DJ J trip Report

[markis10]

I dont think DJ are up to the same level as QF, but again its a new product and its a hell of a lot better than PE, and at the end of the day QF now have competition, meaning less chance the orange star disease will take hold on more routes .

 

[maninblack]

I dont think DJ are up to the same level as QF, but again its a new product and its a hell of a lot better than PE, and at the end of the day QF now have competition, meaning less chance the orange star disease will take hold on more routes .

Good points, especially in relation to some perhaps marginal QF routes (or ones they would like to dump) which I fly sometimes and which teeter like MEL-DRW and even MEL-CNS or MEL-WLG

 

[muppet]

Actually I don't really feel like engaging in lengthy elaboration.
There is nothing exciting or interesting about the service, the F&B, the cabin, the seat or the IFE. In fact they are all very ordinary.
Having flown hundreds of J flights on over 20 airlines (and I am referring to short - medium haul J ), this is not a particularly impressive product.

Firstly maninblack, I want to say I absolutely recognise that you're entitled to your opinion and only you can judge your preferances.

As for me, being based in CBR, this new DJ product absolutely sh*ts all over QFs. Hard and soft.
If I fly QF J from CBR, I'm usually in the same seat as when I'm in Y. (row 4 on the 734)
Failure to offer a newspaper on a morning flight frustrated me, but everything else was far superior. Seat, food, cabin crew, priority baggage, checkin (although I love the Qtags - so easy).

The main advantage of QF is the Business Lounge - I like a little exclusivity.

Oh and as for points, on QF I earn a whole 1250 points per flight compared to 4590 with DJ - 70% of a J Reward flight (+$60).

 

[Ansettaddict123]

QF operates A330-200, 767-300, 737-800 and sometimes A330-300 aircraft on the MEL-PER route. The majority of flights i.e. 85% of flights every day are domestically configured aircraft which have a seat pitch in J of roughly 37-38 inches - identical to what Virgin currently offers on their 737-800 aircraft.

Therefore sure QF product is going to be better on the same route if you book a flight with an internationally configured aircraft.

It's not all about seat pitch, IMHO the hard and soft products on the QF domestic widebody fleet are superior to the DJ J product on the 737s

 

[dfcatch]

Well I have a QF CNS - SYD in J tomorrow, followed by a VA MEL-BNE-CNS in J on Sunday so I will be interested to compare apples with apples (all flights are 738)

 

[dfcatch]

Well I have a QF CNS - SYD in J tomorrow, followed by a VA MEL-BNE-CNS in J on Sunday so I will be interested to compare apples with apples (all flights are 738)

Doh!!!!

DJ website showed both legs MEL-BNE-CNS as 73H.

EF however shows it as 73H followed by 73W

 

[muppet]

OK. Totally embarrassed, but took the photo.


Excellent service tonight.
Mocktail was good.

They still struggle to get it out on the CBR runs. They have to get started earlier.

Beneath is:
Prawn Curry.
Green leaf salad with dressing.
Warm roll with olive oil and dukkah.
Chocolate macadamias.

 

[lovestotravel]

I thought I would add my trip report in here from Friday night as it's my first one ever and not quite deserving of it's own thread!

MEL-OOL-MEL with 35 mins between flights! You need to book this on two tickets as VA require you 90 mins between flights. My original plan was to spend the weekend around the Gold Coast but the rain meant that a quick visit was all that was needed!

A quick bit of research confirmed that the same plane operated both sectors so the minimum connection time didn't concern me, then the big rains hit........

I did have concerns about missing the OOL-MEL flight home, as on the Thursday, Virgin substitued another aircraft on this sector. However given the massive delays it was understandable!

So I turned up to the airport about 2 hours early, and having already completed on-line checkin for both flights, I went straight to the lounge.

I was very warmly greeted and received an extra special welcome when she saw that I was traveling in Business! She asked if I needed anything and then invited me through to take a seat! Compared to a normal weekday evening the lounge was deserted! There would have been approximate 25 people at most in there! Understandable given the long-weekend though!

Enjoyed a few wines, and a hot dog (GREAT) idea by the way. Some party pies came around and I took a few of those and then finished up with some water.....

Flight was called for boarding, approximately 20 mins before the scheduled departure time.

Walked down to Gate 9, the gate with no Aerobridge and waited..... Boarding was not happening yet and didn't start for another 25 minutes! Two cabin crew walked (fast) and boarded the plane approximately 5 mins before boarding and then the final cabin crew member just a few mins before boarding...

While waiting I snuck a quick look out the window and saw the new livery on the aircraft but couldn't see the rego, so I knew it would be a refitted aircraft but wasn't sure if it was a BSI bird yet...

People were relaxed and mostly seated here and followed the boarding instructions, which were given VERY clearly and were followed well. There was a priority boarding queue and that meant I could walk straight through! (note this for later)

MEL-OOL
VH-YVA - Yep BSI
DJ 755
Seat: 2A
Scheduled Departure: 18:40
Actual Departure: 19:15
Reason for delay: Cabin crew arriving late
Load in J: 2/8

Upon boarding I was greeted very nicely by a cabin crew member who directed me to my seat, but did tell me the wrong side... Whoops!

