Virgin Australia to Reconfigure 737 Fleet - Spend $110M

[SeaWolf]

Weight versus Item count has always miffed me… sure, I get that weight sometimes becomes a WHS issue, but the volume of a bag 7kgs v 10kgs is often the same.

This is the bit that frustrates me as well. If I could stand in the gate lounge of a totally full flight, wave a magic wand and reduce the weight of every bag there to just 1kg, it would solve nothing, there would still be too much baggage for the cabin. The weight isn't really the problem here.

 

[Luke B]

A lot of the reason to change policy is from union. Crew are sick of dealing with brunt of disgruntled pax unable to find place for their bag.

Good. I'm on VA346 at the moment and our departure is delayed due to bags unable to fix into the overhead lockers with some pretty big bags taking up quite a few lockers.

 

[MooTime]

They have started weighing bags on some flights, particularly on ones that are very full. I'd say it is a volume issue more than anything. On the weekend in BNE, I watched as they made anyone with a wheelie bag put it on the scales before making their way down the airbridge. Any that were over 7kgs were gate checked free of charge. I've seen this happen quite a few times now, mainly in BNE and MEL. Also noticed that they didn't start weighing bags until after they started with general boarding.

My VA trip from Mel on Saturday I saw them weighing some bags.
Was full flight.
I don't see much wrong with it, cabin full no point taking your bag on with little to no room, take it under free of charge, unlucky for boarding close to last.

 

[moa999]

The weight isn't really the problem here.

True. But it is a proxy given most luggage is of fairly consistent density (consisting mostly of clothes).

It would take much longer at check-in to pull out the tape measure , take three measurements and then calculate the volume or make every bag go into one of those dimension checkers.

And then we have certain LCCs who have smaller dimension limits as well.

 

[ThatMrBlake]

New dividers to go with the shower curtin from next year. Honestly have no idea why such a simple thing has taken so long and feels the timeline always gets pushed back.

https://www.executivetraveller.com/news/virgin-australia-737-shower-curtain-cabin-divider

 

[simmomelb]

New dividers to go with the shower curtin from next year. Honestly have no idea why such a simple thing has taken so long and feels the timeline always gets pushed back.

https://www.executivetraveller.com/news/virgin-australia-737-shower-curtain-cabin-divider

Yeah this was already pointed out last week on here, from around March next year the installs begin for the air dividers.
I agree though, ridiculous it is taking so long for such a simple internal fitting.
I believe it was delayed due to CASA, but I don't know if that is a fact or not.

 

[kallinch]

Yeah this was already pointed out last week on here, from around March next year the installs begin for the air dividers.
I agree though, ridiculous it is taking so long for such a simple internal fitting.
I believe it was delayed due to CASA, but I don't know if that is a fact or not.

Yes correct.

 

[anat0l]

Curious if anyone can comment.

What kind of things would CASA be looking for before approving the fitting of divider screens or the curtain?

Genuine responses only - no "bureaucracy is as bureaucracy does" BS

 

[kevrosmith]

Wouldn’t they be looking at safety issues like does it obstruct evacuation procedures, can everyone watch the safety briefing etc ?

 

[bcworld]

Wouldn’t they be looking at safety issues like does it obstruct evacuation procedures, can everyone watch the safety briefing etc ?

But the thing they're spending literally years deliberating over is already widely used elsewhere in the world. How much "looking" do they need to do?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

But the thing they're spending literally years deliberating over is already widely used elsewhere in the world. How much "looking" do they need to do?

Perhaps the month’s ’delay’ was down to CASA, but the previous two years down to VA?

The US already make extensive use of transparent cabin dividers, the rest of the world have opaque ones. So there can’t really be a safety of regulatory issue.

It’s not even like the VA ones are affixed to the overhead bins, which could require consideration of access to safety equipment, or to fight a fire.

 

[kevrosmith]

Yes but remember with many of these type of approval things, just because one country approves something and has it in regular use, doesn’t mean another will just accept that same approach. Rightly or wrongly, they would want to do their own review and approval process. Fairly common in government.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Yes but remember with many of these type of approval things, just because one country approves something and has it in regular use, doesn’t mean another will just accept that same approach. Rightly or wrongly, they would want to do their own review and approval process. Fairly common in government.

Indeed… and i would agree that should be the case with many things.

But perhaps this isnt one of them? We used to have full opaque cabin dividers in australia for many years. So it’s not even a new thing.

99% of the world has cabin dividers, Australia is not pioneering this. Which leads me to think the delays might not have been regulatory?

 

[kevrosmith]

And wasn’t the Qantas divider previously a full curtain anyway on the B737s, so I also don’t quite understand the ins & outs of the approval process and potential delays that are being reported.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

And wasn’t the Qantas divider previously a full curtain anyway on the B737s, so I also don’t quite understand the ins & outs of the approval process and potential delays that are being reported.

full curtain right across the cabin, and opaque. Not just Qantas but ansett too.

Oh… and i’m pretty sure rex had one of its aircraft with an opaque cabin divider!! So who knows?

 

[simmomelb]

Yes but remember with many of these type of approval things, just because one country approves something and has it in regular use, doesn’t mean another will just accept that same approach. Rightly or wrongly, they would want to do their own review and approval process. Fairly common in government.

Agreed, what is approved in other countries for use on aircraft for things like this has little to no bearing on getting approval here. CASA will approach this with their own independent approval process, regardless of what has been on other aircraft in the past, including on local aircraft, particularly given this is a slightly different configuration (domestically).
Safety first, no matter how insignificant it might feel.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Agreed, what is approved in other countries for use on aircraft for things like this has little to no bearing on getting approval here. CASA will approach this with their own independent approval process, regardless of what has been on other aircraft in the past, including on local aircraft, particularly given this is a slightly different configuration (domestically).
Safety first, no matter how insignificant it might feel.

Agree CASA needs to approve. Not sure if I buy it was their delay that put this years into the making?

But… if we are starting from scratch- ignoring anything from the past - perhaps we need to look at our processes in Australia.

 

[bcworld]

It's a piece of material dangling from the ceiling. The likes of which has been in use for decades. It's not MCAS!

 

[moa999]

It's a piece of material dangling from the ceiling. The likes of which has been in use for decades. It's not MCAS!

The divider is a piece of plastic.

If VA is using something new it needs testing to ensure it doesn't become a danger in certain conditions.
But surprised they couldn't pick something off the shelf.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

The divider is a piece of plastic.

If VA is using something new it needs testing to ensure it doesn't become a danger in certain conditions.
But surprised they couldn't pick something off the shelf.

Talking about the shower curtain here! But even the plastic divider is in use in thousands of aircraft across dozens of airlines.

If Australian regulators need to spend tens of thousands of dollars to approve that, we perhaps need to look at how we can become more efficient.