best seat' in the new config; 1A or 1K make a difference?

In the old config i liked the second/third row for more comfort/privacy, I rather an article that says they are all good, and was wondering if this was true.

Thank You

 

[Fiches Mouser]

About to fly c to c on these babies and curious to those who have flown lately... is there a 'best seat' in the new config; 1A or 1K make a difference?

In the old config i liked the second/third row for more comfort/privacy, I rather an article that says they are all good, and was wondering if this was true.

Thank You

I tried a couple of seats on my last flight and honestly couldn't tell the difference between them once sitting down.

If there's a bit of galley noise/bathroom light on night flights, the middle of the cabin will probably be quieter/darker. But as I said earlier, you really can't go wrong.

I was in 1A and couldn't be happier.

 

[Ben6]

I flew over to Perth yesterday on VA691 from MEL. These new seats are not a let down at all. The trip was far too short but was close to the equal of any experience I have had to date and easily as good as CX or SQ J Class. The service was (for my preferences) as close to perfect as I can imagine and there was a really happy and positive vibe on the flight as everyone around me discovered the new seats for the first time.

I am quick to complain when things are not right and am having an internal battle whether to stay with VA due to the poor USA redemption seats available at present but that flight was a reminder of the things that VA do very well and I intend to give some positive feedback to VA, particular in relation to the flight attendant who manned our area.

 

[Bagpuss]

Looks like VH-XFC went back into yesterday (Wednesday 21st). So it looks like it took two days longer as they normally start flying on the Monday.
VH-XFD seems to have stayed in Melbourne since Wednesday so that seems to be the next one being worked on. Which leaves VH-XFE to get the treatment next week.
Considering they planned to finish end of October, they will overrun by a few days which isn't too bad considering.
Though I have heard that VH-XFG (which was the first) has a lot of "inoperable" stickers in business class so that could go in for a fix-up or just fixed during the weekends when an a330 or two are not used ... IF my source is accurate.

 

[juliusg]

Slightly off topic but I have four upgrades booked (self plus 3 colleagues) on Feb 23 (10am flight) Perth to Sydney. There were a total of 8 available, so it seems the new config has not crimped availability.

 

[under the radar]

Slightly off topic but I have four upgrades booked (self plus 3 colleagues) on Feb 23 (10am flight) Perth to Sydney. There were a total of 8 available, so it seems the new config has not crimped availability.

to me it just seems that VA cant fill the seats with 'higher revenue' pax

 

[juliusg]

to me it just seems that VA cant fill the seats with 'higher revenue' pax

I think the objective is to get Flexi fares

 

[HeavyElectricity]

I flew on VH-XFE Thursday night (the seat configuration diagram for my booking changed to the 'old' layout just before online check-in started). I overheard one of the attendants saying to another passenger that the aircraft was going to be the last one to be refitted.

 

[Arrow29]

I flew the new business earlier today from SYD-PER (VA555); was booked in economy but called up and upgraded with points 2 days prior. The agent on the phone told me there were 6 seats available when I asked to check upgrade space 2 days prior to flight; it was pretty much full today so I imagine they approved a number of the upgrademe bids / points upgrades.
Overall was very impressed; very comfortable seat, good size/quality entertainment screen, felt very private. Couldn't complain about the service and the food was pretty tasty! Being a day flight I didn't sleep so can't comment on comfort of the bed.

Given we fly from PER-SIN a fair bit, I hope SQ bring their A350s to replace their regional J in the future. Nothing wrong with the SQ J / 'old' Virgin J hard product, but this latest cabin is definitely a step up.

 

[bartley69]

Flying PER-MEL on the 13th of November, hoping it has been fitted out with the new Business class! The old business was pretty good but the photos of the comments of the new layout make it sound amazing.