[ This TR is in several parts, due to its length. I have over 50 images to include, and found that I can only put 6 in per post. Not wanting to break this post up into 10 parts, I'm still working on solving that problem, but for now, here's the TR with a couple of teaser images ]
)) Intro
On April 1, I travelled from Seattle, Washington to Sydney, NSW, Australia, and I travelled the LAX->SYD segment in V Australia’s international business class. Since my last trip report received such a great reception on flyertalk, I figured I’d do another for this trip since I have more to say! And this time, pics are attached to each subsection, and I've posted it to AFF first.
The trip was in two legs, SEA->LAX , and LAX-SYD, and involved two carriers, Virgin America and V Australia. Yes, V Australia now offers bookings from Seattle to Sydney, using Alaska Airlines for travel from Seattle to LAX, but did not at the time my plans were made
As my only other VA experience was their inaugural flight, I particularly looked forward to finding out what a “normal” flight on the airline was like, sans camera crews and various people like a knight with long blonde hair or characters representing flight attendants of competing airlines striding through the aisles.
)) SEA->LAX Virgin America Flight 792
For the SEA-LAX leg of my trip, I was on Virgin America flight 792. This flight was fairly full and as a result, it took a loooong time for everyone to board. Full flights are normally the ones I’d upgrade on, but others had beaten me to the punch, so I travelled in Economy. Scheduled to depart at 3:35, we pushed back at 3:37pm, due to the prolonged boarding time and were finally #1 for takeoff at 3:50pm. The flight was fairly uneventful and, I’ll admit it, I’d had such a hectic time getting ready for my trip that I slept through most of it! Yes, even with that rather bright mood lighting. I did pull out my computer and check to see if in-flight wifi was available yet, and the answer was no – although I heard from a friend who travelled on them recently that it’s up now. I only ate a light snack – some cranberry juice and a package of Brent and Sam’s chocolate chip cookies, which were tasty. The flight’s scheduled arrival time was 6:20pm, and apparently the winds (and traffic on the ground at LAX) were on our side, because the doors were open for deboarding by 6:05pm. I remembered to snap a picture of the pilots on my way off the plane, which is something I always mean to do, but usually am too excited or tired to do.
)) At LAX between flights
Because Virgin America is not particularly tied to V Australia, it was not possible to check my luggage through to Sydney in Seattle. (I don’t know if the new arrangement with Alaska allows for this. Anyone?) So, it was necessary to claim my luggage at the carousel in T3, then go to check-in for my V Australia flight.
)) V Australia check-in experience
And here’s where the fun starts. J By 6:30pm, I had located my two bags and was in front of the check-in counter, with my first chance to turn left at the “International Business Class” sign. J V Australia’s international business class check-in, at LAX, was at the left-most counter. In Sydney a couple months back, I think check-in for the premium classes had been on the right; there’s something poetic about getting to turn left from the get-go.
I was surprised to see a sign on the counter that said the flight may be overbooked. I asked about it and was told that no, the flight was not overbooked, and that that sign is always there. V Australia, why? As a passenger, all this does is get me thinking about how crowded the flight is going to be.
After I checked in and saw my bags tagged with “V Australia international business class” tags, I went through security and then it was off to the Alaska lounge for the long wait for my next flight. Since V Australia doesn’t have its own lounge at LAX, they’re using the Alaska Airlines lounge, called the Board Room. My Alaska Airlines trips have been primarily limited to travel to the Silicon Valley and not LA, so this was my first time in this particular lounge. As a result, I had to go looking for it. It’s found on level 3 of the terminal, nicely out of the way. As a hint to passengers that yes, they’re in the right place, a V Australia signboard is set up outside the lounge.
Fortunately, my arrival, the lounge and the V Australia departure all involved T3, so things were quite convenient for me at LAX this time. Definitely, avoiding the whole TBIT renovation fiasco and the inaccurately adjusted, freezing air conditioning in TBIT (just what one doesn’t need before a long flight) that I ran into with Qantas in February was a very good thing. (For the as-yet-non-LAX-initiated, TBIT is the Tom Bradley International Terminal, the departure point for most international flights, and it’s showing its age.) And speaking of construction, on April 1, the restaurant structure that is often considered the icon of LAX was apparently being refurbished as well, because it was surrounded by scaffolding.
)) Inside the Alaska Airlines Board Room lounge
At the lounge, I was greeted by a lounge attendant and I identified myself as a V Australia passenger. I asked if wifi was available and if I needed a password for it, and she provided a slip of paper with the password, indicated to me where I’d find outlets in their facility, and told me about the food and drink available. When I arrived at the lounge around 7:30pm, the attendant mentioned that business class would be called for boarding around 10:30pm or 11. That meant there was plenty of time to look around.
