VA's new 332 + E190 and 73H

[ChrisCunard]

Another day, another flight - or two. Actually, during this trip (which I will report in two parts), I flew PER-MEL-SYD-OOL-SYD-PER in two days.

This part of the report will focus on the Virgin Australia flights (returns were on Qantas).

Flight 1:

Route: PER-MEL
Date: 22/05/2013
Flight No: VA684
Seat: 3C (moved to 3A as it was vacant)
Aircraft: VH-XFE A330-200 Newbuild to Virgin Australia. Powered by Rolls Royce Trent 772B-60 engines. Entered onto the Australian Aircraft Register as VH-XFE - April 23, 2012.

===

I had originally planned to fly direct PER-SYD that day, however missed my earlier connection and the wonderful team at Virgin Australia moved me across to VA684 which connects through MEL with VA 867 to get me to Sydney before the next direct SYD service that had availability.

The load on this service was light, particularly in J, with 6 of the 24 seats occupied. I actually like this as it means I get the whole row to myself and can enjoy the window seat with direct aisle access.

The aircraft was at the gate when I arrived. Here she is:



Boarding was easy, we were called from the VA Lounge quite early, about 10am for a 10:30am departure. There was no queue in the Priority Boarding lane so I nipped through and went aboard. VA use L2 for boarding in PER so you get to "turn left" into business, and I was actually personally escorted to my seat by a flight attendant who remembered me from the previous week aboard the Retro A332.

My seat 3C (though I moved to 3A) was great - comfortable, roomy and with all the amenities you could ask for:



And shortly afterwards the epic service begins. Firstly, an offering of juice, water or sparkling wine is offered. I chose the bubbly as well as a water, though it's not really needed as each seat comes with a Mt Franklin water-bottle:



The next step is being offered the Menu, as well as a wine list. I had a look, and it was the same menu as the week before. I was happy with the food last week so I decided to re-order the same:



A comfort pack is offered. At last count, I had 7 of these at home so this time they gave me the female one to take home for my wife. They are good for friends who are flying Y especially long haul, which is why I keep taking them (would have had over 20 if we hadn't given them away!).

And of course there's lots of leg room with a nice little area for legs under the seat in front - I am 197cm tall, and have previously slept on this seat with ease:



We left about 5 minutes late, and after a brief taxi were airborne. I watched out of our left hand side as we turned eastbound and left the airport behind us, then opted to settle back. After a hot towel, drinks are offered. Crown Larger or Fat Yak are the beer options today, so I went for the Fat Yak and some (warmed) nuts.

 

[ChrisCunard]

At this stage, lunch orders are taken - here are some pics of the result.

Mushroom Soup:



Lamb Shanks:



Cheese Cake:



Fed and full, it was time to "sit back, relax and enjoy the Virgin Australia experience" - that's how the Captain put it when he did his welcome aboard speech. I watched "Taken 2" - the movie selection was a bit poor, with most of the new releases being some months old. Qantas' proper IFE (eg: A332's with the Panasonic system) still offers better movie choices than VA, but the VA screens on this new A332 are superb, clear and crisp.

Here's a view across the aisle:



The seats on the new A332 are far and away the best on the transcontinental service. They trump the old recliners on XFA/B and also best the Skybed Mk I in my opinion - far more padding and much easier to get comfortable.

There's a modern control unit which helps you manage the video screen, music and sound volume, flight attendant call bell etc. And the chair also has a lot of options:



The flight was smooth and we had a relatively strong tail wind so we got in quite early. We made a magnificent descent which saw us overfly the airport then make a steep turn before lining up for runway 16. The landing was slow and smooth and before we knew it we were on the ground, at the gate and awaiting disembarkation. There was a small delay due to a problem with the aero bridge (5 mins) but that's hardly worth mentioning.

So I was off to find my next flight to Sydney, so will post this next.

 

[ChrisCunard]

After a brief wait at MEL (just enough time to use the facilities in the lounge and make a few phone calls) it was time to board the next flight:

Flight 2:

Route: MEL-SYD
Date: 22/05/2013
Flight No: VA867
Seat: 2A (moved to 1A as the aircraft's J cabin had only 2 pax in it)
Aircraft: E-190 (didn't get rego).