The BSI is a massive improvement on the standard Boeing 737 interior! Make a massive difference and heard a few people commenting as they walked past on how nice it looks!

It was only myself and one other person in the J cabin and down the back was pretty much full with only a few spare seats.

After I was seated, I was greeted by the CSM who was polite, but not super friendly! She was very chatty and nice to her fellow cabin crew member (newbie) at the front, but was very subdued when it came to serving... I think she has been "trained" to be more "professional" ......

I was offered a mocktail or water, and choose the mocktail! Must say it was very nice and a good substitute for alcohol (well on domestic flights)! So big thumbs up to Virgin for that!

Food was offered shortly after take-off and I choose the (Vegetarian) pie, refer to photo and a nice Shiraz. The pie was hot and delicious!!! The bread roll was soft but it needed butter and not oil I feel. Salad (Lettuce) was a tiny bit warmer than I would have liked, but that's getting fussy! The macadamia nuts were a nice dessert too!

The wine glass was topped up once on the flight, but was of course, offered more and anything else that I may want from the menu!

Of course, no IFE and my fellow passenger fumbled around with the Digiplayer and I had my own tablet! Of course when food is served there is just no room for the tablet/player so you have to use a spare tray table (luckily) the flight was only 2/8 up the front

Not much else to report so then we landed into a very wet and muggy OOL!

Oh, interesting to note that there was at least 80 people already lined up waiting to board the OOL-MEL flight as I walked past them into OOL airport.....


OOL-MEL
VH-YVA
DJ 752
Seat: 2F
Scheduled Departure: 20:20
Actual Departure: 20:45
Reason for delay: Late arriving aircraft
Load in J: 8/8 !!!

As per my earlier comment, where the boarding went well in MEL, as I got off the flight, there was already a large queue of people waiting to board.. I had a quick walk around the disgusting terminal, went to the bathroom, grabbed a bottle of water and sat down for about 15 mins before they called boarding. Of course by this time well over 100 people were lined up!

They called boarding for people who needed assistance and then just called for everyone to board... I waited for the majority of people to board and then walked straight through!

Boarded the plane and 7/8 seats were already full in J, so with myself included it was a full load up the front.

Had a quick chat with the CSM as she was shocked to see me so soon again, she was much more friendly during this chat, but then went back to "professional" mode when serving again... Strange...

No drinks had/were offered before departure on this flight

Supper was served, no photo this time, and it was cheese, grapes, and a lovely cold dessert (some cake thing)... Really should have taken a photo.. Wine/beer/drinks offered again and I had another Shiraz...

The CSM was excellent in serving all the 8 customers in J and bringing them anything they wanted. The guy next to me ordered a wrap from the economy menu and it was delivered in a short amount of time!

On this flight they forgot to put up the divider between J and Y for a few mins, and of course, two people walked up to use the front toilet! One got through but the other one was stopped!

I fell asleep and woke up just before landing into MEL


Summary: 7.5/10
Food: Excellent 10/10
Wine: Limited choice but 9/10
Cabin Crew: 9/10 (she seemed very Qantas like in her "work mode")
Aircraft appearance: 10/10
Seat: 8/10 - A footrest would be nice
Legroom: 10/10 - Outstanding
IFE: 0/10

The ONLY missing really is IFE, everything else is pretty damn good!

A quick 240SC and 14,000 odd VFF points in 8 hours is not bad

Left home at 4:15pm
Back home at 12:15am


Booking another trip for next weekend, but somewhere where I can spend a few days... Adelaide or Brisbane



Random photo from my phone (poor quality, but you get the idea)

 

[airtraveladdict]

I thought I would add my trip report in here from Friday night as it's my first one ever and not quite deserving of it's own thread!

MEL-OOL-MEL with 35 mins between flights! You need to book this on two tickets as VA require you 90 mins between flights. My original plan was to spend the weekend around the Gold Coast but the rain meant that a quick visit was all that was needed!

35 minutes between flights! that's like a status run lol

 

[maninblack]

Summary: 7.5/10
Food: Excellent 10/10
Wine: Limited choice but 9/10
Cabin Crew: 9/10 (she seemed very Qantas like in her "work mode")
Aircraft appearance: 10/10
Seat: 8/10 - A footrest would be nice
Legroom: 10/10 - Outstanding
IFE: 0/10

Thanks for your report. I did not feel as enthusiastic as you about it all.

For the record my scores:

Summary: 5.5/10 (approximately)
Food: Very ordinary and tiny portion on one flight 5/10
Wine: Limited choice but 8/10
Cabin Crew: 7/10 (friendly and tried but generally a little klutzy and nervous. Spotted consulting manual several times)
Aircraft appearance: 9/10 (good job by Boeing)
Seat: 7/10 - A footrest would be nice as would decent recline.
Legroom: 7/10 - Standard offering.
IFE: -5/10 - they actually lose points for this stuff up.(digiplayers not even offered until after meal service)

 

[lovestotravel]

35 minutes between flights! that's like a status run lol

LOL - Indeed! I don't think the CSM and the other flight attendant really knew what I was trying to tell them......

