Virgin Australia E190 Business Class

[cavemanzk]

So any thoughts on having two 22 year old Fokkers running around for Virgin?

Does remind me of this addvert from 2001 Ansett Australia advert - Absolutely - YouTube


After all they are becomming a very mixed airline very fast & one of the same owners is invloved

 

[MarkD]

Yes there is an eerie familiarity there. The big difference I think is that they aren't the full service carrier that Ansett was, also the backbone of the fleet, the 737 is very young, whereas Ansett only had a small amount of each type, and they were all fairly old aircraft

 

[cavemanzk]

Yes there is an eerie familiarity there. The big difference I think is that they aren't the full service carrier that Ansett was, also the backbone of the fleet, the 737 is very young, whereas Ansett only had a small amount of each type, and they were all fairly old aircraft

They are starting to head that way.
77W
332
738
73G
E190
72-500 (SkyWest) not forgetting they are getting 72-600s this year as well
F100 (Alliance)

 

[straitman]

So any thoughts on having two 22 year old Fokkers running around for Virgin?

It's filling a gap and so long as the a/c are maintained and fitted out appropriately (and I'm sure they are) it should not be an issue.

 

[straitman]

After all they are becomming a very mixed airline very fast & one of the same owners is invloved

... and that's where the similarity ends :!:

 

[mannej]

It's filling a gap and so long as the a/c are maintained and fitted out appropriately (and I'm sure they are) it should not be an issue.

Bill, I do see how you can pick the age, but I find the thought of Virgin having Fokkers gave me a chuckle or two

 

[MarkD]

I'm going to book myself on the Fokker run just for kicks, havnt been on a Fokker since f28 days. Loved em
What's the seating config like in these? I know the seat map has been published, but from someone who has flown on one, what are your thoughts ?

 

[eastwest101]

I'm going to book myself on the Fokker run just for kicks, havnt been on a Fokker since f28 days. Loved em
What's the seating config like in these? I know the seat map has been published, but from someone who has flown on one, what are your thoughts ?

F100's usually have 5-abreast (2-3) single class seating with surprisingly generous legroom, from memory - the seats are fairly comfortable. Its obviously nice and quiet up the front, but a little noisy right at the back. It would be a stab in the dark but exit rows may be row 12 or 13 out of a total of 19 or 20 rows.

 

[Jack Melon]

Told you i was right

 

[MarkD]

Told you i was right

I will give you full marks when I see one painted in virgin colours with my own eyes. Until then you can claim the scoop for the fokkers coming from qantas flts to virgin flts

Thanks eastwest for info

 

[eastwest101]

Whatever the case with the Fokkers - it seems that the E190's are a bit of a hassle having an aircraft that's difficult to sell as J class when its 2-2 seating - even if you do block out 1B, 1C, 2B & 2C. Unless Virgin are prepared to pay for reconfigure to a 1-2 business class cofiguration. Nothing against the E190 in Y though - its a great plane for that.

 

[MarkD]

Agreed, I love the e190 and as I fly economy 90% of the time, I actually seek out the e190 flights over the 737. Same at qantas I seek out 767 over 737. Back on topic though, I think they are asking for headaches with the "business class" solution they have chosen to deploy on the e190s

 

[Jack Melon]

I will give you full marks when I see one painted in virgin colours with my own eyes. Until then you can claim the scoop for the fokkers coming from qantas flts to virgin flts

I think virgin will repaint them, there are only 2 of them, and there wet leasing them for a full year, so it makes seance to re-paint them.

 

[LiamR]

I think virgin will repaint them, there are only 2 of them, and there wet leasing them for a full year, so it makes seance to re-paint them.

I don't think they will repaint the F100s, Qantas never did and they wet leased them for much longer than a year.

I would have thought, if Virgin would want to repaint aircraft, they might start doing the dozens of aircraft still in Virgin Blue livery that are staying in the fleet until further notice.

Happy to stand aside and be proved wrong, but I just don't see it happening at this stage.

