[Anonymous]

[VintageKrug]

Someone in another thread mentioned VS hadn’t been very busy on the PR front lately.

But they did release this microsite last week:

http://experience.virgin-atlantic.com/en/us/

Looks pretty good to me, certainly streets ahead of what other UK airlines have on their sites.

Some of the claims are rather exaggerated, and of course you don’t see the rather tatty and chipped interiors or the clapped out Gatwick and Manchester bucket and spade fleets (or, indeed, your fellow passengers on these fleets who do not resemble in any way those pictured on the site).

But I think it’s a great little site for getting a feel of what to expect, across all the cabins.

Well worth a trip on VS, especially exLHR with their superb ClubHouse.

[MarcusUK]

This one also has been on the VAustralia site for a year.

http://www.vaustralia.com.au/apps/vaustralia/777-3d-walkthrough/index.html

Also a nice walkthrough,

Their Business class on the 777-300ER’s (which are new), is superb, equal to many Airlines First in terms of space, (7.5ft bed) comfort, & gourmet meals, with absolutely excellent choice & qualit,y & the wines are superb.
The fresh approach of the young enthusiastic crews, who are clearly motivated & proud to be working with well designed new Aircraft, & the best of services on Board. U also get to use the best of lounges, with Malaysian being the primary ones in Australia, some of the best in the world.They have given routes to Asia, USA, & now JNB, really linking the Australia between continents better than ever before.

The fares are approx half of other Airlines in PE or business. a One way to Phuket in Business i flew 2 months ago was £590 SYD-MEL (PE VirginBlue), then MEL-HKT. PE was approx £350.

Flying from Phuket on Malaysian, via KUL to Europe, gives you a saving of over £700 business class, rather than starting MH at KUL!
So the combination of VAustralia from Down under to Europe, means a business class one way of approx £1600. The cheapest fares are approx £2500 at the moment with any other combination SYD – LHR.

I hear that VAustralia will are considering linking into LGW at the end of the year…with these 777-300-ER’s. The global tie up & publicity will be at this time also.

Certainly down here in Australia, VirginBlue have contributed to more available affordable travel domestically, breaking the fare monopolies of Qantas. Some domestic fares 3 yrs ago, were as much as an International fare to Asia. U can still have lounge access, all the FF perks & my Gold VS Flying Club card gives me the same status on all the Virgin group Airlines. They now circle the globe.

They have an excellent reputation down here, and have just ordered 50 new aircraft for domestic flights, with VAustralia making a steady growth on choice routes with the new 777-300 ER’s.

So, the marketing / PR, whilst we don’t see what is happening in another country US or Australia, is going on.
The main Alliances for FF’s, have become too large & meaningless. Virgin has steadily developed a truly global Group of Airlines, & something new, innovative, & not stale or cutting back like many other Airlines. They have a few very well chosen partners, with highest mileage earned with SQ, Air New Zealand have a closer tie up now also with VB. Malaysian, Gulf Air, ANA, etc, some really good strategically placed partners.

They deserve every success,have the courage to be innovative, & create a more contemporary way to travel. Certainly my valuable VS Gold card, is one i won’t be losing for many years.

[MartynSinclair]

VK

The commentt was more about the fact that throughout all the recent news regarding “Ash” it was WW at the front, no visibility from Virgin. Even during the BA strike, previosuly Virgin would have found a way to use it to their advantage – all was silent though from Crawley.

The micro site was interesting but there was nothing new ……

[Skyluxe]

I feel MarcusUK is putting an excessively positive spin on V Australia. Yes they are a good airline but nowhere near as wonderful as he would have us believe.

Having flown in business class SYD-LAX return I rank it as a good business class product but nowhere near as fine as first class like he compares it to. What airline squeezes 7 seats across in first class on a 777? As to the food and service I found these to be highly variable with many of the crew inexperienced and out of their depth at times.

As to his comment about getting “the best of lounges” has ever ventured into the crappy Alaska Airlines Boardroom in LAX that VA uses. And they don’t even offer access to a lounge in BNE.

Yes, there fares are cheap at the moment but you can expect that to change once they become better established and well known. The only reason they are flying to Phuket at present is to get at least some revenue out of an aircraft that would otherwise be sitting idle in MEL. Hence the cheap fares. Again, don’t expect this to continue indefinitely.

As to his comment about getting all the FF perks of his VS Gold Card, you can’t even earn any tier points using VA!

[MarcusUK]

If you check the FC website, you will see that you also earn points with a VS card, for VAmerica, VBlue. VAustralia, VS itself,
Virgin Blue has an announcement on its website of the amalgamation of the programs for FF’s. I have VB PE points of 2 & miles, & the connecting VAustralia 4 points on my VS statement on line from my flight in March, so you can & i am earning miles & points.

As for VAustralia, the space is excellent, & apart from Etihad, SQ A30, in travelling worldwide on 30 Airlines, i have not found a business class cabin so spacious. A 6ft6 guy sat in his seat long from me in the aisle, stretched his legs out & still there was space for the staff to walk past the end of him, across the middle of a row of seats!

I call that space, & the Sleep covers they place on top for you, & the duvets are excellent. I Understand that you have access to The Malaysian lounge now in Brisbane as wel as the VB Lounge.

Perhaps the lounge in US is the best they could negotiate, generally Asian MH, SQ, TG, & Middle East premier Terminals EK/EY, Lounges are the best around the world. The VS Clubhouse, & T4 LHR Skyteam being the most contemporary. I have never found any Lounge better than these. Perhaps it reflects the US more with their lounges lounges, or VS being left out of the big Airline groups in the US for reasons of duplication of routes & Competition.

I am certainly Flying VAustralia again, & my fare will be 50 %less than a business from Oz to Asia on all but low cost Airlines, & 1/3rd of the same for standard First Class. In my view & Many Australians now, they offer an equal service to First on many other Airlines, F & B, Space, the bed components, sit down bar, Service, Brand new Aircraft. They offer something more contemporary, up to date, which will not suit everyone perhaps.

They have slowly grown, & are doing very well down here, expanding with Virginblue, with over 60 Aircraft ordered & 50 more options.
They are clearly a very strategically clear, & truly Global Airline group, & ownership with SQ, well one of the most successful leaders.

They have just launched the MEL – JNB route, which includes a PE fare from any Australian airport to connects, quite another saving.
They are awaiting their next new 777-333 ERs deliveries to expand all current routes, & i am told, take VAustralia onto LGW from Asia.
They don’t have them sitting around, & even the Phuket route is flown direct from Brisbane, Perth, and Melbourne across a week to meet the demand, & takes up one Aircraft fully. They also fly to Fiji daily.

The additional Aircraft will expand these routes as they arrive. Currently, all the staff teams from all parts of a small VAustralia Airline, are deciding as a team, where this expansion will be , from all their perspectives.

Pity other Airlines are run on a more impersonal, Dictatorship style, & have their own staff In total conflict with their staff teams.

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