Hi.
I spent a week in WA, flying J BNE to PER, so thought I'd share some thoughts in case it was of interest, since I went over Qantas but back on Virgin.
Since I was up in NTL for Christmas, I fly to BNE from there.
DJ1105 29/12/2012 NTL to BNE - good service, though delayed for 10-15 minutes, it would have benefited from updates/announcements rather than just left standing around uncertain. Not a big deal except for anyone borderline about visiting the bathroom near to leaving. Bag was 1st off in BNE, a good start.
QF597 - BNE-PER 29/12/12 - delayed 15-20 minutes with no good updates, just left hanging around the gate (should have stayed in the lounge). I would have been annoyed if full fee paying, especially with the temp bus lounge closure (which I had known about thanks to AFF but then forgotten about until arriving), fortunately I had a points upgrade from Y (confirmed a few days out).
Good service was provided on the flight, though movie range was limited compared to international. Only one red wine was available which was a bit of a surprise. The flight made up for its late departure and arrived on time. To really function as a premium service it would benefit from little things like the menus provided on international flights. There wasn't really much offered given the premium rates a Perth J service charges. My bag probably about 30th or so off, so unlikely that priority existed/functioned.
I was a bit disappointed by the airport shuttle - it slow - running only every 50 mins. The trip took about 30 min trip plus another 20 mins going via other hotels before it got to mine (only one lady left on after I got off).
I was booked in to the Hilton Parmelia, who told me I was upgraded from a Queen bed to a King bed, which sounded fairly unimpressive. Turned out I did have a somewhat better room (balcony, larger amenities), but I only discovered that wasn't normal when I returned at the end of my trip. The room had a very noisy air conditioner and I was torn about phoning to see if I could have a room with one that was quiet, but I was tired and manged to get to sleep after a bit. The view was nice enough and I didn't mind stepping out on the balcony in the morning - by afternoon it was too hot. Breakfast was good. Housekeeping didn't pause much between knocking and letting themselves in, catching me in the bathroom when they came round in the evening.
I had three nights and was given a one drink voucher, possibly something everyone gets or perhaps in lieu of exec lounge, there was no explanation. Spot on as far as 2 x water etc went. No mention of late checkout. I did get a welcome note the 2nd time round which I didn't the first time (but no upgrade or it really was the same room as booked but with a king instead of a queen bed) and the same drink voucher for one night as I had received for the three.
I had bought online a ticket for the hop on hop off service. It was reasonable enough, though the hourly service is ordinary and starts late / finishes early, so not as good as the few others I've used in other cities.
Rottnest Island - I thought it was a lovely destination for a day trip, but the tour I had booked seemed to really be a group of poorly coordinated contractors and was disappointing in the sense that I was left feeling like I'd paid for a tour just to spend my time on regular transport.
Returning to the airport to collect a car took about 30 mins to finish hotel pickups before heading for the airport, which was prob about a 25 min journey.
Collecting the car went smoothly and I set off down to the SW, visiting places such as Rockingham and Margaret River etc which were lovely. This really set up the vibe for my journey which was, that it would have been better with twice as much time at each destination. I stopped at Watershed Winery was nice (I thought one wine tasting stop was all I should do while driving).
Bunbury was a nice place, though the hotel was fairly ordinary.
Donnybrook was an amusing sideline, very nice with its orchards, though the bad thing about driving by myself is I often see things that would make a nice photo but don't feel like stopping and going back etc to get it.
Albany was very scenic, beautiful beach and local walks. Hotel was ordinary 3.5 star again (Ibis Styles under the rebranding). I enjoyed visiting the Princess Royal Fortress museum and would thoroughly commend it to anyone with an interest in history/military.
The various towns on the coast in the SW I went through would beat our (NSW) beach towns like Coffs and Port Macquarie IMO (though I wonder how the water temp goes once summer is over).
Porongurup was a nice national park and a good hike on the trail I took. I'd have enjoyed more time there to try out more of the tracks.
Returning to Perth, back to the Hilton again I got a room where the air conditioning was quiet enough to be pleasant, though it looked in need of a refurb.
The road works had me starting to stress about traffic congestion on way to airport but I ended up making it in plenty of time, glad I took my GPS on the trip to help find a petrol station to refuel car.
The Virgin Lounge seemed to be a notch below Qantas - less hot food, no self serve wine, so it wasn't entirely clear if it was serving or not. There were only several people about - making it feel very empty.
