In August 2023, I flew to Australia with my parents for a week-long vacation and family visit. I toured them around Sydney for the first three days, and I brought them to my aunt (my dad’s sister) in Brisbane for the remainder of the trip.
I have been to both Sydney and Brisbane in 2018, so I will no longer write about our itineraries. I hope you can check out my posts about these previous trips here: Exploring SYDNEY By Foot Part 1 – Heritage Sites Within The City, Exploring SYDNEY By Foot Part 2 – City Icons, Alleys & Harbours, BONDI BEACH & COOGEE BEACH – A Short Trip To Two of Sydney’s Suburban Beaches, and BRISBANE Weekend.
I flew to Sydney from Manila with Singapore Airlines on board flight SQ 921 from Manila to Singapore and flight SQ 231 from Singapore to Sydney. I wrote about these two flights in my previous flight reports. I hope you can also check them out. After three days in Sydney, I, together with my parents, flew with Virgin Australia on their domestic service from Sydney to Brisbane on flight VA 943. I will share with you details about this quick interstate hop on this newest flight report feature.
Virgin Australia
Virgin Australia is an Australian-based airline founded by British businessman Richard Branson (founder of Virgin Group) and Australian businessman Brett Godfrey. Previously known as Virgin Blue, the airline commenced operations the following year as a low-cost carrier. The airline started growing its route network and market share after the collapse of Ansett Australia in 2001. It eventually became the country’s second-largest airline after the national carrier, Qantas. The airline went through a massive transformation in 2011, offered business class products, and changed its name to Virgin Australia.
In April 2020, Virgin Australia went into voluntary administration due to the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. A few months later, American private investment company Bain Capital agreed to take over the airline management and bring the airline back to the skies.
As of writing, Virgin Australia flies to over 30 domestic and international destinations using over 80 Boeing-only aircraft. It operates its Boeing 737 aircraft from its main hubs in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane and its secondary hubs in Adelaide and Perth. The airline is not part of an airline alliance, but it has codeshare and interline agreements with many of the world’s carriers. It also has its own frequent flyer program called Velocity Frequent Flyer.
Virgin Australia is a semi-full-service carrier, like Air France. The airline provides inflight refreshments on their short domestic routes. It also offers a complimentary check-in baggage allowance, but it will depend on the purchased fare bundle: Lite, Choice, Flex, and Business. It also offers basic (lite) fares, which only include a 7-kilogram carry-on baggage allowance. Any additional services outside the fare bundles are available for purchase during initial booking or up to hours before the scheduled flight. The airline offers inflight entertainment via the passengers’ personal devices.
In case you missed it, I post reviews & features of my flights since June 2019. I’ve covered airlines such as EVA Air, Indonesia Air Asia, Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Philippine Airlines, and Cebu Pacific Air. All posts about these flights are found under the Flight Reports category.
Airfare
I booked this ticket a little over 3 months before the intended flight date and paid 109 AUD per person ~ roughly ₱4,000 including foreign conversion service fees. I got the Choice fare option, which includes 7 kilograms of carry-on baggage, 23 kilograms of checked luggage, a complimentary standard seat, and the usual domestic onboard service.
Domestic airfares in Australia are, by nature, expensive. These fares only get cheap when flying basic (no add-ons), booked way in advance, or when offered during seasonal promotions. I flew with Virgin Australia on the same route back in 2019 and paid a higher fare for a basic fare bundle for a Saturday morning flight. I guess that is how domestic fares are in Australia.
Do you want to know the difference between a full-service and a low-cost airline? Check out my previous post detailing the differences of these 2 types of airlines.
Travel Requirements
Flying domestically in Australia only requires the usual identification document. As a tourist, I presented my passport and printed boarding pass at the bag-drop counter.
Before The Flight
Virgin Australia sent five emails before this flight happened. 7 days before the flight, I got an email offering me to bid for a business class seat. Two days later, I got another email offering to upgrade my standard seat to an EconomyX seat for more legroom and priority boarding. I also got a reminder to purchase additional baggage allowances in case I need to.