The Alaska lounge has the usual free wifi and also has a couple banks of computers that one can use if one’s laptop is not convenient. It features an attended bar which offers two complimentary drinks, although while I was there it didn’t seem that anyone was counting. There is also a cold food area, several seating areas, a decent but not plentiful supply of electrical outlets (aka power points) for recharging, and a children’s area with an abundant supply of kiddie videos. There weren’t any children in the lounge while I was there, though. It’s a rather typical domestic airport lounge. It doesn’t match the higher end ones with buffets of soups, salads, sandwich meats and fancy pastries, but its healthy raw snacks, array of beverages and availability of alcohol put it above the lower end ones. I munched on cheese, crackers, raw broccoli and carrots, and fruit and enjoyed a glass of wine, while surfing the net and reviewing some of a friend’s writing.
The lounge was quiet although well-occupied earlier in the evening, which made it easy to work, although there was a bit of competition for seats near power outlets. There was also a nice view of the outside, so that one could watch the goings-on of arrivals and departures, although that’s somewhat limited at night by the darkness. One of the planes I spotted in the twilight was Alaska Airlines’ Disneyland 50th Anniversary plane, which I’d never seen in person before. J
After 9:30pm or so, the lounge seemed to be just about deserted except for a dozen V Australia passengers. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a between-flights shower area of the sort that one usually finds in international lounges. (V Australia, it’d be great if you’d find a way to make that happen… some people are making connections from the other side of the country, and they’re going to be in flight for another half day before reaching Australia.) Making a connection after several hours of prior travel, I missed that, but otherwise found the lounge to have everything I needed, which amounts to a quiet place to sit, edible non-junk food, a free glass of wine (without the awkwardness of a ticket to hand in at the lounge, as I once found with Qantas in a US partner lounge) and free wifi. For most of my time in the lounge, I was in a seat near an outlet, busily surfing the net, handling email and making notes for this TR. It worked well for those purposes.
It was somewhat unnerving to me, as a first-timer in V Australia’s business class, that the lounge’s displays showed departures of Alaska flights (it is their lounge, after all), but didn’t mention V Australia. Hours went by without any sign that V Australia even knew we were there. I wondered from time to time if we’d been forgotten about, if I’d misunderstood some instruction, etc., and finally asked the front attendant, who told me that all was still well and that the V Australia staff would definitely come to the lounge to retrieve us when it was time to board. (This requires a bit of trust of Alaska’s staff… maybe a card handed out at check-in could underscore that V Australia staff WILL show up near flight time and perhaps even giving pax a number to call for status info would be a good addition? Then again, once you’ve done it once, you know not to worry, “Where are they?”.)
)) V Australia greets business-class passengers in Alaska lounge
Sure enough, at around 10:30pm, a handful of people in the usual Virgin Blue uniforms came to the lounge to chat to the business class passengers. They split up and just walked up to folks to introduce themselves and welcome people to the flying with V Australia. They chatted with just about everyone else before getting around to me, so I spent a good 5 or 10 minutes watching all this wondering, “What are they talking about? Who are they, that they’re getting talked to?”. It turned out, they talked to everyone. One of the two staff who chatted with me introduced himself as Mark, and said that we’d be called to the gate in about half an hour and that he’d see me on board. I don’t know if pax were greeted in this way just because the lounge itself didn’t belong to V Australia, but I thought it was a very nice touch. Even a higher-end European airline like SAS doesn’t send their cabin crew around the lounge to say hello (or at least, it never has for me ;-), and United didn’t when I flew with them.
)) At the gate for LAX->SYD V Australia Flight 2
The V Australia departures board in the same gate area as Virgin America. As you would expect, everything is clean and new looking. The gates are arranged in a curve (think: the Virgin Blue “pod” area at Brisbane, if you’ve seen that) rather than a long, straight aisle with gates to both sides, with seats in the middle, so there were plenty of seats near the departure gate even for a 777. I note that mainly for economy passengers who might be reading this, because passengers retrieved from the Alaska lounge didn’t have a chance to sit down there. The international business class boarding announcement was made as we were making our way to the gate, at around 11pm, enabling us to walk right onto the plane. Some people might prefer to start off for the gate a bit earlier than that. Knowing that they might call for business class pax relatively late, you might want to figure out what you feel is a good time to be at the gate, watch your watch in the lounge, and head toward the gate before the official call.