 

[airtraveladdict]

Thanks for your report. I did not feel as enthusiastic as you about it all.

For the record my scores:

Summary: 5.5/10 (approximately)
Food: Very ordinary and tiny portion on one flight 5/10
Wine: Limited choice but 8/10
Cabin Crew: 7/10 (friendly and tried but generally a little klutzy and nervous. Spotted consulting manual several times)
Aircraft appearance: 9/10 (good job by Boeing)
Seat: 7/10 - A footrest would be nice as would decent recline.
Legroom: 7/10 - Standard offering.
IFE: -5/10 - they actually lose points for this stuff up.(digiplayers not even offered until after meal service)

Actually maninblack, I have to agree with you about the footrest. I can't believe it wasn't installed on the J seats. I wonder why. On a 38" pitch seat, they should have footrests.

 

[lovestotravel]

Thanks for your report. I did not feel as enthusiastic as you about it all.

For the record my scores:

Summary: 5.5/10 (approximately)
Food: Very ordinary and tiny portion on one flight 5/10
Wine: Limited choice but 8/10
Cabin Crew: 7/10 (friendly and tried but generally a little klutzy and nervous. Spotted consulting manual several times)
Aircraft appearance: 9/10 (good job by Boeing)
Seat: 7/10 - A footrest would be nice as would decent recline.
Legroom: 7/10 - Standard offering.
IFE: -5/10 - they actually lose points for this stuff up.(digiplayers not even offered until after meal service)

Well it's 7.64 to be exact........

But yes the IFE (lack of) which I doubt will ever be a fixed solution is a FAIL

I saw at least 3 people on the return flight fumble around with them and give up, it's just too much effort trying to get a good angle and staring down at the tray table height hurts your neck after a while!

Even the 1 person on the flight to OOL was getting annoyed with the stupid little player.

IFE is the only real letdown for Virgin now.. Yes yes stage 1, stage 2 blah blah blah is coming, but stage 2 is just going to be full rollout of WiFi, of which Stage 1 is simply a trail for. To cable the entire plane, change seats etc for a fixed IFE solution, it's just not going to happen!

 

[markis10]

IFE is the only real letdown for Virgin now.. Yes yes stage 1, stage 2 blah blah blah is coming, but stage 2 is just going to be full rollout of WiFi, of which Stage 1 is simply a trail for. To cable the entire plane, change seats etc for a fixed IFE solution, it's just not going to happen!

Stage 2 will be on the new A330s here in a couple of months, and its not what you are insinuating apparently!

 

[MarkD]

TBH the only thing inviting about j is the seats, that's not just virgin, that's any airline. Personally I dislike all this fancy pea sized portions of upmarket lala coated with some obscure dribble. I honestly would not eat any of that stuff, maybe I have no breeding, but I'm afraid I would be asking for a meat pie and a beer over that posh stuff any day.
I guess that brings on the next question, do they stock the pies on all flights now in case a j pax doesn't like this fancy stuff ? Or would that be considered a special dietary requirement, and need to be per advised?

 

[lovestotravel]

Stage 2 will be on the new A330s here in a couple of months, and its not what you are insinuating apparently!

Well aware of the A330's; and they will likely have RED.

What about the 50+ 737's and the Embraer's ................

Again I really fail to see that VA will go back and refit 50+ 737's and re-wire the aircraft ........... Simply not going to happen

 

[markis10]

Well aware of the A330's; and they will likely have RED.

What about the 50+ 737's and the Embraer's ................

Again I really fail to see that VA will go back and refit 50+ 737's and re-wire the aircraft ........... Simply not going to happen

What about the ones they still have on order, which keeps getting topped up.......

 

[lovestotravel]

Assuming a delivery of 1 per month (IF that)

It would take over 5 years to roll out any new IFE...

By then the system is getting old again..........

That being said, at the moment, I probably prefer Virgin over Qantas (even without IFE), however, Qantas have a slightly later flight MEL-CBR which will help me over Winter, so Qantas will get some of my business during that time.

All flight timings being equal, I'd fly Virgin!

 

[airtraveladdict]

Assuming a delivery of 1 per month (IF that)

It would take over 5 years to roll out any new IFE...

By then the system is getting old again..........

That being said, at the moment, I probably prefer Virgin over Qantas (even without IFE), however, Qantas have a slightly later flight MEL-CBR which will help me over Winter, so Qantas will get some of my business during that time.

All flight timings being equal, I'd fly Virgin!

Same here, I only fly Qantas when the Virgin timetable doesn't suit me. And everytime I do, I am reminded "WOW I miss this kind of exemplary customer service" *cough cough* nothing says customer service like being abused by the call center lady because I was calling to upgrade to business class with points, and I guess I interupted her day with my call ... LOL That's what i miss when I fly Virgin, getting abused by Qantas staff.