Airline Review: V Australia
I am a bit cynical about the concept of brand loyalty because I know how much psychological manipulation goes into separating consumers from their money. Nevertheless, I have big ol’ crush on V Australia because they make flying a sexy experience. From the ambient lighting that changes colour during the flight, to the genuinely happy staff, everything onboard the aircraft is fun, flirty and oh-so-satisfying.
The inflight entertainment is foolproof and offers a good selection of current releases. One gripe – the films advertised in the magazine were not available meaning I still haven’t seen Inception. Note to Virgin: Please don’t get my hopes up like that!
The food was inoffensive, the drinks were plentiful (I wound up with the nickname ‘gin and tonic’, courtesy of Lachlan, the cheeky flight attendant) and here’s the bit that really impressed me; the snacks were self-serve (cue: reverence). Fruit, chips, bottled water, sandwiches and cans of drink were bottomless which is great if you’re a garbage guts like me.
Other notable differences; ladies only toilet, no annoying flight map glaring at you all night, pop music (not crappy muzak) and the safety demo is an animated video run through the inflight entertainment system so you don’t have to gaze pityingly at some poor hostie going through the motions for the squillionth time.
V Australia, like most Virgin products, is just that little bit more casual, funny and good-looking than the average airline.
Tell me, you gorgeous individuals, have you flown V Australia? If so, what did you think? Did you get an alcoholic nickname?
So there are no men’s toilets on V? Scary.
Apart from one stint on Air New Zealand, the only airline I’ve flown with over the past ten years is Jetstar. (Which I have only used to go to Melbourne and back.) My friend Crawfs described their service best when he said that they offer to you is: “You want to go to Melbourne. Here is a metal box that will definitely get you there. We make no promises but to fling your actual physical body from one location to another. Would you like to get on said metal box?”
I make it sound like it’s a bad thing, but actually I love it. It’s cheap, it’s relatively comfortable, and not once has there ever been a delay. But if you want eg a bag if Frito’s, you’re either bringing your own or you’re paying for that sucker on board.
Yes, flew to the US in December 2009 on V Australia. Considering how much I loathe Sir Richard and flying Virgin interstate, they weren’t too bad.
I flew V Australia to Canada and I have to agree the serve your own snacks were great, especially for hungry hubby. But I have a theory that all Virgin seats are smaller than the rest. That’s my main gripe with them. The rest is fine but one day I am going to bring a measuring tape and measure them (and no doubt look like a lunatic in the process) 😛