Trip Report: Virgin Australia business class to Los Angeles
Time for another Trip Report - and an unusual one. Virgin Australia business class to Los Angeles is in limbo while the airline restructures. So, time to relive the glory of what was one of the best Business Class cabins over the Pacific.
Time for another Trip Report - and an unusual one. It's quite hard to get onto Virgin Australia's business class on a Boeing 777, thanks to the airline only have a fleet of five of the widebodies, and they are now restricted to only flying three routes: from the three East Coast cites, to Los Angeles. And that's it.
All aircraft feature just 37 business class seats, called "the business", as a hint back to the days of bmi, with it's fleet of just three long haul aircraft, and their 'The Business' cabin.
Virgin Australia's cabin has had a refit lately too, and now uses the well regarded Collins Aerospace Super Diamond reverse herringbone seats, that are also found on Qatar Airways, but styled for Virgin Australia's market with brighter colours and more storage spaces.
This flight was one of the last operated by Virgin Australia, not that I knew it. Corona Virus was just taking hold, and within a couple of weeks all flights were grounded.
For this flight, I arrived off the 6am Sydney to Brisbane flight, and then took the landside bus between the Domestic and International Terminal.
Even though I had a boarding card, at international there was a passport check, and one of the quickest most efficient immigration checks I've had departing Australia. Within 20 minutes of landing from Sydney I was heading towards the new Business Class lounge in the international terminal.
Virgin Australia Brisbane International lounge
The Virgin Australia Brisbane lounge in the International terminal has just opened, and now gives eligible passengers a 'sort of' Virgin lounge. I say 'almost' because as well as Business Class Virgin passengers, the new 'My Lounge' at Brisbane Airport, is operated by UK-based No1 Lounges, and welcomes anyone for a fee. It's most of the way up the long international concourse, by gate 77, and seemingly plonked in the middle of it. Because that's what it is.
It's quite cosy, with room for 108 passengers, open from 5am, and when I was departing really busy, but during the day you can be the only passenger in here.
First up was barista-made coffee, ordered from the bar counter. There was quite a queue for this.
Having been up sine 4am, I decided to have an early lunch of a Full English Breakfast, since my journey ended in the UK after LAX and JFK. The lounge provided, with a "kitchen counter" buffet, offering a sausages beans mushrooms and hash browns. Alas, no á la carte dining here, unlike the Sydney and Melbourne lounges which used to be operated by Etihad.
There was also an all-day bar, including signature cocktails, including the 'Virgin Australia Flamingo', a mix of Gordon's Pink Gin, cranberry juice, pink grapefruit juice, lemon juice, and strawberry, with a sprig of mint.
I also had a couple of classes of the sparkling white wine before boarding. All were available, free pour, on the bar counter.
I then explored a bit around the Brisbane My Lounge, which has a games room with table football and a TV.
Beyond that, My Lounge provides a variety of magazines and newspapers, which guests are invited to take with them (or read in the lounge):
At the far end of the lounge I also found a quite space, with extra seating, which most passengers had yet to find.
All in all, it's a pretty good lounge, but has a slightly 'pop up' feel. Read the Virgin Australia Brisbane No1 Mylounge full review.
Soon, it was time to board, and I was whisked straight through the front of the priority queue, and onto the Virgin Australia Boeing 777.
Virgin Australia Boeing 777 seat layout
Virgin Australia's Boeing 777 only fly between Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane to Los Angeles, having abandoned routes in the past to places as diverse as Abu Dhabi and Johannesburg. It is LAX that makes the money, and that's the sole focus of the airline's main widebodies. It also has A330s which were designed for Perth, were switched onto Hong Kong, and had an attempt at Tokyo.
The Boeing 777s had a minor revamp in 2016, which removed the novelty of the bar in Premium Economy, but increased the Premium pitch to 41 inches, with 23 seats. Also lost was the old Business Class bar, which was little more than a shelf, and replaced with a full stand up bar.
Surprisingly Virgin Australia retained the 3-3-3 seat layout with 278 seats in economy, unlike Emirates and Etihad which have a 3-4-3 layout which is decidedly crampt and uncomfortable. 57 of the economy seats are branded "Economy X" and offer extra legroom with at least a 34-inch pitch.
However, this flight was all about The Business, and it's vastly more pleasant now you don't have to step over the person next to you, to access the aisle thanks to the new 1-2-1 layout with direct aisle access from every seat. The charcoal fabric seat covers, carpets, and black-textured seat shells contrast beautifully against the silver trim, and are complemented by white storage covers and a large white pillow on the seats.
