You Can Now Use Expertflyer To Find Virgin Australia Award Seats

Earlier today I talked about Tripit and how I use that a lot, however, my most used program would definitely have to be Expertflyer. Expertflyer show’s award seats for many airlines, seats that are available, flight loads and a whole lot more.

Well, now you can search Virgin Australia award availability in business and economy. Premium Economy has not been added.

Previously you would either search through the Virgin Australia or Delta website.

Virgin Australia:

Delta:

Expertflyer:

You want to look for two codes. X = Economy awards Z = Business Class awards.

Remember you can set alerts for when space is released which is fantastic for travelers that don’t want to spend all day looks for seats. I wrote a post about Virgin Australia long-haul availability so if you want to know more about it, click the link.

H/T Ausbt.com.au

Tutorial – Transfer Flybuys Points To Velocity

For a few weeks now Flybuys and Velocity have been running a promo for a 15% bonus on points when transferring. I decided I may as well transfer them over and get some value out of them rather than leave them with Flybuys.

This post will explain how to transfer your Flybuys to Velocity points.

First of all, you need to log into Flybuys and click ‘Rewards.’ You’ll see the Velocity points transfer now button; you press that.

Next is the page where you select how many points you want to transfer. The terms and conditions are located on the side of the page.

Now I have selected how many points I want to transfer; I’m ready to continue.

You need to link your Flybuys, and Velocity account for the process to happen. You can link them on the confirmation page or on your Velocity profile. The process is very easy and works immediately

And that’s the whole process, and it’s fast and very efficient. The thing I most like about the transfer is that the points post to you Velocity account instantly!

Review – Virgin Australia New Business Class Sydney To Los Angeles

About 2 months ago I received an email from the king of miles Randy Petersen inviting me to attend ‘BACON’ for those that don’t know it’s a gathering of bloggers mostly from BoardingArea and some other various blogs. As soon as I saw the email I knew I would definitely love to attend.

As I started to look for flights I had a look on Virgin Australia’s website and found business class availability for the day I wanted to leave, Excellent! this surprised me as I booked about a month out and space is usually released 10-2 days before departure.

The booking proccess was quick and easy using 95,000 Velocity miles and was booked on the website.

Virgin Australia Boarding Gate 53

Virgin Australia used to have seats in a 2-3-2 config but those days are now gone. The airline recently fitted out their 777 and A330 aircraft with brilliant new B/E Diamond Seating in a 1-2-1 config with a total of 33 seats which looks stunning! I have flown the A330 many times but this was my first time with the new seats on the 777.

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class

Virgin operate their 777’s from Sydney, Brisbane and soon Melbourne to Los Angeles and currently Sydney to Abu Dhabi which will be stopping quite soon. Every seat has direct aisle access and the seat reclines to 80 inches (203cm’s) long.

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class

Virgin also reconfigured and upgraded their bar and premium economy product. The new bar has a lot more room and added seating which got utilised most of the flight. The bar also holds the airlines new nespresso machines which produce brilliant coffee (by airline standards).

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class Bar

Virgin’s new premium economy product now has 24 seats instead of the previous 40 which is quite a large decrease. The new seats boast a 41’’ seat pitch which is 3 inches more than previous seats and they have also added a self serve pantry. Interestingly Virgin want premium to feel very similar to business class as passengers in premium can use the same Nespresso machines, have business class trained crew, and a plated meal instead of trays which is impressive.

Virgin Australia 777 Premium Economy Cabin

All the seats have new seat covers and are quite comfortable, definitely a good way to travel if not in business class.

Virgin Australia 777 Premium Economy

On my flight I booked quite late so the only window seat I could select was 11A which is the last row of business class. I had heard it can be a bad seat for sleeping as premium is directly behind but I found it to be wonderfull and didn’t have any disturbances throughout the flight.

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class

The cabin is split into 2 and is very private past the bar in the second cabin.

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class

The new seats house a 18 inch IFE screen with up to 300 hours of entertainment. I found the screen very responsive and fast and the best thing is it has no adds. The screens can be easily viewed easily when lying flat which I find to be a challenge on some airlines.

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class

Each seat has 2 storage compartments which are big enough to fit phones, wallets, headphones and passports. They also store the USB and In-seat power and headphone port.

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class

Not a bad view for 13 hours.

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class

Also waiting at the seat is the Amenity kit and Pyjamas.

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class

The amenity kit is a calibration with Mandarina Duck and REN skin products. The pyjamas are from Julie Grbac which are good but I’ve definitely worn better ones.

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class

The seat also holds a space for their magazines and safety card and also a unique space to store a tablet which is quite nice.

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class

Tablet storage.

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class

As I settled in flight attendants Darren and Jeremy came around to introduce themselves and hand out the menus and offer a pre-takeoff beverage. I just had water.

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class

Luke Mangan is Virgin Australia’s chef and he produces some great meals. Here are the menus:

Virgin Australia Long Haul Business Class Menu

 

Virgin Australia Long Haul Business Class Menu

 

Virgin Australia Long Haul Business Class Menu

 

Virgin Australia Long Haul Business Class Menu

As the meal service started the mood light started to go purple and brought out some ramekins with olives, almonds and snow peas.

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class

To start I had the salad which tasted great and was nice and fresh.

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class

For the main I had the lamb which was cooked brilliantly, they were tender and full of flavour.

