V Australia?

[Andrew M]

Tempted to book a one week USA trip for my bday in May

Hmmmmm

[Shameel Kumar]

So what's the latest on V Australia's first 777-300ER ?

Is it still in the production line? or being painted soon, or being fitted-out?


Scott L or any others have any updates to share about this (in terms of their aircraft, not the latest news about possible flights to Sth. Africa)?

[Michael Morrison]

It is not due for delivery until the end of October so I dont think it has been put together yet.

[Andrew McLaughlin]

Originally Posted by Michael Morrison

It is not due for delivery until the end of October so I dont think it has been put together yet.

Working back from this, if delivery is late October, then it will probably be rolled out and painted in early October, which means it'll enter the factory production line as a recognisable (albeit, in large pieces) 777 in early to mid September.

Boeing says a 777 typically takes 3-4 weeks to travel through the factory, although large components of VA's first jet are likely already in place at Everett reading to slot into the line when needed.

Cheers

[Shameel Kumar]

Originally Posted by Andrew McLaughlin

Working back from this, if delivery is late October, then it will probably be rolled out and painted in early October, which means it'll enter the factory production line as a recognisable (albeit, in large pieces) 777 in early to mid September.

Boeing says a 777 typically takes 3-4 weeks to travel through the factory, although large components of VA's first jet are likely already in place at Everett reading to slot into the line when needed.

Cheers

Thanks for the info guys

I thought it'd take a little longer than that considering the frame had to be put together, then the paint scheme applied, then the interior fitted, and then a couple of test flights before a ceremonial delivery. Anyhoot, getting closer and closer.

Soon we'll have 3 x 777-300ER's at SYD... ah, music to my ears!!

[Nigel C]

Originally Posted by Shameel Kumar

I thought it'd take a little longer than that considering the frame had to be put together, then the paint scheme applied, then the interior fitted, and then a couple of test flights before a ceremonial delivery.

Remember, it IS a Boeing 777, not an Airbus A380.

[Shameel Kumar]

Originally Posted by Andrew McLaughlin

Working back from this, if delivery is late October, then it will probably be rolled out and painted in early October, which means it'll enter the factory production line as a recognisable (albeit, in large pieces) 777 in early to mid September.

Boeing says a 777 typically takes 3-4 weeks to travel through the factory, although large components of VA's first jet are likely already in place at Everett reading to slot into the line when needed.

Cheers

Originally Posted by Nigel C

Remember, it IS a Boeing 777, not an Airbus A380.

Haha... good point there Nigel.

Yeh, I know, it won't exactly be one of the newest 777s to hit the skies, but you can be sure that V Australia/Virgin will create some fanfare to firstly promote the new airline, and secondly to try and take some gloss off QF's A380 inauguration.

And it doesn't matter if there are only 10 people out there waiting for the first V Aust' 77W (as opposed to the hundred or so 'spectators' for SQ's A380) I'll still be just as excited waiting for its arrival.

I'm glad as it is that SQ have a 77W operating into SYD, and TG changing to a 77H...so the more 777-300/ERs the better I say!

[Scott Lindsell]

Originally Posted by Shameel Kumar

So what's the latest on V Australia's first 777-300ER ?

Is it still in the production line? or being painted soon, or being fitted-out?


Scott L or any others have any updates to share about this (in terms of their aircraft, not the latest news about possible flights to Sth. Africa)?

Hi Shameel,
No sign of any part of her yet inside the factory but things move pretty quickly up here. I'll be there when she's painted for sure. I'll update you guys when I see something!
Scott.

[Shameel Kumar]

Thanks for the quick heads-up Scott.

I'll keep a keen eye on your Flickr photos.

[Shameel Kumar]

I just came across this short video about V Australia on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_99rA7s2aH8

It's a quick promo' interview with Mathias Friess who is the General Sales Manager for V Australia. He mainly talks about connectivity with Virgin Blue and so on..but he also briefly talks about their Business Class offering. This video also includes computer-generated images of V Australia's Business Class seats and seating arrangement, and a quick flash of their Economy seats (didn't really see any Premium Economy seats in the clip, but I could have missed them).

All this time we haven't had any solid info about their seating, but this video gives us a bit more insight about how V Australia's 777-300ERs will be on the inside.



EDIT: Actually, if you have a keen interest in V Australia, then you might want to bookmark the following website and keep an eye out on it for any further updates:
http://www.youtube.com/user/VirginBlueVideos