Trip Report: SYD-LAX (QF A380) and LAX-SFO (VX A320)

[Shameel Kumar]

Originally Posted by Dan Hammond

An excellent trip report mate, One question, was Virgin America as good as it has been made out to be, i just havent had any feedback on the airline itself.

Hmmm, now that's a bit of a tricky one. I guess firstly it depends on what level of hype you've been exposed to, and therefore what perception and expectations you now have of VX.

I'll be honest and say that my key reason for choosing to fly VX was because I was persuaded by the hype and buzz surrounding VX. I mean, how can you NOT be?? Economy fares which are damn cheap when on sale, AVOD system at each seat .. even in Economy, an impressive First Class cabin which is right up there with AA and UA but at a much cheaper price, and finally the fun, friendly, and cheerful flavour that 'Virgin' is known for. It's hard not to get hyped up and excited.
I was very much excited about my flight with Virgin America (even more so since I had booked First Class), but did my actual experience match-up with my expectations and initial perception of VX?

Hmmmm.... so so I have to say. Let me explain...
I'm the sort of person who has to research the hell out of something new I'm doing (or somewhere new I'm travelling to) so as to get a realistic idea of what to expect. So I had researched a whole lot about VX (from their website to passenger reviews and so on) so to be honest there was next to no 'suprise' factor involved. I knew exactly what the cabin would look like, I knew exactly what each button on our super-comfy First Class seat did and I knew what was available on their AVOD system well before I even stepped foot on my first-ever VX flight... so I guess you could call me my own buzz-kill. Anyways... so what all that meant was that eventhough this was my first experience with VX, I felt like I already knew everything and nothing was new and 'cool' to live up to that buzz and excitement.
Secondly, to be COMPLETELY fair though, over the past 3 years or so I have predominantly done long haul flights (pretty much SYD-LAX/SFO return), so the vast vast vaaaassssst majority of my flying experience has been far above what a normal domestic flyer would experience. What I mean is, it's a tad 'unfair' for me to comment much on VX's offering when the main yardstick I have compare them against is long-haul international flights with either QF or NZ. I did however do a previous LAX-SFO trip with AA (on one of their MD80's), so to compare my experience with AA against VX, I can unequivacly say (my my that's a fancy word!!) that the experience with VX was much much more impressive! ...But the kicker to that statement is that I flew First Class with VX as opposed to Economy on AA. But even just having a look at VX's Economy offering, it's a no-brainer hands-down win to VX.

So to try and answer your question, in simple terms, YES, VX is really as good as it's made out to be (especially in the US domestic scene!). Their fares are very very attractive, their baggage policy is reasonable (again, compared to most other US domestic carriers), their in-flight offering is about as good as you can get for a domestic trip (except for the usual LCC 'pay for food' scheme...you have to remember VX is still an LCC like Jetstar/Virgin Blue, etc.)...and their First Class offering is very good for an even better price (not to mention the extra baggage allowance which comes very much in handy for international flyers who have a domestic connection to make!). Their in-flight service (as in people skills) was very polite, courteous but they still have a good sense of humour to keep you entertained!

Out of 10, I'd give this first experience with VX about a 8.5. Main reason for the not giving it a full 10 was the food we received in First Class was of a very small serving (as the photos show), but you have to remember the flight time was no more than 50mins, so to be fair to them, it wasn't so bad...but a simple Choc-chipped Muffin would have been better!
Overall though, I was very much impressed with VX. A great mix of value-for-money and inflight entertainment & service! ....and that's why I definitely intend to fly with them next time I fly within USA.

... little disclaimer: only problem with VX is their limited destinations. They only operate to 9 destinations (4 of which are in California alone), so their scope of travel is very limited compared to the legacy US carriers and even compared to Southwest. But put simply, if I'm travelling to one of their destinations, I'm definitely flying with Virgin America!

I hope that helped Dan.

[Dan Hammond]

Thanks Shameel, Sounds to me like its an airline to watch and see how it grows against the majors over there.

Thanks again for answering my question.

[Shameel Kumar]

Originally Posted by Dan Hammond

Thanks Shameel, Sounds to me like its an airline to watch and see how it grows against the majors over there.

Thanks again for answering my question.

You're welcome Dan.

Yeah, Virgin America is definitely an airline to watch for over the next few years. Even with this economic downturn and travel downturn, I think VX will continue to expand to new ports throughout USA. In a week or they'll have their inaugural Boston service, and they've just added Orange County as their latest destination, so they're not sitting around simply trying to ride-out this downturn.

For my fellow Australian flyers: If you do fly over to the States and you're flying a route that VX operate, I strongly suggest you give them a go (if your travel plans permit). Just about a month ago I flew SFO-LAX on Southwest and for a 50min flight flying a bare-nuckles LCC carrier was no problem...but when you think that for an extra ~US$10 you can fly VX and enjoy your own AVOD system, warm inviting cabin atmosphere, and a laugh or two from the cabin crew... they're definitely worth a go. You won't regret it if you have the opportunity.

(Disclaimer: this is not a paid word-of-mouth marketing scheme from the folks at Virgin... believe me, if it was, I'd be flying seat 1A on V Australia's inaugural flight!! )

[Philip Argy]

Loved that pic of the Rex under the A380 fence, Shameel - that ought to be entered for an award somewhere as it's possibly unique and very hard to repeat.

[Joseph Saragozza.]

great trip report shameel
really enjoyed reading the captions and epically looking at those fantastic pictures of yours.
well done, wish you all the best with the move