Virgin Australia International Long Haul Premium Economy (hint A54/A55)

[pmdg7444]

Welcome to my second TR on AFF!


Intro

I'm sure there are some of you who have booked A54/A55 and are yet to commence their journeys............and seeing that there's a previous thread on A47, I thought: why not do the same? If you have access to the spreadsheet- u know what this is about!

Here I like to showcase what travelling in Premium Economy on Virgin Australia Long Haul is like. This trip was taken in Feb 2013, not on a special fare, but as apart of a trip to the ME and Africa for me & mates.

Hence, only the long haul component of A54/A55 is covered as obviously I didn't fly the prelude legs.

Whilst the images give away the destination, seeing that the fare is long gone - I think its safe to reveal to the outside world.

As a VA Plat, I had high expectations, and thus I will present this TR through a first person perspective - highlighting the personal touch of customer experience.


.......and so let the pictures do the talking:

 

[pmdg7444]

the journey begins at SYD T1




VA Check in. Good to see dedicated lanes for status and premium cabin pax.

Check in was friendly, efficient and cheerful by the contracted Toll employees in the fantastic VA uniforms.

As a top tier customer, I received a nice boarding pass sleeve, lounge entry invitation and fast track immigration cards.

Bags were tagged to the final destination as I booked on a single itinerary.


Past security and customs. Not that busy in the arvo which is good. I am immediately confronted by the retail mecca that is SYD.


At least the 2010 renos gave it some life with the skylight and open space features

 

[pmdg7444]

Not interested in the shopping and retail, so I made a beeline for the lounge.
On the way there, the beautiful aircraft was parked at the gate, awaiting its pax for the long flight.

Here she is, VH-VOZ, our 777-300ER in the full VA livery




Upstairs entrance to the Koru lounge

 

[pmdg7444]

Quite a nice lounge, although having been here many times kind of loses its wow factor. Yes, the QF First Lounge is better, but I tend to find that the NZ lounge is adequate for its purpose as a business lounge.

Basic food options - both hot and cold. Mostly sandwiches and frozen food aisle selections you can get from Coles and Aldi.


Well stocked bar, coffee machine, juice dispensers...


A hot dog stand is nice


Soup...


Whilst it maybe slightly crowded during the arvo, there are quiet seating areas close to windows on the right side of the entry.

 

[pmdg7444]

A lot of wines on offer



Coffee machine


Bathrooms inside the lounge - really nice basin/vanity -definitely bit of a Kiwi feel


Out of the lounge and onto the gate - 53


I wonder if the void on the upper left will be the location of the new joint VA - EY lounge......PLS PLS PLS make it happen!!!!

 

[pmdg7444]

Boarding now...............


Dedicated lane on the right for status and premium cabins.


I enter at door 1L, walk past J and settle into the W cabin. Y pax enter on second door and are kept separate.

Upon entry I was greeted by name, a 'Welcome Back' after seeing my Plat status, and given directions to the seat.


Here is the seat. My initial thought was wow - thats ALOT of stuff crammed into the seat pocket.



Literally within 10 seconds of arriving at the seat, a W cabin FA (again in those gorgeous red uniforms!), offered me a drink of juice/water/champs.

 

[dzinh]

Cant see the pictures you uploaded in post 6 for some reason! Looks like you will have a nice trip! That 777 looks so sleek and fine in the new VA livery!! Makes me want to book flights to LA for the sake of it! Good to see you decided to start a TR on this trip!

 

[pmdg7444]

Legroom shot of the seat. This was Row 11, not a bulkhead.

I found the legroom to be more than adequate -despite the pile of items shoved into the seat pocket. A lot of space to recline and stretch out.

Whilst there's an IFE box, its very small - much smaller than some on older aircraft.



Footrest with the seat


touch screen Panasonic eX2 system running Red


Remote located under the screen, USB port as well. Good ergonomics as it provides max space for the arms and elbows by having the remote not located in the armrests.


Clean, large and well maintained tray table. Movable both laterally and horizontally.



Also, at this stage, shortly after a general PA welcoming all onboard, etc, the 2 W cabin FAs introduced themselves ONLY to those with high status. Words along the lines of 'Welcome aboard, understand you're FF of us, have you travelled in W before, let us know if you need any help......'

