Virgin to lose A330's and B777's - become mid range airline - really?

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I will miss the VA widebodies.

I remember when the A330 was introduced I flew the second day of operation to Perth in J. The seat and entertainment was average (old EK) but the service truly was first class back then. Plenty of drinks and great food, a much nicer way to spend the 4-5 hours than on a 737. Got an op up to J on the return flight too.
Did the PER run once every 6 weeks and used to buy J one way and upgrade from Y or use points the other way. Being platinum at the time the points bonus on the J flight used to basically cover the points cost back.
The second series of J seat was a bit hard but comfortable enough. They had cut back a lot on the initial J offering they introduced on the early services though.

The 777 also held some great memories. Honeymoon in 2014 we had the old row 5 window section to ourselves for the flight to LA and the FA's were so good on that flight also. It was so private with the curtains that enclosed the cabin, was perfect for flying with a partner.

The business was great and probably my favourite J seat apart from Q Suites on QR.
 
It's a shame Virgin aren't doing goodbye flights on B777's and to some extent the A330. How much would you pay for a final flight in J class?
IE A 10 hour B777 which just went Perth to Perth / Brisbane to Brisbane / Sydney to Sydney so it's an allowable flight without arriving into another state or country.
 
Bagpuss said:
IE A 10 hour B777 which just went Perth to Perth / Brisbane to Brisbane / Sydney to Sydney so it's an allowable flight without arriving into another state or country.
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A 10-hour flight to nowhere... I don't think they'd have many take them up on that option.
 
I don't think they will do any farewell hurrahs either.... its not great PR for them.... we are dramatically downsizing and taking away more spacious comfortable planes is not a message you really want out there....
 
Well I am glad to fly their J to HKG in January whilst I had a chance. I had a great experience in that 9 hours. It is a shame that they are going, but given the competition, it is best that they focus on their strengths which is the domestic market.
 
DJSYD81 said:
I will miss the VA widebodies.

I remember when the A330 was introduced I flew the second day of operation to Perth in J. The seat and entertainment was average (old EK) but the service truly was first class back then. Plenty of drinks and great food, a much nicer way to spend the 4-5 hours than on a 737....
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Yes I absolutely agree. Certainly the old EK 330's were a bit rough around the edges, but it was enough for me. Good angled lie back, decent entertainment and fantastic service. The price back then, at introduction, was also enticing.

I absolutely loved the later instituted 'the business' fully lie flat 'cabins', but, as I've said before, this level of almost first class F&B wasn't really required imho. I'd have preferred the higher density of the old EK style with a reduced points/$$$ cost and I reckon they would have been just as profitable, maybe more so.
 
mrmerc500 said:
...

I do wish VA all the best, for the employee’s, suppliers & the greater good of the Australian aviation market for choice.

However as a savvy points collector with aspirational J awards in mine, removing the A330 which we travelled predominately on the Coast to Coast routes is now a real disappointment and disincentive to continue with Velocity.

I’m finding myself happy to consider JQ and chasing points club+ for lounge access unless the fares we see are compatible with JQ & significantly cheaper then QF of which we’ll use our Platinum card for lounge access with VA.

I do hope that we can see widebodies back in the fleet with VA to create diversity.

If VA was to join an Alliance, I would certainly reconsider my travel & spending habits.
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My sentiments are much the same. Despite my words on this thread I _do_ wish VA2 all the best. The AU market certainly benefits from having two major players.

Living in the west though, with J travel on my mind, I really have little choice but to move my focus over to QF/JQ.

Unless the SQ points swap deal comes back I don't know what I'll end up doing with close to 1M VFF points though. Perhaps hotel bookings? Though I'm constantly in golden handcuffs with HH which means that third party bookings are a calculated risk.
 
oz_mark said:
Not the oldest, but they were all from same lessor. Some more 737s wll be returned to that lessor.

Here's a pic of one, with its new rego
https://flic.kr/p/2jB6Xeb
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YFG
YFI
YFN
YFP
YFQ

Routing BNE-HIR-HNL-GYR

As reported in the Twitter replies:

Virgin Australia to be sold to Bain Capital

Also won't be good news for the "Star Alliance fanboys" and/or UA flyers wanting VA to drop the DL partnership to join Star Alliance. Safe to say that VA joining any global alliance will be off the table for at least 12 months - 2 years, as UA will block/veto any (unlikely) *A application had...
www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au
 
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mrmerc500 said:
The aircraft type have been removed from the website. 😭

Our fleet - flying with us | Virgin Australia

We pride ourselves in being your airline of choice, so we have taken every step to ensure we operate one of the world’s most advanced and modern fleet of aircraft.
www.virginaustralia.com www.virginaustralia.com
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Fleet has also been updated:

Our fleet - flying with us | Virgin Australia

We pride ourselves in being your airline of choice, so we have taken every step to ensure we operate one of the world’s most advanced and modern fleet of aircraft.
www.virginaustralia.com www.virginaustralia.com
 

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