Review: Virgin Australia domestic Business Class on 737 and “the Business” on A330
After 2 years in Australia it is almost time to go back to Europe. Time to reflect on the luxury domestic business class situation in Australia. The two main carriers, Virgin Australia and Qantas, both offer a dedicated business class on almost all domestic flights. Compare that to Europe, where you have to be happy about a free middle seat most of the time. They even offer lie-flat on most transcontinental flights and even on some short haul Melbourne — Sydney flights. This summarises my experience from multiple domestic short-haul, transcontinental and international short-haul flights.
Booking with points
The obvious option is their own Velocity Points program. If you live in Australia there are two great options to easily earn points.
- Credit Card Sign-Up Bonuses
Australia is way more generous when it comes to sign-up bonuses than Europe, not as generous as the US though. My best Velocity bonus were 100.000 points for the Amex Velocity Platinum card, which costs $395 and comes with a free domestic return flight. - Flybuys
We did most of our shopping at Coles, one of the two large supermarket chains in Australia. They regularly run bonus points promotions. I raked in over 100.000 flybuys points on my own account and another 70.000 on my wifes account per year. They even sent me a letter congratulating me on being one of the top 1% flybuys earners. I have a strict rule to never buy anything just because of the points though. 170.000 flybuys points translate to around 85.000 Velocity points if you transfer during a bonus period.
Most of our way to Australia we flew with Oman Air in Business Class and credited the miles to Etihad Guest, because of great redemption values for booking Virgin Australia domestic flights. We also booked a lot of our international guests on Etihad or Singapore Airlines. They regularly have great return fares for under €2500 in Business Class and as our guests were not in the points business, we could pocket the miles for ourselves. Either by using their account to book our flight or by using the family pooling option.
When my wife’s parents were visiting, they technically resided at the same address for a month, so we set-up temporary family pooling with Virgin Australia and credited their Singapore Airlines flights to Velocity. Their return flights earned us some points and even enough status credits for Velocity Gold status.
A few example redemptions of ours:
Fiji-Melbourne | 4 Hour | 24.000 Velocity Points as an Upgrade
Melbourne-Perth | 4 Hour | 35.000 Velocity Points (+$AU 35) or 21.800 Etihad Guest Miles (+$AU 22)
Melbourne-Sydney | 1 1/2 Hour | 15.500 Velocity Points (+$AU 22) or 10.000 Velocity Points as an Upgrade
Premium Entry, Lounge & Boarding
Virgin Australia has separate terminal entrances for Gold and Platinum members and Business Class guests at some airports with a dedicated security check and direct entry to the lounge. In Melbourne the lounge is pre-security and they offer Premium Exit with a dedicated security check directly from the lounge for some gates. We never had to wait at Premium Entry and the staff was especially friendly, as they were not stressed by the masses. The only downside are more frequent checks for explosives, as you are often the only passengers available for their “random selection”. And be prepared to point your taxi driver to the right location to drop you off, as most don’t know about this.
The lounges offer a good variety of seating options, from laptop workstations to comfortable lounge chairs. Hot and cold breakfast (Toastie, Eggs, Bacon, Pancakes), lunch and dinner (Salad, Soup and another hot dish) options are available. There is a barrista coffee station and a good selection of wine and beer from 11:00 AM. Wine quality differs between locations though. They also run promotions from time to time, like handing out Connaisseur ice cream.
The lounges can however get crowded, as status is quite easy to acquire. The food selection is basic and hot food items are often quite bland. In the morning there is also a long wait at the barrista coffee station. As I prefer a black filter coffee, I would wish for a self-service machine. And alcohol is only served from 11:00 AM. I like a glass of pre-boarding bubbly, even in the morning, on vacation trips. There is also a lack of power outlets if you are not seated at the laptop workstations.
A great benefit of being Velocity Gold is Fly Ahead. While it is technically not allowed on the cheapest Getaway fares, there is some wiggle room. Last time I was booked on a Business Award and my wife was booked on a Getaway fare with a points upgrade. We were booked on the last flight at 8 PM, but arrived at the airport early and asked for Fly Ahead. The friendly lounge agent quickly checked our tickets and asked us to make ourselves comfortable, while he sorts it out. A few minutes later we got a shout-out via the intercom and could get freshly printed tickets for the 6 PM flight. There were a couple of factors playing in our favour: Risk of IRROPS on the last flight of the day is significantly higher, my ticket was officially allowed for Fly Ahead, only my wife’s wasn’t, it was a Saturday and there was only one other guest besides us on that flight. We got a sticker on our ticket, that catering was not guaranteed, but that was not the case.
