Now You're Flying Virgin Australia

[Deleted member 29185]

Not sure how many new 800s are about yet, but I just scored one on my 6am OOL-SYD flight.

I've got to say, I was impressed. It felt like the old flying days again. A hint of understated elegance that gave a real feeling of comfort......not the airborne bus feel!

Well done DJ, my decision to jump ship a few years ago is well and truly paying off.

Even the cattle class seats seemed very comfy.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Not sure quite how it works yet - but it seems rows 3/4 are gold. Once airport check in opens though it seems all bets are off! Whatever is empty seems to go to anyone!

The Lounge angel in SYD just gave me 4C for my return this afternoon. even though I'm here in SYD proudly displaying my maroon tie for tonights game!!! (she was horrified, but gave me 4C regardless. I guess if I had a blue tie, I would have got 1C )

 

[pshepvic]

Just arrived from Melbourne into Sydney on DJ821.

New lounge in Melbourne - pretty fabulous, although maybe slightly too clinical. A colleague who was there described it as "what you imagine a communal area on a space station might be like"! (Virgin Galactic Lounge perhaps?)

Interesting on the flight now that they include meals for those on flexi fares - they make an announcement to say that they will serve PE and people on flexi fares first, then they will go through the cabin again for anyone else who wants to purchase a meal.

 

[StevePER]

Interesting on the flight now that they include meals for those on flexi fares - they make an announcement to say that they will serve PE and people on flexi fares first, then they will go through the cabin again for anyone else who wants to purchase a meal.

There goes one of the advantages of Blue Zone - getting served first pretty much guaranteed they wouldn't have run out of hot meals yet.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

The new 800 I was on this morning didn't have any IFE.

Not that a short haul bothers me, but is that why everyone is still discussing the options? Retrofit?

 

[Keith009]

Interesting on the flight now that they include meals for those on flexi fares - they make an announcement to say that they will serve PE and people on flexi fares first, then they will go through the cabin again for anyone else who wants to purchase a meal.

I'll be sure to fill up my belly in the Lounge prior to the flight, hopefully they serve a decent brekky. Also a good incentive to bundle in your meal if you're on a Saver fare. The new service delivery sounds time consuming - I am not sure there will be much time to eat on a short segment like MEL-ADL if I'm on a Saver fare and didn't bundle in my meal.

Also, we redeemed our free AMEX flights to PER and I'm sure these have booked into Saver (they were Blue Saver prior to the change). The website won't even let me enter the booking let alone change it as it's made with a TA. Anyone knows if I could simply ring up the call center to bundle in our meals/IFE, or do I need to go back to AMEX to do this?

 

[Deleted member 29185]

So tell me, those in the know........ how do you tell a 737-700 from a 737-800?

After my dream flight on one of the newies this morning, I got an older one this afternoon. The safety card said 737-800, but it seemed smaller. The front bulkhead between the door and row 1 was not there (allows rain to wet your feet....I know), but I always assumed these were 700s. The seats seemed smaller and of course, after being spoilt this morning with the gleaming white beauty, the bombay express this afternoon seemed very ordinary (it's all your fault DJ ).

So do they use 800 safety cards on 700s or should I be looking for other tell-tails?

 

[LiamR]

So tell me, those in the know........ how do you tell a 737-700 from a 737-800?

The easiest way to tell is...

700 has one overwing exit door.
800 has two overwing exit doors.

You can even tell from the outside at a distance.

The aircraft would feel bigger because that is how the 'Boeing Sky Interior' (Which you were on first) is designed. The older aircraft don't have the devider at the front left between row one and the crew.

 

[777]

Look for the exit rows. A 700 has one above the wing, an 800 has two.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Thanks Liam and 777,

Definitely 2 exit rows! If that's the same plane, Boeing have done wonders, fair dinkum!

 

[concorde71]

I was on VUY?? today (The one with the AFL logo).It is only a few months old(and the last of the non sky interiors, IIRC) It was as you described, with no bulkhead etc, standard seating, hoever, the front 3 rows had miles of legroom.