3 days before the flight, I got the same upgrade bid offer email I got a week before the flight. 2 days before the flight, I got 2 emails from the airline: the first email reminding me about my flight, the ticket inclusions, airport procedures, and flight check-in reminder, and the second email solely explaining the online check-in to airport procedures. The contents of these two emails are pretty much the same, only with different email layouts and sending schedules.
Kudos to Virgin Australia for offering these add-ons and for keeping their upcoming passengers aware of everything about the upcoming flight.
Aircraft & Flight Information
This Sydney-Brisbane Virgin Australia flight utilized a 5.8-year-old (at the time of the flight) Boeing 737-800 Next Generation aircraft. The next generation aircraft, delivered to the airline in November 2017, has 8 business class seats in a 2-2 configuration and 168 economy class seats in the standard 3-3 layout.
The flight took off from Runway 34R/T6 of Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport at 1:14 p.m., headed north, and landed at Brisbane Airport 5 minutes ahead of schedule at 2:25 p.m. This domestic flight only took 1 hour and 11 minutes.
Ground & Airport Experience
Virgin Australia’s domestic flights depart from Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport Terminal 2.
CHECK-IN
Upon arrival at Sydney Airport Terminal 3, I went to the Virgin Australia check-in counters on the left side of the terminal building. I checked in for the flight using the self-service check-in kiosks and printed my boarding pass and luggage tag. After this, I went to the bag-drop counter and surrendered my check-in luggage.
This efficient check-in process only took me 10 minutes to finish. The ground staff at the bag drop counter was nice and friendly.
PRE-DEPARTURE
After check-in and bag drop, I went through a security check and went to our assigned gate, Gate 38. I left my dad in the pre-departure area and went to the food court with my mom to get food for lunch. I, together with my mom, walked back to Gate 38, had our lunch there, and waited for boarding to start.
BOARDING
Boarding commenced at 12:33 p.m. The ground staff asked business class and priority passengers to board the aircraft first. Then, they asked the economy class passengers to board next. The crew asked passengers assigned to rows 1 to 14 to board using the jet bridge. They advised passengers with seat numbers 15 to 30 to board using the stairs at the back of the aircraft.
The boarding process only took 15 minutes. The airline crew closed the aircraft doors at 12:48 p.m. The aircraft was pushed back 11 minutes later, at 12:59 p.m. and taxied to the runway for take-off.
Inflight Hard & Soft Product
SEAT FEATURES
This Sydney-Brisbane flight was operated by a Boeing 737-800 next-generation aircraft. This aircraft featured 8 recliner business class seats on a 2-2 layout and 168 regular economy class seats on a 3-3 configuration.
According to our friends at SeatGuru, each business class recliner seat has a seat pitch of 37 inches and a seat width of 19.5 inches. These seats have thicker and softer padding and adjustable head rests. They also feature portable entertainment systems, individual reading lights, overhead air vents, and power sockets.
On the other hand, each economy class seat has a seat pitch of 30 inches and a seat width of 17 inches. The seat also features leather seatback padding with adjustable headrests, a normal tray table, a seat pocket with a safety card and inflight connectivity card, an individual air vent, and a personal reading light. The economy class seat does not feature a personal entertainment screen.
I got window seat 17F for this short hop to Brisbane. I found the seat to be nice and comfortable for this 1.5-hour flight.
INFLIGHT SNACK SERVICE
Virgin Australia offered complimentary drink service on this flight to Brisbane. The cabin crew offered water, coffee, and tea to all passengers. They advised that snacks and other drink options are available for purchase and directed all passengers to check the inflight menu for these options.
Back in 2018, I remember Virgin Australia offering a complimentary granola snack and a drink of choice (coffee, tea, water, juice, or soda) on the same Sydney to Brisbane route. It was sad to see that they no longer offered the free snack on this short domestic flight.
INFLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT
The airline offered inflight entertainment options to all passengers via the passengers’ personal screens. They made ‘Virgin Australia Entertainment’ available for free via the passengers’ personal devices. The entertainment options include movies, series, and a moving inflight map. All the passengers need to do to access this system is connect to the onboard Wi-Fi connection.
INFLIGHT CONNECTIVITY
Virgin Australia offered a paid Wi-Fi service on this flight to Brisbane. They have two available flight Wi-Fi passes: a 30-minute pass for 9.75 AUD and a flight pass (for the entire flight duration) for 14.95 AUD.
I did not connect to the paid Wi-Fi service since it was only a short domestic flight. Also, I believe the rates seem to be on the high-end price tier compared to internet passes offered by other carriers.
LAVATORY
I did not visit the plane’s lavatory on this 1.5-hour flight from Sydney to Brisbane. I did not want to disturb my parents, who slept throughout the flight.
Cabin Crew Service
The cabin crew service on this flight was just alright. The crew did their job, assisted the passengers, and served snacks and drinks. Nothing more, nothing less.
Disembarkation & Luggage Claim
Disembarkation was quick, orderly, and efficient. The plane reached the assigned gate 10 minutes after landing. Business class passengers got off the plane first. Economy passengers deplaned row by row.
Luggage claim was also quick. We got our checked bags within 10 minutes from the time we got off the plane. Brisbane Airport’s domestic arrivals area is small and easy to navigate around.
Flight Experience
It was a usual flight with Virgin Australia. It was my second time flying the airline, but it was my first after it survived going under during the pandemic. I have noticed some changes in the service, but I think they are understandable given what happened a few years ago.
Some parts of the flying experience stood out to me. First, the airline’s check-in and bag drop processes were quick and efficient. It even included fast-track security. Second, Virgin Australia’s boarding process is fast and unique, given that the airline uses jet bridges. They board passengers from both the jet bridge and the rear door through the stairs.
Third, the airline notifies their passengers through the mobile application once their check-in luggage is loaded onto the aircraft. Fourth, the inflight entertainment option on personal devices is always a bonus in the age of low-cost flying. Lastly, the airline still provides complimentary on-board drinks (coffee, tea, or water) on short domestic flights like this to Brisbane.
This flight was not all good; it also had its misses. First, I noticed the reduction on inflight snack service. The airline removed the complimentary snack (granola bar) and other drink options such as soda and fruit juices which they served back in 2018.
Second, the inflight Wi-fi prices are expensive. Other airlines, like Emirates, offer Wi-Fi access at cheaper prices, while Singapore Airlines offers it for free to all Krisflyer members. Lastly, the airline sent a lot of pre-flight reminders and offers. I received five promotional emails within 7 days. I believe that is too much. These promotional offers and emails are fine if they are not sent this often.
Nevertheless, I still had a nice flight with Virgin Australia. I will still consider them for my future flights within Australia, especially when their competitor offers more expensive flights.
Here are some details of this flight:
Airline: Virgin Australia
Flight Date: 30 August 2023
Flight Number: VA 943
Route: Sydney, Australia (SYD) to Brisbane, Australia (SYD)
Duration: 1 hour & 11 minutes
Seat Number: 17F
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800 Next Generation
Aircraft Registration: VH-YWD
Engines: 2 x CFM International Engines
Age: 5.8-years-old
Delivered: November 2017
Have you flown Virgin Australia recently? How was your experience? Will you fly them again soon or by any chance have questions about anything mentioned above? Feel free to share your ground and flight experiences or post your questions in the comments section below. You may also send them via e-mail to contact@thewkndtravel.com.
Thank you for joining me in today’s flight report. I hope you can check out my previous flight reports with Singapore Airlines, Emirates, EVA Air, Air France, Vietnam Airlines, Cebu Pacific Air, and Philippine Airlines. I hope you also look forward to more flight reports in the future.
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PS. Photos were taken using my OnePlus 9 Pro.