I bounced down the jetway, excited about my trip to Australia, and at the final turn left in the jetway, a half dozen or so of the V Australia cabin crew were lined up to welcome everyone on board. Imagine my astonishment when one of them said to me, “Welcome back!”. Now, admittedly, this was accurate, but it really surprised me, because this was only my second flight with the airline, and my first had been a month earlier in the middle of a media circus. I would have thought random paying passengers were one of the least memorable parts of the flight for those who worked it. I exclaimed, “WHAT?”, in disbelief, and she replied, “You were on the inaugural flight, right? I remember you!”. +++ on the customer service orientation of your staff, V Australia! I figure one of two things could have happened: (1) the woman really did remember me, because it had been only a month ago, or (2) the reconnaissance effort in the Alaska lounge identified me as the repeat passenger, so that that could be mentioned during boarding. Either way, it’s good business to recognize repeat customers. It’s not the first time I’ve had it happen when flying J or F (or even Y), but it hasn’t happened often, and never on my second flight with an airline. I picked up my dropped jaw, and proceeded toward the plane.
)) On-board in business class, V Australia Flight 2
At the end of the jetway, I got to turn left while boarding and finally saw the front cabin of a V Australia plane for myself, rather than just through the pictures in the media of the launch flight. What struck me first was, of course, the spaciousness. There were only 26 seats in the main business class cabin, so it had a very exclusive feel. I remember someone remarking about business class on the launch flight that this must be what it’s like to fly in a private jet, and I can see why they’d say that now. Seats are arranged in a 2-3-2 configuration, but staggered across the aisles so that you don’t feel that you’re right next to the people across the aisle from you. You can see that in some of my pictures – the leftmost set of seats in a row is furthest toward the front, and the rightmost set of seats is furthest back. The main business class cabin contains 4 rows, although the right hand side of the plane only contains 3 rows, due to the arrangement of the seats. Some people may be groaning about the idea of a middle seat in J class. But hey, it’s really useful that it’s there, if it’s empty and you’re seated in the center section, on the right hand side (seat G). Why? If the middle seat isn’t in use, the person in G has the use of the between-seats flat area belonging to the middle seat as well as their own, making for twice the convenient flat space, without having to take a table out of the armrest. That little flat area is there to provide space for the entertainment console.
In addition to the roominess, the other thing I noticed was the sort of odd retro space age design of the seats that made me initially wonder if they’d be as comfortable as the better business class seats I’d experienced, because they just looked unusual as far as lie-flat seats go (yes, they are as comfortable). Think 1960’s sci fi design updated for the 21st century; it looks like what they were aiming for was a unique but still comfortable and high-end design. (In the process, they’re probably going to puzzle those who think they know what a business class cabin “should” look like.)
I walked all the way up to the front of the plane and settled in seat 1G, thinking to myself, “This will not be a bad way to spend 13 or 14 hours.”
The cabin has the same multicolor mood lighting that changes from purple to pale pink to pale orange and such over the course of the flight, as economy. As noted in my inaugural flight TR, you may like this, or may not. I like it, because it makes the plane feel more upbeat instead of institutional (if that makes sense). Note that if you’ve experienced Virgin America’s mood lighting, you’ll find V Australia’s to be much more subtle, which I consider to be a good thing. In fact, it’s sufficiently subtle that I *still* don’t have a good picture of it, after two flights of tries.
)) Telling the secret of Row 5
I didn’t learn until later in the flight about Row 5 of business class. Row 5 sets V Australia’s business class cabin arrangement apart from other airlines I’ve flown to Australia, or elsewhere for that matter. Because, you see, row 5 is in its own little mini-cabin of the plane. The first four rows of business class seating are in the very front, behind that cabin is the business class bar, and then behind that in its own mini-cabin is Row 5, still part of business class but separated from the rest of it. Each set of seats (left, right, middle) in Row 5 can be sectioned off with curtains for a bit more privacy. It’s the closest thing to a private suite that I’ve ever seen in international business class. Maybe that’s because I’ve just never noticed similar areas on other planes, but I think it really is an unusual feature. I could see any number of people partaking of this: public figures, celebrities, people with a big business deal to discuss, even a couple on a special trip. I eventually learned about it because I went on a middle-of-the-night sojourn around the plane, and walked through a really dark area that seemed to be just aisle and nothing else; commenting about the darkness to one of the FA’s, I was told of Row 5. I have no idea who might have been there, but the curtains were closed. If you want privacy, row 5 is where it’s at, because the other rows of J likely won’t even think to venture further back in the plane past the bar (figuring that’s likely where premium economy starts), and no one else is allowed up past premium economy.
No pics of row 5. I wasn't sitting there and didn't want to look foolish taking pics of passengers sitting not even plausibly near me.
