It’s time to continue my Australian journey and go to Brisbane before coming back to Sydney for a few days. For this trip I will have the opportunity to discover a new airline since I will fly on Virgin Australia in economy.
You will find the list of all the articles related to this trip in Australia at the bottom of the page.
And the air routing of this trip.
Booking
For such a short flight (1h30) I wasn’t going to do anything crazy. The prices charged by Qantas in business class (more than 1200 euros) were totally unjustified and I finally settled for the cheapest option in economy, namely Virgin Australia. It will cost me 300 euros which is far from being cheap considering the duration of the flight and the minimalist service provided on board.
Check In and ground course
A few days before the flight I received an offer from Virgin Australia to bid for an upgrade to business class. I will make the minimum bid and of course it will not be accepted. But with an average bet of 300 euros for a single flight and considering the initial price paid, it’s a bit of a scam.
However, at check-in I will pay 20 euros to upgrade to Economy X. It is a kind of premium eco with unchanged services on board but 40% more legroom, dedicated luggage compartments and priority boarding. For such a short flight it is much more cost-effective than the price of the business class. There are 4 rows of Economy X: behind the business class and in the middle of the aircraft at the emergency exits.
I arrive at the airport from the Sheraton Grand Sydney after a short half hour cab ride. I go to the self check in kiosks to print my luggage tag and drop it off at the self drop off.
To my surprise, there are agents at the baggage drop-off who take the time to welcome the passenger, take care of the baggage and even print a summary of the flight that they stick on a paper that they give him. I wonder what is the point of printing your own baggage ticket when you see the time and attention given to each pass at the self drop off.
A really pleasant experience and a friendly and attentive staff.
I then head for the security checks. No priority queue for me but it will go relatively quickly and, once again, with very friendly agents who change from the pitbulls of Roissy.
I’m quite methodical and organized when it comes to getting my stuff out to pass these controls and seeing that I didn’t need to be told what to do, the agent didn’t shout instructions in my ears and even gratified me with a “thank you and have a nice trip”. I can’t believe it. I finally found agents as nice as the Swedish ones, if not more.
I then cross the duty free and the huge food court to reach the Rex lounge to which my priority pass card gives me access. Traveling in economy I was not entitled to the Virgin Australia lounge so I settled on this rather average lounge. I only realized later that my American Express Platinum gave me access to the Virgin Australia lounge. Too bad it will be for another time.
A glance at the outside reminds me who is the main occupant of this terminal.
After my stay at the lounge I cross the airport again in the other direction to reach my boarding gate.
Once at the gate I see that the flight is delayed by 10 minutes but no new boarding time is specified.
Too bad for me and my leg that continues to hinder my mobility there is no more room to sit.
So I will position myself at the entrance of the priority lane.
The boarding will start a few minutes later.
Boarding
Priorities will be strictly enforced with business, elite frequent flyer and Economy X passengers boarding first. Everything will be smooth and 2 minutes later I will enter the aircraft.
The economy cabin of Virgin Australia’s B737
So I enter the aircraft and I discover the business class.
A seat obviously very comfortable especially considering the duration of the flight. More unusual: a rigid partition separates the business from the rest of the cabin.
I’m in row 3, just behind the partition. The seat makes a very good impression and will prove to be very comfortable.
In flight, the headrest will prove to be not only comfortable but also very effective in lateral support.
The legroom is really substantial.
In the pocket in front of me I will find the Buy On Board menu since no service is proposed on board except a glass of water or a coffee.
No internet connection on board but an internal wifi which gives access to the in-flight entertainment system. Nice on short/medium haul.
That’s all there is to it and we’re ready to push back to reach the runway.
The flight and the service
We push back with a little delay and we leave the terminal.
Safety instructions will not be given by microphone but by means of a tape recording.
We pass in front of a Regional Express. No interest but as I’m not likely to see much of it in my life I might as well immortalize it.
The take-off is the occasion to have a superb view on Sydney.
During most of the flight a separation cordon will be in place between business class and economy.
We move away from the coast and we head north towards Brisbane.
The pilot and crew will make several announcements to apologize for the delay, announce the arrival time or warn us of approaching turbulence. Each time with a friendly tone that I really appreciate.
I will doze off during most of the flight and will therefore skip the minimalist service served on board. Interrupt my nap for a glass of water? No way.
The Crew
The interactions on such a short flight were minimalist but I’ll give you my overall feeling about all the Virgin Australia staff I had to deal with, including the check-in: extremely friendly, smiling, paying great attention to the passengers.
While I’m at it, I’ll include the airport staff in the security checks, which is quite rare.
Landing and arrival in Brisbane
Brisbane appears in front of our eyes.
A flight attendant will stand between business and economy passengers until the business passengers have fully disembarked. For the pleasure of the eyes of the passenger behind her?
A little walk to finally join the luggage claim, get my suitcase and take a cab to reach the city.
Bottom line
Apart from the fact that I was discovering a new airline, I didn’t expect much from this trip: a 1h30 flight on an airline that doesn’t offer any specific service doesn’t create many expectations.
Well, I was very pleasantly surprised: a nice product in Economy X for a small fee and a very pleasant staff. What more could one ask for?
All articles related to this trip
Articles similaires
Paris-Bordeaux in economy class on Air France: basic
Review : Turkish Airlines Economy, Istanbul-Paris, A321
Review : Lufthansa Economy, Frankfurt-Paris, Airbus A320-200