It was great customer experience to receive this sort of onboard recognition.

The W seat factor today was only around 50%........so with the 2 dedicated FAs, the ratio of FA to Pax was like 1:8

A few minutes later, one of the FAs came around to each and every pax:

'Hello sir/madam, have you had a chance to look at the menu?'
'To guarantee your first choice, you can decide what to have for dinner and for supper'

Wow....this REALLY is a premium experience...........

 

[pmdg7444]

Good habits of pax 10 F


Red is full of content....


Although the games section is once again a bit disappointing with only arcade options. Surely they could incorporate more intuitive games in 2013?


Plenty of things to watch....


Or, like me, I could stare out of my 2 dedicated windows, enjoying views of the Earth for endless hours...

 

[pmdg7444]

I was intrigued to see that there is an Arabic option for the movies.


If the pax in front of you reclines, the screen is adjustable by quite a large degree to still give you a decent view.



Pushback, engine start, taxi................


13.5 hrs ahead...........


shortly after dep..........heading south

 

[pmdg7444]

Right turn soon afterwards


YSSY buried in the clouds


Western Sydney


Initial climb took us towards the Blue Mountains

 

[pmdg7444]

After takeoff, I examined the treasure trove of items in the seatback pocket. I LITERALLY DO MEAN A TREASURE TROVE!



noise cancelling headset came in a special branded case. On QF, a J cabin headset is wrapped in plastic


Amenity kit minus the plastic wrapping


Lots of goodies inside. Fantastic to have a VA branded purple pen included as well.

 

[pmdg7444]

the amenity bag turns into a nice hacky sack


Blast from the past: a V Australia blanket and a pillow


Amenity kit as found in the seat


Gotta take one more look at all the seat pocket contents: safety card, water, sickness bag, headset, amenity bag, VA mag...



the Meal service begins.

First of, a hot towel is brought around to everybody. Then drink + mixed nuts.

 

[pmdg7444]

Both savoury and sweet....



Another blast from the past..........V for V Australia!


Whilst happily chewing away, I examined the menu in detail.............

Theres quite a lot of good selections, and as you get to select your choice before takeoff, you are guaranteed to get the meal you prefer.



Good selection of beverages too

 

[pmdg7444]

A screen dedicated to the flight info was situated at the front of the cabin-------very handy as I dont have to flick between content on Red just to check out the flight's progress




Lunch came----I had the Beef Massaman curry - very tasty

The W meal offering is comprehensive - a large quantity of food served on a large meal tray.

Served on actual white plates - although with plastic cutlery.

Entrée was a smoked salmon salad with vingarette, a bread roll included.

Main: beef massaman curry with rice, veg

desert: Rich chocolate with strawberry and crème anglaise.

I had the shiraz to go with this



Meanwhile- I think we flew over Lake Eyre


whilst also watching a show about the F1 2012 season

 

[pmdg7444]

After lunch, the tray table was cleared quickly and I decided to go for a wander down the back




Sunset out the window


Different shades of mood lighting




Are we there yet...............(I hope not, the service so far has been beyond excellent )

 

[pmdg7444]

Before the pax settle in for a bit of snooze, the two FAs pass through the cabin and offer brandy/Irish cream.



completely dark now


Mid flight: A snack + drink was offered to those not asleep



Also checked out the Premium Economy self serve bar. This is different to the dedicated J bar, but has a lot to offer still.

 

[pmdg7444]

Heres where it gets interesting....on a flight originating from SYD, I find there are all sorts of things in Arabic and snacks made in the UAE






--------including.....Arabic Coke Zero! Well done to VA for catering to the culture of the destination.

 

[pmdg7444]

Flying to Sri Lanka now


Time to visit the Lav.....clean and well kept


I see its the same brand of soap as in their domestic lounges

 

[pmdg7444]

By about here we were served supper


I had the Singapore noodles - quite tasty. Served with bread, fruit and orange almond cake dessert



Shortly afterwards, we closed in on AUH



Just before arrival , a general PA was given about connecting flights and gate numbers for EY flights out of AUH. Very handy and good to know info.