)) International business class seating
Regarding the seats themselves, they are generously-sized and convert to a flat bed at night. I’d read a rumor online that the seats were actually at a slight angle rather than completely horizontal, but that wasn’t the case from what I could see or feel when the seat was in the “bed” configuration. Seat width seems about the same as on the Qantas 747’s (I haven’t tried a 380 yet); even though someone said V Australia had the widest seats, I didn’t particularly notice that. They certainly qualify as generous and comfortable for a trans-Pacific flight. In J or F class, an inch or two isn’t as noticeable as it is in economy, so this is not likely to be a significant issue. Regarding comparing the VA seats to other carriers like United and Hawaiian, they’re just not in the same league at all. I heard United might have upgraded their business class seating from when I was last on it a couple years ago, but as of late 2007 their business class still featured typical reclining seats (wide, but not lie flat) that were nice but no competition to VA’s and QF’s. As far as I know, Hawaiian still uses reclining seats in business class. I might give a slight edge to Qantas' seats in the "bed" configuration based on where the different sections of seat hit my torso and legs, but that's going to vary from person to person and the difference is just between "comfortable" and "a bit more comfortable". I see VA's seating as a better value for the price, and would be unlikely to spend more on QF for the slight difference in seating.
There was a great deal of space between my seat and the bulkhead at the front of the plane. The official word is 1.95 meters of space between your seatback and the one in front of you, and I’ll take them at their word, because to me it was just “plenty of space”. I didn’t notice appreciably more space in front of me in the bulkhead row than for seats in other rows, so it’s not necessary to go out of your way to book row 1 to try to get another 5cm or so. Every seat in J seemed to have plentiful legroom to accommodate the flat bed configuration of the seats, and in the flat configuration, there was plenty of room for me (at 5’6” or so) to stretch out. An extension piece was added on to the leg rest when it was in “bed” configuration; I didn’t have a chance to find out if this was specific to row 1 or if that’s how it worked for all seats. As noted elsewhere, each set has an IFE screen, tray table, flat area on the armrest for holding a drink without needing to take out the tray table, a personal LED light, power point, USB connector (still haven’t figured that one out), 3-prong headset jack and a couple of small (eyeglasses sized?) storage cubbies in addition to the seat itself. The IFE screen was easily viewable whether the seat was in sitting or bed position.
The open but spacious feel of V Australia’s J-class cabin seem to be designed with the assumption that people often travel together in groups of 2 or 3 and want easy access and visibility to their travelling companions, while still having a comfortable, business class amount of room between seats. This might not be the case for everyone, but in J class on the day I flew, it seemed that there were many groups of 2 and 3 pax, rather than primarily solo travelers. The V Australia seats don’t have that “hood” type construction that sits along the back and sides of the Qantas and a few other airlines’ business class seats (and is admittedly what I first picture when I think “business class seat”, from experience). However, the V Australia seats have a divider that can be pulled up between seats for privacy (mainly to be used while sleeping, I think). The cabin itself doesn’t (to me) feel as traditionally luxurious as Qantas’ 747 J-class cabin, but does have a very clean, uncluttered look that is visually appealing in a modern-interpretation-of-classic-air-travel sort of way. I think that which one a person prefers will come down to taste, as they’re both nice in their own way. I don’t go in for ornate home furnishings, so the leaner aesthetics of the V Australia cabin are my choice. But on the other side, a few weeks ago some Qantas fans who tried V Australia said they still preferred the Qantas interior. (I'll have more to say about perceived value -- how much are interior aesthetics worth to you, when buying your own ticket, for example -- later).
As you might expect, the first row of seats was slightly different than the others, because there was no seat back in front of it. It appeared that the main thing I was missing, sitting in Row 1, was a hat or coat hook. In addition to a pocket attached to the bulkhead (where my computer lived during the trip when I wasn’t making notes for this TR), I made use of the cubby between my seatback and the one to the left, up near the top of the seat, in which I could hide the Bvlgari kit and a pen for safekeeping.
FA Dave gave me a tour of my seat, explaining the controls (tilting the seat bottom forward and back, recline, leg rest, lumbar support, etc.), the power outlet (aka power point), the in-flight entertainment console, the personal LED reading light, etc.
The personal LED reading lights are one of the real “hits” in terms of facilities on the V Australia 777’s, as they are on other carriers that have them as well. If you’ve ever tried to sleep while 6 people around you have wanted to read, you know how annoying others’ overhead lights can be. In economy, V Australia hands out little LED lights that are powered through the USB plug in the IFE console. In business class, the lights have adjustable brightness and are built in to the seats, on an adjustable gooseneck wire so that they can be positioned as needed. An interesting observation: During the entire flight, I never saw a traditional overhead light on in the J cabin – not once – but did see most pax using their personal LED lights. When I needed a reading light, the first solution that came to me was to turn on my little LED light, not the overhead light, and I’m guessing that that’s the way it was for others, too. It’s the rare “better mousetrap” that’s perceived as more convenient for its user and also less impacting on others, than its alternative (the normal overhead light at each seat).