DJ469 4/1/2013 on a complimentary upgrade from when I was Plat, PER-BNE was delayed 45 mins with no catching up, so it was that late in to BNE. Once again only the delay was only communicated after boarding ought to have commenced and with inaccurate information (15 minute delay announced when it took over 30). Only 5 of the 8 business seats were taken. Nice service, though it really does stand out as feeling inferior to Qantas when the only IFE is via the tablets they hand out (I declined since I had a good book to read plus my ipad as backup). The narrow body aircraft felt less spacious than the Qantas flight (though I had a spare seat beside me, unlike QF J which was full). The service was more attentive, however, and the amenity kit was a nice touch - if superfluous. No USB power that I could find either.
Lunch service was provided and was very nice, though no snack prior to landing was disappointing - it is rare that I am looking to find food straight arriving in a J flight (though it probably isn't so bad when the flight isn't 45 minutes late). My bag was 2nd off, priority baggage certainly works with DJ, helping ensure I had longer to wait for the airtrain service in to the city. The flight was due in at 6:50pm but I think it was more like 7:30 that I disembarked (and which was supposed to have left 12:20 PER time).
The BNE Hilton seemed nice enough, though minimal introduction or interest in offering assistance at reception. There was no offer of Internet voucher or comp for lack of lounge access (closed). A nicer breakfast buffet was provided then Perth. The upgrade was to the exec floor which had a nice enough view, but otherwise I don't think there was a welcome card. It was presumably left for me to guest which water was complimentary and which was sold in the mini bar.
The next day I had a good flight back to NTL (DJ1106), with my bag first off, flying as the only person in row 1 which felt a bit odd. The BNE lounge was fairly quiet. Still seems to be a bit of confusion about complimentary drinks on Virgin flights - the FA announced it as if the only drinks on the flight were purchased ones from the menu. Unlike all the other flights on my trip, this one did leave on time (a few mins early actually) and arrived 15 early which was nice.
Anyway, a nice trip and a good chance to compare QF and VA J services. Qantas still has the edge in lounges, Virgin has a clear edge in priority luggage and boarding (though I think QF did work reasonably decently on those flights).
I'd recommend WA to anyone who hasn't been, it was my first time and I'd love to go back and could easily spend another week or two just in the SW corner. Even when the mining boom is over I can see it having good growth for lifestyle reasons. Needless to say that the Swan River was a very nice surprise when I'd previously imagined it to be more like the Brisbane or Yarra rivers.
I spent a week in WA, flying J BNE to PER, so thought I'd share some thoughts in case it was of interest, since I went over Qantas but back on Virgin.
Since I was up in NTL for Christmas, I fly to BNE from there.
DJ1105 29/12/2012 NTL to BNE - good service, though delayed for 10-15 minutes, it would have benefited from updates/announcements rather than just left standing around uncertain. Not a big deal except for anyone borderline about visiting the bathroom near to leaving. Bag was 1st off in BNE, a good start.
QF597 - BNE-PER 29/12/12 - delayed 15-20 minutes with no good updates, just left hanging around the gate (should have stayed in the lounge). I would have been annoyed if full fee paying, especially with the temp bus lounge closure (which I had known about thanks to AFF but then forgotten about until arriving), fortunately I had a points upgrade from Y (confirmed a few days out).
Good service was provided on the flight, though movie range was limited compared to international. Only one red wine was available which was a bit of a surprise. The flight made up for its late departure and arrived on time. To really function as a premium service it would benefit from little things like the menus provided on international flights. There wasn't really much offered given the premium rates a Perth J service charges. My bag probably about 30th or so off, so unlikely that priority existed/functioned.
I was a bit disappointed by the airport shuttle - it slow - running only every 50 mins. The trip took about 30 min trip plus another 20 mins going via other hotels before it got to mine (only one lady left on after I got off).
I was booked in to the Hilton Parmelia, who told me I was upgraded from a Queen bed to a King bed, which sounded fairly unimpressive. Turned out I did have a somewhat better room (balcony, larger amenities), but I only discovered that wasn't normal when I returned at the end of my trip. The room had a very noisy air conditioner and I was torn about phoning to see if I could have a room with one that was quiet, but I was tired and manged to get to sleep after a bit. The view was nice enough and I didn't mind stepping out on the balcony in the morning - by afternoon it was too hot. Breakfast was good. Housekeeping didn't pause much between knocking and letting themselves in, catching me in the bathroom when they came round in the evening.
I had three nights and was given a one drink voucher, possibly something everyone gets or perhaps in lieu of exec lounge, there was no explanation. Spot on as far as 2 x water etc went. No mention of late checkout. I did get a welcome note the 2nd time round which I didn't the first time (but no upgrade or it really was the same room as booked but with a king instead of a queen bed) and the same drink voucher for one night as I had received for the three.