Virgin Australia Boeing 777 Business Class seat
The Virgin Australia Business Class seat on the Boeing 777 has 37 business class seats in the cabin, called "the business", with a dark sombre colour scheme. There are flashes of purple on the lumbar pillow, plus purple privacy dividers, purple cushions and purple mood lighting. The Virgin Australia 777 business Cabin is therefore rather dull, but stylish yet sombre. This is no mean feat.
The Business Class cabin is actually divided into two, with seven rows up front, divided by the bar, and then three behind.
Each seat is at an angle to the main cabin, and every seat has isle access. This means there is only a small 'cubby hole' for your feat, but this isn't too much of a problem. Almost every seat has two windows too.
Every seat has a height adjustable armrest, which lowers in the sleeping mode to make more space, and which has a small stowage space for noise cancelling headphones and a water bottle.
There are also two storage compartments with space for electronic devices; the main one has a mains 120 volt (international plug) power socket, plus a USB charging port and headphone socket. Alas the main AC power socket is too close to the bottom of the cabinet for many chargers with the transformer in the plug.
The remote for the TV screen is also contained in here.
There is another storage compartment beside the window which as I sat down already contained the amenity kit, while pyjamas were handed out by the crew.
It's good to see that Virgin Australia still provide a decent Business Class amenity kit. It has an Eye mask, tooth brush and paste, purple striped socks, earplugs, a pen and tissues.
There is also a thin storage pocket for a tablet in front of the literature pocket, which contained a light.
There is a large touchscreen to adjust the seat, which has presets for take-off and landing, plus Z frame lounging, and sleeping.
The seats has excellent privacy, and indeed it is hard to see any other passengers.
Within the Business Class cabin there are three toilets, which means there is rarely a queue.
Business class Bar - Virgin Australia 777
Many passengers choose to fly Virgin Australia for one single feature - the walk up bar in Business Class. It was well attended while I was there, and indeed I had to wait a while for a seat. The atmosphere was very friendly, but the cabin crew who was serving mentioned that it is often only Australian and British passengers who choose to come along for a drink, and rarely passengers from other countries like the US. I wonder why?
Far better than the earlier design at launch (which was little more than a four seat shelf) it is a lovely place to sit and chat, however you can't have a drink here before dinner, as the crew use it to prepare meals.
You can order anything you want at the bar - although the selection of spirits was rather limited, and noticeably stocks began to run low on some of the wine towards the end of the flight.
There are four stools are around the backlit bar: three in front and one at the side, while there are another two opposite the bar, separated by a table. At the bar there is a lovely overhead lighting display, if you want to notice.
Virgin Australia Business class meals to Los Angeles
Normally, service on Virgin Australia is top notch, so this flight was a bit of a surprise that the crew were very distracted, and notably forgot several items on the menu, and the service order. This was dramatically brought home to me when the crew just brought me the main course, instead of the starter. When I reminded them this was quickly rectified. However, of more concern was serving the meals, but no drinks, even though the crew member behind me was topping up glasses. When I pointed this out, it was again rectified, but it all seemed a little odd.
Virgin Australia normally excels, thanks to its partnership with renowned Australian chef Luke Mangan.
As soon as I sat down, I was offered a glass of champagne, and then asked for another as we went out over the sand islands offshore of Brisbane.
On the Virgin Australia 777 the business class menu was
Starter offerings
- Pumpkin and coconut soup with mild Thai spice and macadamia
- Pear Peacan and witiof salad with mustard dressing
- Wagyu bresaola with roast capsicum salsa, goats feta and picked onions.
Main options
- Mis-glazed salmon with green tea soba noodles, snow peas and sesame
- Green curry chicken with steamed jasmine rice and Asian herbs
- Braised beef with potato gratin, baby beans and green peppercorn mustard
- Spinach and ricotta cannelloni with tomato, parsley and pine nuts.
Dessert
- Raspberry and hazelnut meringue roll with poached pear and creme fraiche.
- Cheese plate with Heidi Tilsit, Tarago River Brie, and Berry Creek Blue accompanied by Luke Mangan's truffle honey, grapes and crackers.
- Gundowring chocolate ice cream
- Gundowring ginger ice cream
About two hours after takeoff, the meal service began, with cocktails and nuts.
The crew laid a tablecloth, added decent metal cutlery, and the signature salt and pepper shaker sets in the shape of the Opera House sails. However it was another half hour later before any food appeared, with a bread basket including garlic, white, and wheat bread. Indeed, none of the meals came on a trolley: everything was plated up and brought to the seats.
For a starter, I selected the Wagyu bresaola with roast capsicum salsa and goats feta which was full of flavour, although one member of the crew walked down the aisle warning that the wagyu wasn't loaded - followed by another who announced it was, causing total confusion.
Then, the braised beef with potato gratin, baby beans and green peppercorn mustard promply arrived. It was great.
