Just had a week in Bali this month with the family. Went with VA. Had a great flight up and back with no real issues. BNE- DPS - MEL - BNE in Y
Cons:
No lounge for international in BNE or DPS.
J was sold out.
$400 extra per pax for direct DPS-BNE compared to going via MEL. (lounge in MEL Dom)
Food & drink options. Hot meals available. Make sure you have a physical CC for purchases.
Pros:
Nicer timings in the morning from BNE. (0700 vs 0940)
Being Platinum gets Econ-X for all the passengers on the booking. More comfortable seats and less mullets.
Not JQ (A.K.A. The Orange Gamble)
INT to DOM transit in MEL has to be the easiest capital city transit.
Archie Rose & fever tree G&T (have to purchase)
I'll definitely do VA again. I only wish they had lounge access. (Even a plaza/priority lounge option). Had priority check in & boarding. I pick VA for a lot of my flights for free Econ-X seating.
VA vs LCC/JQ. The full service is one thing, but with VA, do they have a higher responsibility to provide the flight home than vs LCC.? (Other flights, hotel overnight delays, etc) I always thought this was the VA/QF value over LCC.
Side note:
E-VOA for Bali : Great thread on eVOA to make the arrival 100% easier. We were all through passport control in 20 mins.
Cheers