Just to show some of the pics that I have, here are front and rear views of seat 1G, and a close-up picture of the connector panel that is between the two seatbacks and contains connectors for the center and right seats.
(Continued in next post)
)) Intro
On April 1, I travelled from Seattle, Washington to Sydney, NSW, Australia, and I travelled the LAX->SYD segment in V Australia’s international business class. Since my last trip report received such a great reception on flyertalk, I figured I’d do another for this trip since I have more to say! And this time, pics are attached to each subsection, and I've posted it to AFF first.
The trip was in two legs, SEA->LAX , and LAX-SYD, and involved two carriers, Virgin America and V Australia. Yes, V Australia now offers bookings from Seattle to Sydney, using Alaska Airlines for travel from Seattle to LAX, but did not at the time my plans were made
As my only other VA experience was their inaugural flight, I particularly looked forward to finding out what a “normal” flight on the airline was like, sans camera crews and various people like a knight with long blonde hair or characters representing flight attendants of competing airlines striding through the aisles.
)) SEA->LAX Virgin America Flight 792
For the SEA-LAX leg of my trip, I was on Virgin America flight 792. This flight was fairly full and as a result, it took a loooong time for everyone to board. Full flights are normally the ones I’d upgrade on, but others had beaten me to the punch, so I travelled in Economy. Scheduled to depart at 3:35, we pushed back at 3:37pm, due to the prolonged boarding time and were finally #1 for takeoff at 3:50pm. The flight was fairly uneventful and, I’ll admit it, I’d had such a hectic time getting ready for my trip that I slept through most of it! Yes, even with that rather bright mood lighting. I did pull out my computer and check to see if in-flight wifi was available yet, and the answer was no – although I heard from a friend who travelled on them recently that it’s up now. I only ate a light snack – some cranberry juice and a package of Brent and Sam’s chocolate chip cookies, which were tasty. The flight’s scheduled arrival time was 6:20pm, and apparently the winds (and traffic on the ground at LAX) were on our side, because the doors were open for deboarding by 6:05pm. I remembered to snap a picture of the pilots on my way off the plane, which is something I always mean to do, but usually am too excited or tired to do.
)) At LAX between flights
Because Virgin America is not particularly tied to V Australia, it was not possible to check my luggage through to Sydney in Seattle. (I don’t know if the new arrangement with Alaska allows for this. Anyone?) So, it was necessary to claim my luggage at the carousel in T3, then go to check-in for my V Australia flight.
)) V Australia check-in experience
And here’s where the fun starts. J By 6:30pm, I had located my two bags and was in front of the check-in counter, with my first chance to turn left at the “International Business Class” sign. J V Australia’s international business class check-in, at LAX, was at the left-most counter. In Sydney a couple months back, I think check-in for the premium classes had been on the right; there’s something poetic about getting to turn left from the get-go.
I was surprised to see a sign on the counter that said the flight may be overbooked. I asked about it and was told that no, the flight was not overbooked, and that that sign is always there. V Australia, why? As a passenger, all this does is get me thinking about how crowded the flight is going to be.
After I checked in and saw my bags tagged with “V Australia international business class” tags, I went through security and then it was off to the Alaska lounge for the long wait for my next flight. Since V Australia doesn’t have its own lounge at LAX, they’re using the Alaska Airlines lounge, called the Board Room. My Alaska Airlines trips have been primarily limited to travel to the Silicon Valley and not LA, so this was my first time in this particular lounge. As a result, I had to go looking for it. It’s found on level 3 of the terminal, nicely out of the way. As a hint to passengers that yes, they’re in the right place, a V Australia signboard is set up outside the lounge.
Fortunately, my arrival, the lounge and the V Australia departure all involved T3, so things were quite convenient for me at LAX this time. Definitely, avoiding the whole TBIT renovation fiasco and the inaccurately adjusted, freezing air conditioning in TBIT (just what one doesn’t need before a long flight) that I ran into with Qantas in February was a very good thing. (For the as-yet-non-LAX-initiated, TBIT is the Tom Bradley International Terminal, the departure point for most international flights, and it’s showing its age.) And speaking of construction, on April 1, the restaurant structure that is often considered the icon of LAX was apparently being refurbished as well, because it was surrounded by scaffolding.
)) Inside the Alaska Airlines Board Room lounge
At the lounge, I was greeted by a lounge attendant and I identified myself as a V Australia passenger. I asked if wifi was available and if I needed a password for it, and she provided a slip of paper with the password, indicated to me where I’d find outlets in their facility, and told me about the food and drink available. When I arrived at the lounge around 7:30pm, the attendant mentioned that business class would be called for boarding around 10:30pm or 11. That meant there was plenty of time to look around.