The boarding process is generally very organized with dedicated priority boarding lanes. My only complaint would be, that status is way to easy to acquire and even priority boarding has a long line. Another dedicated Business Class line would be great. But that’s first world problems.
Standard recliner seats on the 737
On most domestic routes Virgin Australia operates a 737 with 8 Business Class seats in a 2–2 configuration. The seats are comfortable recliners with plenty of legroom. Even at 6'2 (1,87 m) I have enough space to stretch out. There is a clear lack of storage space though. You can’t keep your laptop anywhere during dinner service and there is no in seat entertainment.
A nice touch that helps to keep the Business Class cabin private is a little magnetic cord. It’s a little, but effective, hint for economy customers to use the rear bathroom. Qantas does not have such thing and as a result everyone passes through the Business Class cabin to the front bathroom.
Lie-flat “the business” seats on the A330
Virgin Australia has a great long-haul business class product on their A330. They mostly use these on their transcontinental Melbourne/Sydney-Perth routes, but also on some of the Melbourne-Sydney flights. They also seasonally fly to Fiji.
The cabin is laid out in a 1–2–1 configuration with lie-flat seats angled to the window or the middle. That allows for a lot of privacy and storage space. I normally opt for a window seat. For enhanced privacy I would not recommend the bulkhead seats, as the aisle makes a slight turn, forcing everyones view onto your seat. I would normally book 2A or 2F. That way I have privacy and still am one of the first to receive a drink.
Dining, drinks and snacks
Virgin Australia offers a hot meal on all of their flights for Business Class guests. Normally with a starter, two main options and a desert or cheese platter. In addition you can order snacks from the pantry menu at any time. Wines are generally from Australia or New Zealand and I had some great Shiraz and Sauvignon Blanc, but also quite mediocre options. Wines were constantly topped-up without a need to call for service. Pre-departure you can choose between sparkeling wine, juice or water.
On a personal note, I have a few uncommon food allergies (especially garlic and corn) and Virgin is hard for me as they use a lot of corn and garlic in their meals.
A word on the hand luggage policy
While I can check-in two 23 kg bags, Virgin Australia’s hand luggage policy is on par with some of the worst low-cost carriers. It’s 7 kg, a smaller than average carry-on and a laptop, but only without a laptop bag. And that’s even in Business Class. On other airlines I can take 2 normal sized cabin bags each weighing up to 10 kg. I still take my IATA sized cabin bag and a laptop bag weighing between 8–10 kg in total and have not been checked so far, but there are reports of a recent crack down in Sydney. At least allow status holders and Business Class passengers to take a normal sized cabin bag and a laptop bag and get rid of the weight limit.
The alternative: Economy X
When we first arrived in Australia, we were not that points rich and our first flights were in Economy. Some in normal economy, which was quite cramped for me and some in Economy X, which was a great experience. For a modest upcharge you can select from front-row or emergency exit seating. I would recommend the overwing emergency exit row, as the seats don’t have fixed armrests and especially when you are travelling as a couple and have a free middle seat, you actually get to use that space to your advantage. If you are on a 737, it can be even more comfy as Business Class.
On domestic flights, Virgin only serves alcohol on departures during Happy Hour (5–7 PM). On our short haul international flight to Fiji, we used a coupon to book an Elevate fare for only $10 more than the cheapest Getaway fare, as it included a meal. We then also learned, that it not only included the meal, but also bottomless drinks instead of paying $8 per glass of wine. Much appreciated on this holiday flight. Just search on google for coupons and check if that works out in your favor.
Conclusion
Great domestic product, friendly staff and plenty of redemption options and award availability with only minor downsides. I will definitly miss that back in Europe.
I don’t understand why all Australians still refer to Virgin Australia as a low-cost carrier. I did not yet fly Qantas Business Class, but already have the miles lying around for a farewell flight to Sydney, so I can compare what the fuss is all about.
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