 

[markis10]

... and that's where the similarity ends :!:

Agree, especially since the execs are at QF.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Ok I'm in row 3 again of an E190.
2 passengers in J (1A &C) they have just had some very attentive service from the FA and advised they will be served an Australian cheese platter.
I'll try to have a sticky beak from 3C

 

[kevrosmith]

I'm on an E190 tomorrow at 12:50pm CNS-BNE in J Class. It was only $60 dearer than the remaining Flexi fares and I wanted to take advantage of the Double Status Credit offer to get me to Platinum. I'll be very interested to see what the service is like. 12:50... not sure if I'll get a lunch meal or just an afternoon snack. Does anyone know if the type of aircraft (putting A330 J class aside) determines the level of meal service as well...?

In general though, considering I usually get row 3 on the E190 runs, especially between SYD-CNS, and occasionally that row by myself, I'm not expecting anything fantastically different tomorrow.

Ongoing, what I won't be happy with is if they op-up people into row 2 ahead of me when they've oversold Y class. Someone posted that just the other day: full flight, Row 1 was J service, but Row 2 back was normal service. This is where the J class on the E190 is a joke. They should just keep it as Premium Economy and sell it as such. I was happy shock to pay $600 for Premium between SYD-CNS on the rare occasions that was all was available to get me home, but now it's jumped up to $1000 for "J Class", and it's the same seat. $400 extra for a (probably slightly-improved) meal...? If I'm gonna spend that sort of money, another $100 gets me a proper QF domestic J class on a 737-800, including Chivas Regal scotch!

I was quite bemused the other day on my first E190 flight (must've been SYD-CNS) on the E190 after the official launch of the Business class service across the board. Row 1 and 2 were vacant (I was in 3A). The CSM was very protective (from my perspective, over-protective) about the seats in Row 1. People were still using the toilet up the front, and when there became a bit of a line-up, she insisted people were not to pause sitting in the seats in row 1. Considering the size of the cabin on the E190 (it's relatively small), I thought this was overkill.

 

[eastwest101]

I think kevrosmith has hit the nail on the head with his comments about the pricing of the J class seats on E190s, for an extra $60 above Flexi fares that seems very reasonable, but once that gap goes beyond about $100-$200 then paying that for a J seat on an E190 is starting to look pretty poor value.

 

[Ansettaddict123]

Does remind me of this addvert from 2001 Ansett Australia advert - Absolutely - YouTubeAfter all they are becomming a very mixed airline very fast & one of the same owners is invloved

Yes there is an eerie familiarity there. The big difference I think is that they aren't the full service carrier that Ansett was, also the backbone of the fleet, the 737 is very young, whereas Ansett only had a small amount of each type, and they were all fairly old aircraft

They are starting to head that way.77W332 73873GE19072-500 (SkyWest) not forgetting they are getting 72-600s this year as well F100 (Alliance)

The thing to remember however is that DJ only operate 3 core types themselves, the rest are wet leases. As has been said, they're also a very young fleet which keeps maintenance costs down and not being full service also helps keep costs in check It would be a fair comparison to make if DJ's unions were asking for 3 crew coughpits in the A332 or 77W Really, if we compare to QF, Virgin does alright in the commonality stakes...A388744 & (ER)763ER738734 (admittedly being retired)A332 & A333Dash 8s (200/300/400 series W QF Link)712 (Cobham)

 

[mickeyc747]

I'm on an E190 tomorrow at 12:50pm CNS-BNE in J Class. It was only $60 dearer than the remaining Flexi fares and I wanted to take advantage of the Double Status Credit offer to get me to Platinum. I'll be very interested to see what the service is like. 12:50... not sure if I'll get a lunch meal or just an afternoon snack. Does anyone know if the type of aircraft (putting A330 J class aside) determines the level of meal service as well...?

Hi kevrosmith I flew on the 12.45pm from CNS to BNE yesterday in J we had a non re furb 737 700, but business class service and I had the Thai Prawn green curry for lunch it was great as far as airline food goes and had a nice sav blanc.

You are better off getting a flight with a 737 700 no refurb as they refund half your airfare on the E190 they just give you another seat. I was in 1A and 1C was empty.