The Alaska lounge has the usual free wifi and also has a couple banks of computers that one can use if one’s laptop is not convenient. It features an attended bar which offers two complimentary drinks, although while I was there it didn’t seem that anyone was counting. There is also a cold food area, several seating areas, a decent but not plentiful supply of electrical outlets (aka power points) for recharging, and a children’s area with an abundant supply of kiddie videos. There weren’t any children in the lounge while I was there, though. It’s a rather typical domestic airport lounge. It doesn’t match the higher end ones with buffets of soups, salads, sandwich meats and fancy pastries, but its healthy raw snacks, array of beverages and availability of alcohol put it above the lower end ones. I munched on cheese, crackers, raw broccoli and carrots, and fruit and enjoyed a glass of wine, while surfing the net and reviewing some of a friend’s writing.
The lounge was quiet although well-occupied earlier in the evening, which made it easy to work, although there was a bit of competition for seats near power outlets. There was also a nice view of the outside, so that one could watch the goings-on of arrivals and departures, although that’s somewhat limited at night by the darkness. One of the planes I spotted in the twilight was Alaska Airlines’ Disneyland 50th Anniversary plane, which I’d never seen in person before. J
After 9:30pm or so, the lounge seemed to be just about deserted except for a dozen V Australia passengers. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a between-flights shower area of the sort that one usually finds in international lounges. (V Australia, it’d be great if you’d find a way to make that happen… some people are making connections from the other side of the country, and they’re going to be in flight for another half day before reaching Australia.) Making a connection after several hours of prior travel, I missed that, but otherwise found the lounge to have everything I needed, which amounts to a quiet place to sit, edible non-junk food, a free glass of wine (without the awkwardness of a ticket to hand in at the lounge, as I once found with Qantas in a US partner lounge) and free wifi. For most of my time in the lounge, I was in a seat near an outlet, busily surfing the net, handling email and making notes for this TR. It worked well for those purposes.
It was somewhat unnerving to me, as a first-timer in V Australia’s business class, that the lounge’s displays showed departures of Alaska flights (it is their lounge, after all), but didn’t mention V Australia. Hours went by without any sign that V Australia even knew we were there. I wondered from time to time if we’d been forgotten about, if I’d misunderstood some instruction, etc., and finally asked the front attendant, who told me that all was still well and that the V Australia staff would definitely come to the lounge to retrieve us when it was time to board. (This requires a bit of trust of Alaska’s staff… maybe a card handed out at check-in could underscore that V Australia staff WILL show up near flight time and perhaps even giving pax a number to call for status info would be a good addition? Then again, once you’ve done it once, you know not to worry, “Where are they?”.)
)) V Australia greets business-class passengers in Alaska lounge
Sure enough, at around 10:30pm, a handful of people in the usual Virgin Blue uniforms came to the lounge to chat to the business class passengers. They split up and just walked up to folks to introduce themselves and welcome people to the flying with V Australia. They chatted with just about everyone else before getting around to me, so I spent a good 5 or 10 minutes watching all this wondering, “What are they talking about? Who are they, that they’re getting talked to?”. It turned out, they talked to everyone. One of the two staff who chatted with me introduced himself as Mark, and said that we’d be called to the gate in about half an hour and that he’d see me on board. I don’t know if pax were greeted in this way just because the lounge itself didn’t belong to V Australia, but I thought it was a very nice touch. Even a higher-end European airline like SAS doesn’t send their cabin crew around the lounge to say hello (or at least, it never has for me ;-), and United didn’t when I flew with them.
)) At the gate for LAX->SYD V Australia Flight 2
The V Australia departures board in the same gate area as Virgin America. As you would expect, everything is clean and new looking. The gates are arranged in a curve (think: the Virgin Blue “pod” area at Brisbane, if you’ve seen that) rather than a long, straight aisle with gates to both sides, with seats in the middle, so there were plenty of seats near the departure gate even for a 777. I note that mainly for economy passengers who might be reading this, because passengers retrieved from the Alaska lounge didn’t have a chance to sit down there. The international business class boarding announcement was made as we were making our way to the gate, at around 11pm, enabling us to walk right onto the plane. Some people might prefer to start off for the gate a bit earlier than that. Knowing that they might call for business class pax relatively late, you might want to figure out what you feel is a good time to be at the gate, watch your watch in the lounge, and head toward the gate before the official call.