===

Boarding once again was quick and the Priority queue was in use but the queue was so light I didn't bother.

I was welcomed aboard with a friendly smile, and helped with my bag. The E-190 has a very narrow overhead locker on the left side of the J cabin due to the way the cabin is laid out 1-2 in J, so my bag was put above 2C/D rather than squeezed into the locker above 2A.

I made myself comfortable in 2A the downside of this seat is the large space between windows on the E-190 makes the view difficult as it's mainly a wall next to you.

So, when the doors were about to be closed I moved to 1A given the cabin was so empty up front. I really like the E-190 because of the 1-2 layout - on the short flight when you just want to be left alone, 1A and 2A are a joy:



It was a quick take off and a sharp right hand turn before setting course for Sydney.

The flight was 53 minutes and the Captain made an announcement to advise there was heavy rain in Sydney so we may encounter turbulence on the latter part of the flight. Seat belt signs were off at this stage and there was a dinner service. Well, more of a snack for me - I chose the cheese plate (the other option was trout - but I was still full from the lamb shanks!):



And as you can see, another Fat Yak! I was offered a Galaxy Tablet from Virgin but had my iPad and some NCIS to catch up on, so opted for this.

The only other J pax was in seat 2C, so the view across was of the empty seats and the stylish Virgin Australia icon on the forward bulkhead:



The E-190 cabin is airy and spacious for the size of the aircraft - this is a view up at the very retro styled lights and air vents, but it's kind of "cool" retro rather than looking old:



And as the sun set we started to encounter bumps! Seat belt signs went on at tip of descent and we preparted for landing.

The rain was pretty heavy, actually when we had the landing lights on it appeared to be coming almost horizontal to the aircraft though that may just be an illusion from the air speed. We landed on 16R and taxi was quick - here we are parking next to another E190:



After a night in Sydney, I was to fly up to Coolangatta early the next morning. This service was also on VA, aboard a 737-800.

 

[ChrisCunard]

After a night in Sydney, I was to fly up to Coolangatta early the next morning. This service was also on VA, aboard a 737-800.

Flight 3:

Route: SYD-OOL
Date: 23/05/2013
Flight No: VA509
Seat: 1A. J cabin had 7 of the 8 seats occupied. Y looked pretty full.
Aircraft: 737-800 in Virgin Blue livery.

===

Arriving at the airport at about 7:15am (7:40 boarding) I spent some time in the Lounge. The entry from the road side makes it really easy to access the lounge! My phone was low on battery, but i was able to recharge using these nifty recharges on the tables:



And apparently you can read digital newspapers for free now too.

I spotted all the QantasLink aircraft still at T2. And here are the Virgin's:



Boarding was again efficient and fast. The priority lane was in use and as the aircraft was full I did use it. The good thing here is that there was a dedicated staff member for this queue so you don't feel like you're pushing in (I really hate the look you're given by the Y passengers, so usually avoid priority boarding).

Here's the view from 1A:



And the last shot is of breakfast - there was two choices, an egg & bacon 'thing' (not sure exactly what it was because as soon as I heard bacon i stopped listening) and a cold choice, museli, greek yoghurt, fruit and a cinnamon bun. The food is plated up, yoghurt is placed on the meal in front of you, water poured and bakery offered - quite a performance and enjoyable - seems to make it all a lot more "fresh" rather than feeling like food out of a tin:



We had a smooth landing in OOL and I was off the aircraft quickly ready for 4 hours of meetings on the Gold Coast. My return to PER was via SYD on QF that evening, and I will report on this next.

 

[AIRwin]

Aircraft: E-190 (didn't get rego)

Aircraft: 737-800 in Virgin Blue livery.

That would be VH-ZPI and VH-VUR respectively according to thevasource.com

 

[ChrisCunard]

Thanks for that! Appreciated.

 

[samh004]

I'd love to see part 2, where you compare the Qantas offering!

 

[ChrisCunard]

Here it is

http://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/community/showthread.php?t=50842