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class

After dinner I went for a walk and look at the bar and bathrooms. You’ll notice the bar is stocked with water but these photos were taken in the morning. During the day and night they are stocked with alcohol and has someone behind there. If there isn’t anyone at the bar and you want a drink there is a button at the right hand side that will alert a crew member and they will attend to you.

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class

The bar has a modern look and feel which fits the cabin look very well. Funnily enough the bar is the width of two middle business class seats which seems quite small but when you at the bar it feels big.

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class

 

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class

Virgin have also made space for 2 seating spaces at the back of the bar which are comfortable.

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class

 

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class

 

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class

The bathrooms were always clean and also house more REN products.

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class

 

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class

 

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class

After having dinner I decided to get some sleep. The crew put a matress topper on the seat but I didn’t get a photo of it. The topper is very comfortable and I managed to get around 6 hours of deep sleep which I was happy with.

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class

 

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class

After waking up I went and had a chat with Darren and Jerremy who were working the bar. They served breakfast to me at the bar which was great.

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class

I also decided to have a cappuccino to trial their new nespresso machine and I loved it so had two of them.

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class

As we got closer to Los Angeles the mood lighting got brighter and more people started to wake up. It doesn’t look it but business class was almost completely full.

Virgin Australia 777 Business Class

Bottom Line

I’am a huge fan of the B/E Super Diamond seats and this flight proved how good they are. The crew were absolultelty brilliant and I think Virgin did and awesome job on the refit.

Coming Up – Virgin Australia Long Haul Business Class + More!

A few days ago I received an invite to an event in the U.S, and of course, I said I’d love to attend! Now came the hard part deciding how I’d get over there.

Virgin Australia New Business Class

Virgin Australia New Business Class

At first, I looked at Virgin Australia’s website and well behold there was business class availability exactly when I needed to go which surprised me as it was quite a few weeks out, so I booked it immediately for 95,500 velocity points.

I’ve flown the product a few times now domestically, but now I’ll be able to test it long haul.

American Airlines 787-9 Business Class

While I’m In the U.S I hopefully requalify for Qantas platinum while the ability to do so is still there. I looked at the flights and saw that one of the legs will be operated by one of American Airlines’s new 787-9 aircraft featuring their brand new B/E Super Diamond seat which I am very excited to compare to VA’s.

American Airlines B/E Diamond Seat

Etihad 787 First Class

 

Etihad 787 First Class

 

And lastly to get home, I decided to go a bit crazy and book flights that made the journey even longer and because I’m a diehard Etihad fan I’m sure you can guess who I chose to fly home 😉 These 2 flights were booked with a mixture of AAdvantage miles and Etihad Guest miles transferred from Amex.

I’ve flown Etihad first many times now but never on their 787, so I’m very excited to try it.

 

On top of these, there will be a lot more posts and reviews so there will not be a shortage anytime soon.

Bottom Line

I’m very excited to try all of these products and review them. I’ve decided to improve my efficiency and uploading to be faster so hopefully I can get them out within a few hours of taking the flights.

Virgin Australia Announce Perth To Abu Dhabi Direct Services

My last post just explained that Virgin Australia has brought back their Melbourne – Los Angeles services. Today must be a day of big changes as they have just announced that they will be starting Perth to Abu Dhabi direct flights.

The airline will use their A330 aircraft which features their brilliant new business class product.

Virgin Australia Business Class image – Zac George

As my last post stated Virgin will cancel the Sydney – Abu Dhabi service and Etihad will replace their service.

The Abu Dhabi flights will commence on the 9th of June 2017 and will operate 3 times weekly. This service will be in addition to the Etihad 787 service.

This will be Virgin’s 2nd international destination, the 1st being Nadi. It’s great to see the A330’s some more international action. The flights are not yet loaded into the GDS so I’m not sure of the departure and arrival times.

Bottom Line

It’s fantastic to see Virgin increasing their A330 services to International destinations. I’m interested to see what the prices will be like as well as the availability on the flight.

Virgin Australia Bringing Back Melbourne to Los Angeles Flights!

Virgin Australia has just announced that they will bring back their Melbourne to Los Angeles flights from the 4th of April 2017. The route ended in 2014.

Virgin Australia Group CEO John Borghetti said: “The United States is a key market for Virgin Australia, and this enables us to service Los Angeles from the three biggest gateways in Australia – Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney.

Virgin Australia 777 image – Zac George

Virgin has had a big day of announcing new routes and cancelling existing services. The airline will pull back their Brisbane services to 6 times weekly instead of daily and on top of that they will be cancelling their Sydney to Abu Dhabi flight, and their partner Etihad will be taking over that service. The Abu Dhabi service will be cancelled on the 4th of February. This is a big move and a step in the right direction for the airline which has been struggling with profit lately.

Per Virgin Australia

“In partnership with Delta Air Lines, we will soon offer 25 services each week from Australia to Los Angeles and remain the only trans-Pacific alliance to offer Business Class guests lie flat beds with direct aisle access on all services.

The flight schedule will be as follows:

Depart MEL at 11:30 and arrive into Los Angeles at 0900 local time.

Depart LAX at 21:10 and arrive into Melbourne at 0900 +2 local time.

Now all of Virgin’s 777 aircraft are finished their reconfiguration and are fitted with their brand new business and premium economy product.

Bottom Line

The move has had some different reactions. The Melbourne service has had a very positive response; however, the Abu Dhabi flight is mixed.