I bounced down the jetway, excited about my trip to Australia, and at the final turn left in the jetway, a half dozen or so of the V Australia cabin crew were lined up to welcome everyone on board. Imagine my astonishment when one of them said to me, “Welcome back!”. Now, admittedly, this was accurate, but it really surprised me, because this was only my second flight with the airline, and my first had been a month earlier in the middle of a media circus. I would have thought random paying passengers were one of the least memorable parts of the flight for those who worked it. I exclaimed, “WHAT?”, in disbelief, and she replied, “You were on the inaugural flight, right? I remember you!”. +++ on the customer service orientation of your staff, V Australia! I figure one of two things could have happened: (1) the woman really did remember me, because it had been only a month ago, or (2) the reconnaissance effort in the Alaska lounge identified me as the repeat passenger, so that that could be mentioned during boarding. Either way, it’s good business to recognize repeat customers. It’s not the first time I’ve had it happen when flying J or F (or even Y), but it hasn’t happened often, and never on my second flight with an airline. I picked up my dropped jaw, and proceeded toward the plane.
)) On-board in business class, V Australia Flight 2
At the end of the jetway, I got to turn left while boarding and finally saw the front cabin of a V Australia plane for myself, rather than just through the pictures in the media of the launch flight. What struck me first was, of course, the spaciousness. There were only 26 seats in the main business class cabin, so it had a very exclusive feel. I remember someone remarking about business class on the launch flight that this must be what it’s like to fly in a private jet, and I can see why they’d say that now. Seats are arranged in a 2-3-2 configuration, but staggered across the aisles so that you don’t feel that you’re right next to the people across the aisle from you. You can see that in some of my pictures – the leftmost set of seats in a row is furthest toward the front, and the rightmost set of seats is furthest back. The main business class cabin contains 4 rows, although the right hand side of the plane only contains 3 rows, due to the arrangement of the seats. Some people may be groaning about the idea of a middle seat in J class. But hey, it’s really useful that it’s there, if it’s empty and you’re seated in the center section, on the right hand side (seat G). Why? If the middle seat isn’t in use, the person in G has the use of the between-seats flat area belonging to the middle seat as well as their own, making for twice the convenient flat space, without having to take a table out of the armrest. That little flat area is there to provide space for the entertainment console.
In addition to the roominess, the other thing I noticed was the sort of odd retro space age design of the seats that made me initially wonder if they’d be as comfortable as the better business class seats I’d experienced, because they just looked unusual as far as lie-flat seats go (yes, they are as comfortable). Think 1960’s sci fi design updated for the 21st century; it looks like what they were aiming for was a unique but still comfortable and high-end design. (In the process, they’re probably going to puzzle those who think they know what a business class cabin “should” look like.)
I walked all the way up to the front of the plane and settled in seat 1G, thinking to myself, “This will not be a bad way to spend 13 or 14 hours.”
The cabin has the same multicolor mood lighting that changes from purple to pale pink to pale orange and such over the course of the flight, as economy. As noted in my inaugural flight TR, you may like this, or may not. I like it, because it makes the plane feel more upbeat instead of institutional (if that makes sense). Note that if you’ve experienced Virgin America’s mood lighting, you’ll find V Australia’s to be much more subtle, which I consider to be a good thing. In fact, it’s sufficiently subtle that I *still* don’t have a good picture of it, after two flights of tries.
)) Telling the secret of Row 5
I didn’t learn until later in the flight about Row 5 of business class. Row 5 sets V Australia’s business class cabin arrangement apart from other airlines I’ve flown to Australia, or elsewhere for that matter. Because, you see, row 5 is in its own little mini-cabin of the plane. The first four rows of business class seating are in the very front, behind that cabin is the business class bar, and then behind that in its own mini-cabin is Row 5, still part of business class but separated from the rest of it. Each set of seats (left, right, middle) in Row 5 can be sectioned off with curtains for a bit more privacy. It’s the closest thing to a private suite that I’ve ever seen in international business class. Maybe that’s because I’ve just never noticed similar areas on other planes, but I think it really is an unusual feature. I could see any number of people partaking of this: public figures, celebrities, people with a big business deal to discuss, even a couple on a special trip. I eventually learned about it because I went on a middle-of-the-night sojourn around the plane, and walked through a really dark area that seemed to be just aisle and nothing else; commenting about the darkness to one of the FA’s, I was told of Row 5. I have no idea who might have been there, but the curtains were closed. If you want privacy, row 5 is where it’s at, because the other rows of J likely won’t even think to venture further back in the plane past the bar (figuring that’s likely where premium economy starts), and no one else is allowed up past premium economy.
No pics of row 5. I wasn't sitting there and didn't want to look foolish taking pics of passengers sitting not even plausibly near me.