The beef was divine, just melting in my mouth. This was one of the nicest business class lunches I've enjoyed.
For dessert I was offered a special of mango roulade, but instead I was offered the raspberry meringue roll, with creme fraiche, which was the perfect way to finish off this meal service. However, again the crew seemed to be unsure what was on the menu, and indeed what they were serving
Inflight I was determined to try the snacks, which were offered on the menu. To be fair, it took quite a while to arrive in the middle of the night, but the cheese toasty (called a cheddar toasted jaffle, or Aussie for "toasted sandwich") was just what I wanted mid-Pacific.
I also tried the mid-flight cheese plate (listed as Artisan cheese plate with grapes and Luke Mangan fig paste) although by this stage I had eaten enough to keep me full for this life, and quite probably the next. No matter, the cheese plate came quickly, and also delivered.
Alas the Guacamole with jalapeno salsa and corn chips which I'd had before wasn't available on this flight.
Breakfast commenced three hours before arrival into Los Angeles, at what would have been 3.30am in the new time zone, and many passengers were still asleep. No matter, as prior to the first meal service, the crew collected the completed breakfast "wake-up card", which speeded the ordering process up. Alas, the crew seemed to completely ignore this, and were surprised when I asked where my croissant was, which I marked on the card. I was also a little surprised that the lights came on, table cloths were laid, and then we were ignored for about 45 minutes. Good sleeping time alas not put to such good use.
I selected the poached eggs with a side of sauteed mushrooms, roasted bacon, croissant, and seasonal fruit with natural yogurt.
The taste and flavour was very good, surprisingly so for a pretty normal breakfast offering on board.
The standout though was the Nespresso coffee, which offers a vastly upgraded coffee compared to most on board.
Other breakfast options on the menu were:
Bircher muesli with strawberries, blueberries, and pecans
Fruit toast with dates, raspberries, and coconut yogurt
Virgin Australia 777 Business Class Inflight Entertainment
Virgin Australia make a lot of their entertainment system. Alas, it didn't quite match up to the hype, but was still pretty good.
There is a large, 18 inch high definition display infront of the seat, which is turned on as soon as you sit down, and available right up until the gate at landing.
Headphones are good, in a nice sold pouch, contained in the small triangular container by the seat.
I was a little disappointed with the selection of films, which was fairly basic, however there were a large number of TV series too, and audiobooks. Thankfully too there were a large number of Australian and UK releases, instead of stuffing the system with cheap US series, which was a real bonus.
You can control the IFE using either the touch screen or the IFE remote which is in the storage shelf, and which saves having to lean forward in the big, large seat to touch the controls.
There was also Virgin Australia's wifi. Plans start from AUD $9 for 1 hour, or $20 for the whole 13 hour flight. Alas, it drops off mid-Pacific for about a third of the journey. Speed was about 1Mbps, which was OK, but not really up for watching video.
The IFE also has a map, but it's very much the old style from when Virgin Australia launched.
Virgin Australia 777 Business Class review
So do I recommend Virgin Australia 777 Business Class?
Yes, wholeheartedly, with a few minor reservations.
The seat is great, really top of the class. The inflight bar is the one major perk that Virgin has over Qantas, and indeed over Delta who codeshare with Virgin. Quite simply, the delight of being able to get out of the seat, and walk to a bar is not to be underestimated.
The IFE is so-so. Decent large screen, but not world leading content. However, positive marks for the local content on board.
Food is good, really good, and decent local fare too. Alas the crew seemed a little inexperienced.
Finally, do book it on points if you can - and this is a rather moot point as Virgin Australia has stopped flying for the moment.
I initially had a Premium Economy ticket booked as a Velocity Redemption. However, two nights before I flew, at 1am in the morning (Sydney time) Business Class opened up for redemption. I couldn't upgrade to Business, but I booked the redemption in Business too, and it cost me just $60, and no points to cancel the Economy ticket. So for an extra 25,000 points I travelled up the pointy end, which was a real bargain, compared to the nearly five figure cost of buying the seat.
Alas, it's a real shame you can't fly this way over the Pacific, and moot as to whether you will be able to again. Virgin Australia, right now until you come out of administration, we miss you.
See the full Trip Report: Virgin Australia business class to Los Angeles video:
Lux-traveller paid its own way for this Trip Report: Virgin Australia business class to Los Angeles, and travelled incognito.
| Trip Report: Virgin Australia business class to Los Angeles | |
|---|---|
Lux-traveller.com rating:8 out of10  | |
| Seats: | 9 - Great seats, with lots of space space |
| Food: | 8 - Surprisingly good, with lots of flavour |
| Service: | 7 - Decent, not exceptional |
| IFE: | 7 OK, good local content, missing some major films |
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