I had bought online a ticket for the hop on hop off service. It was reasonable enough, though the hourly service is ordinary and starts late / finishes early, so not as good as the few others I've used in other cities.
Rottnest Island - I thought it was a lovely destination for a day trip, but the tour I had booked seemed to really be a group of poorly coordinated contractors and was disappointing in the sense that I was left feeling like I'd paid for a tour just to spend my time on regular transport.
Returning to the airport to collect a car took about 30 mins to finish hotel pickups before heading for the airport, which was prob about a 25 min journey.
Collecting the car went smoothly and I set off down to the SW, visiting places such as Rockingham and Margaret River etc which were lovely. This really set up the vibe for my journey which was, that it would have been better with twice as much time at each destination. I stopped at Watershed Winery was nice (I thought one wine tasting stop was all I should do while driving).
Bunbury was a nice place, though the hotel was fairly ordinary.
Donnybrook was an amusing sideline, very nice with its orchards, though the bad thing about driving by myself is I often see things that would make a nice photo but don't feel like stopping and going back etc to get it.
Albany was very scenic, beautiful beach and local walks. Hotel was ordinary 3.5 star again (Ibis Styles under the rebranding). I enjoyed visiting the Princess Royal Fortress museum and would thoroughly commend it to anyone with an interest in history/military.
The various towns on the coast in the SW I went through would beat our (NSW) beach towns like Coffs and Port Macquarie IMO (though I wonder how the water temp goes once summer is over).
Porongurup was a nice national park and a good hike on the trail I took. I'd have enjoyed more time there to try out more of the tracks.
Returning to Perth, back to the Hilton again I got a room where the air conditioning was quiet enough to be pleasant, though it looked in need of a refurb.
The road works had me starting to stress about traffic congestion on way to airport but I ended up making it in plenty of time, glad I took my GPS on the trip to help find a petrol station to refuel car.
The Virgin Lounge seemed to be a notch below Qantas - less hot food, no self serve wine, so it wasn't entirely clear if it was serving or not. There were only several people about - making it feel very empty.
DJ469 4/1/2013 on a complimentary upgrade from when I was Plat, PER-BNE was delayed 45 mins with no catching up, so it was that late in to BNE. Once again only the delay was only communicated after boarding ought to have commenced and with inaccurate information (15 minute delay announced when it took over 30). Only 5 of the 8 business seats were taken. Nice service, though it really does stand out as feeling inferior to Qantas when the only IFE is via the tablets they hand out (I declined since I had a good book to read plus my ipad as backup). The narrow body aircraft felt less spacious than the Qantas flight (though I had a spare seat beside me, unlike QF J which was full). The service was more attentive, however, and the amenity kit was a nice touch - if superfluous. No USB power that I could find either.
Lunch service was provided and was very nice, though no snack prior to landing was disappointing - it is rare that I am looking to find food straight arriving in a J flight (though it probably isn't so bad when the flight isn't 45 minutes late). My bag was 2nd off, priority baggage certainly works with DJ, helping ensure I had longer to wait for the airtrain service in to the city. The flight was due in at 6:50pm but I think it was more like 7:30 that I disembarked (and which was supposed to have left 12:20 PER time).
The BNE Hilton seemed nice enough, though minimal introduction or interest in offering assistance at reception. There was no offer of Internet voucher or comp for lack of lounge access (closed). A nicer breakfast buffet was provided then Perth. The upgrade was to the exec floor which had a nice enough view, but otherwise I don't think there was a welcome card. It was presumably left for me to guest which water was complimentary and which was sold in the mini bar.
The next day I had a good flight back to NTL (DJ1106), with my bag first off, flying as the only person in row 1 which felt a bit odd. The BNE lounge was fairly quiet. Still seems to be a bit of confusion about complimentary drinks on Virgin flights - the FA announced it as if the only drinks on the flight were purchased ones from the menu. Unlike all the other flights on my trip, this one did leave on time (a few mins early actually) and arrived 15 early which was nice.
Anyway, a nice trip and a good chance to compare QF and VA J services. Qantas still has the edge in lounges, Virgin has a clear edge in priority luggage and boarding (though I think QF did work reasonably decently on those flights).
I'd recommend WA to anyone who hasn't been, it was my first time and I'd love to go back and could easily spend another week or two just in the SW corner. Even when the mining boom is over I can see it having good growth for lifestyle reasons. Needless to say that the Swan River was a very nice surprise when I'd previously imagined it to be more like the Brisbane or Yarra rivers.