)) International business class seating
Regarding the seats themselves, they are generously-sized and convert to a flat bed at night. I’d read a rumor online that the seats were actually at a slight angle rather than completely horizontal, but that wasn’t the case from what I could see or feel when the seat was in the “bed” configuration. Seat width seems about the same as on the Qantas 747’s (I haven’t tried a 380 yet); even though someone said V Australia had the widest seats, I didn’t particularly notice that. They certainly qualify as generous and comfortable for a trans-Pacific flight. In J or F class, an inch or two isn’t as noticeable as it is in economy, so this is not likely to be a significant issue. Regarding comparing the VA seats to other carriers like United and Hawaiian, they’re just not in the same league at all. I heard United might have upgraded their business class seating from when I was last on it a couple years ago, but as of late 2007 their business class still featured typical reclining seats (wide, but not lie flat) that were nice but no competition to VA’s and QF’s. As far as I know, Hawaiian still uses reclining seats in business class. I might give a slight edge to Qantas' seats in the "bed" configuration based on where the different sections of seat hit my torso and legs, but that's going to vary from person to person and the difference is just between "comfortable" and "a bit more comfortable". I see VA's seating as a better value for the price, and would be unlikely to spend more on QF for the slight difference in seating.
There was a great deal of space between my seat and the bulkhead at the front of the plane. The official word is 1.95 meters of space between your seatback and the one in front of you, and I’ll take them at their word, because to me it was just “plenty of space”. I didn’t notice appreciably more space in front of me in the bulkhead row than for seats in other rows, so it’s not necessary to go out of your way to book row 1 to try to get another 5cm or so. Every seat in J seemed to have plentiful legroom to accommodate the flat bed configuration of the seats, and in the flat configuration, there was plenty of room for me (at 5’6” or so) to stretch out. An extension piece was added on to the leg rest when it was in “bed” configuration; I didn’t have a chance to find out if this was specific to row 1 or if that’s how it worked for all seats. As noted elsewhere, each set has an IFE screen, tray table, flat area on the armrest for holding a drink without needing to take out the tray table, a personal LED light, power point, USB connector (still haven’t figured that one out), 3-prong headset jack and a couple of small (eyeglasses sized?) storage cubbies in addition to the seat itself. The IFE screen was easily viewable whether the seat was in sitting or bed position.
The open but spacious feel of V Australia’s J-class cabin seem to be designed with the assumption that people often travel together in groups of 2 or 3 and want easy access and visibility to their travelling companions, while still having a comfortable, business class amount of room between seats. This might not be the case for everyone, but in J class on the day I flew, it seemed that there were many groups of 2 and 3 pax, rather than primarily solo travelers. The V Australia seats don’t have that “hood” type construction that sits along the back and sides of the Qantas and a few other airlines’ business class seats (and is admittedly what I first picture when I think “business class seat”, from experience). However, the V Australia seats have a divider that can be pulled up between seats for privacy (mainly to be used while sleeping, I think). The cabin itself doesn’t (to me) feel as traditionally luxurious as Qantas’ 747 J-class cabin, but does have a very clean, uncluttered look that is visually appealing in a modern-interpretation-of-classic-air-travel sort of way. I think that which one a person prefers will come down to taste, as they’re both nice in their own way. I don’t go in for ornate home furnishings, so the leaner aesthetics of the V Australia cabin are my choice. But on the other side, a few weeks ago some Qantas fans who tried V Australia said they still preferred the Qantas interior. (I'll have more to say about perceived value -- how much are interior aesthetics worth to you, when buying your own ticket, for example -- later).
As you might expect, the first row of seats was slightly different than the others, because there was no seat back in front of it. It appeared that the main thing I was missing, sitting in Row 1, was a hat or coat hook. In addition to a pocket attached to the bulkhead (where my computer lived during the trip when I wasn’t making notes for this TR), I made use of the cubby between my seatback and the one to the left, up near the top of the seat, in which I could hide the Bvlgari kit and a pen for safekeeping.
FA Dave gave me a tour of my seat, explaining the controls (tilting the seat bottom forward and back, recline, leg rest, lumbar support, etc.), the power outlet (aka power point), the in-flight entertainment console, the personal LED reading light, etc.
The personal LED reading lights are one of the real “hits” in terms of facilities on the V Australia 777’s, as they are on other carriers that have them as well. If you’ve ever tried to sleep while 6 people around you have wanted to read, you know how annoying others’ overhead lights can be. In economy, V Australia hands out little LED lights that are powered through the USB plug in the IFE console. In business class, the lights have adjustable brightness and are built in to the seats, on an adjustable gooseneck wire so that they can be positioned as needed. An interesting observation: During the entire flight, I never saw a traditional overhead light on in the J cabin – not once – but did see most pax using their personal LED lights. When I needed a reading light, the first solution that came to me was to turn on my little LED light, not the overhead light, and I’m guessing that that’s the way it was for others, too. It’s the rare “better mousetrap” that’s perceived as more convenient for its user and also less impacting on others, than its alternative (the normal overhead light at each seat).
Just to show some of the pics that I have, here are front and rear views of seat 1G, and a close-up picture of the connector panel that is between the two seatbacks and contains connectors for the center and right seats.
(Continued in next post)