 

[Nigelinoz]

Don't get confused with things like sky interior though,just because an aircraft doesn't have the sky interior does not mean it's a 700 series,the two aircraft that Virgin currently has with the sky interior (VH-YFC and YFE) are 737-81D's but they also have several 737-8FE's( An example is VH-VUZ which currently wears the Gold Coast Suns AFL livery) which are also 800 series but don't have the sky interior,one of the main differences between the 700 and 800 series is that the 700 series is a whole 19 feet shorter,the cabin width is the same at 11ft 7in.
By the way VH-VUY is a another 800 series,it's a 737-8KG ,don't ask me what the subtle differences between a 8FE and an 8KG are though!.
Virgin will shortly be getting it's next 737,VH-YFF,it's a 8FE but I don't know if it has the sky interior or not,we will have to wait and see on that.
Cheers
N'oz

 

[LiamR]

Thanks Liam and 777,

Definitely 2 exit rows! If that's the same plane, Boeing have done wonders, fair dinkum!

Boeing have done an amazing job designing that aircraft. It feels much bigger than the previous 737.

On a side note... Did you use the lavatory? I thought on the new aircraft they are much smaller!!

 

[concorde71]

Don't get confused with things like sky interior though,just because an aircraft doesn't have the sky interior does not mean it's a 700 series,the two aircraft that Virgin currently has with the sky interior (VH-YFC and YFE) are 737-81D's but they also have several 737-8FE's( An example is VH-VUZ which currently wears the Gold Coast Suns AFL livery) which are also 800 series but don't have the sky interior,one of the main differences between the 700 and 800 series is that the 700 series is a whole 19 feet shorter,the cabin width is the same at 11ft 7in.
By the way VH-VUY is a another 800 series,it's a 737-8KG ,don't ask me what the subtle differences between a 8FE and an 8KG are though!.
Virgin will shortly be getting it's next 737,VH-YFF,it's a 8FE but I don't know if it has the sky interior or not,we will have to wait and see on that.
Cheers
N'oz

I assumed they would all be the sky interior. I guess it depends on the extra cost to install it, and to a certain extent, customer acceptance.

 

[Nigelinoz]

By the way if you want to know what a 737 looks like before it's painted here's Virgin's next 738,VH-YFF .

Cheers
N'oz

 

[Ansettaddict123]

I assumed they would all be the sky interior. I guess it depends on the extra cost to install it, and to a certain extent, customer acceptance.

I would hope they're all getting BSI, its definitely a great improvement on the current 737 cabin by the looks. Surely it cant be THAT much more expensive than the current cabin, and to refit the existing fleet to the same standard? (the aircraft that will stay at least). Reading in AA today the cost of a 738 to Virgin is some 40ish (approx) million, so im sure if theyre getting discounts like that they can afford to spend a little extra on the existing fleet

Does anyone know where the fleet of these newies will be deployed? I would hope coast to coast to support the A332s?

 

[777]

As i understand it the Sky interior is not available as a refit. So, VA will add the new seats, business class etc but the overhead bins and other details will stay the same on the old planes. However VA have a huge number of new 737s on order so the old style ones will be a minority after a few of years.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

On a side note... Did you use the lavatory? I thought on the new aircraft they are much smaller!!

Short haul Liam. I can usually cross my legs for an hour or so . No didn't use the lav, so can't comment on that one. But I did think there was a bit more width in the Y seats. They seemed more comfy than the old blue ones, but seemed more spacious as well (5C) but I concede that may well just be me being duped by the more opulent cabin décor.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

I was on VUY?? today (The one with the AFL logo).It is only a few months old(and the last of the non sky interiors, IIRC) It was as you described, with no bulkhead etc, standard seating, hoever, the front 3 rows had miles of legroom.

We might have been on the same plane. I flew SYD-OOL 1610 on an old style with AFL livery. After the nice newie in the morning, the afternoon one was a bit of a disappointment really.

 

[pshepvic]

By the way if you want to know what a 737 looks like before it's painted here's Virgin's next 738,VH-YFF .

Cheers
N'oz

This is known as a "white tail" (for those that aren't aware) - when the aircraft are built the tail is either white or painted in the colour of the airline at the factory, but the rest of the plane is covered in the green protective film.

I managed to see one of Qantas' new 738s flying into Boeing field in Seattle earlier this year, as some friends live there and have a panoramic view of the runway from their lounge!