Review: Virgin Australia Boeing 777 business class: Brisbane-Los Angeles
By Chris C., November 27 2014
Route
Brisbane - Los Angeles
Aircraft Type
Boeing 777-300ER
Airline
Virgin Australia
Flight
VA7
Cabin Class
Business
Seat
5H
Notes
The Good
- Fully-flat beds with massage function, AC and USB power ports
- Vintage champagne and a great atmosphere at the on-board Sky Bar
- Dine on what you like, when you like
The Bad
- A 2-3-2 seating layout doesn't provide direct aisle access for all guests
- Entertainment screens have to be stowed for take-off and landing
X-Factor
- Row five is completely private, with curtains enclosing each group of seats
Introduction
With fully-flat beds, an inflight bar with vintage champagne and even a row of completely private seats for VIPs and the like, Virgin Australia’s international Boeing 777 business class is dressed to impress.
Now running every day of the week between Brisbane and Los Angeles, daily from Sydney to LA and also to Abu Dhabi three times a week, we took to the skies to see what business travellers can look forward to on their next trek to the Californian coast.
Check-in
A complimentary limousine transfer service is available for passengers booked in the most expensive J and C business class fare buckets, which can be arranged via the Virgin Australia website until 24 hours before departure.
The same applies on the return journey, although limousines aren’t available on other ticket types such as frequent flyer award bookings, upgrades and sale fares, or on arrival in America where your final destination is anywhere other than LAX.
Business class guests can check-in two 32kg bags for free via the dedicated priority lane, while Silver, Gold and Platinum members of Velocity can travel with a third 32kg bag at no extra charge.
If you’re connecting onwards from Los Angeles with Delta or Virgin America, including to New York, your bags can be tagged through to your final destination and your onward boarding passes printed in Brisbane.
On board, all pointy end passengers can bring two 115cm bags (up to 7kg each) plus a ‘personal item’ such as a laptop satchel, an umbrella or a camera.
Lounge
Virgin Australia uses the Air New Zealand Koru lounge at Brisbane International Airport, located close to passport control and underneath the Qantas Business and First lounges.
There are basic amenities such as comfortable chairs and free Wi-Fi, although the wireless network gave us the boot every 15 minutes before again asking for the username and password, which became tiresome over a 90-minute stay.
At the buffet you'll find typical lounge fare including sandwiches, cold meats and cereals ahead of the morning VA7 departure, with spirits, beers and wines available for those so inclined.
Power points are scarce – we did a lap of the lounge and could only find outlets at one table opposite from the very noisy kitchen area, and in the adjacent business centre, which was a little too cosy for our liking and far from any natural light.
There's no tarmac view, although Air New Zealand's CEO told Australian Business Traveller in August that the Brisbane lounge is slated for "a complete upgrade" over the coming year.
Flight
Virgin Australia is one of the few airlines to serve vintage champagne in long-haul business class, with a generous pour of the full-bodied, Pinot Noir-based Champagne Ayala Millesime 2006 greeting us on our departure.
That's followed by a serve of warm nuts as soon as we’re airborne...
... plus pyjamas and VA's new male Mandarina Duck amenity kit:
Inside you'll find a REN skincare pack with facial moisturiser, lip balm and hand and body cream; a dental kit; socks and an eyeshade; ear plugs and a pen – handy for filling out immigration forms.
Ladies receive a similar kit (above), but one that also provides cotton buds, cotton pads and tissues... why the latter doesn't appear in the male version remains a mystery.
Seat
Virgin Australia's Boeing 777s boast fully-flat beds in business class, arranged in a 2-3-2 layout:
While it's great to have a flat bed, guests in the window and middle seats have to hop over the aisle passengers when going for a wander, which isn't ideal.
However, there's everything else you'd expect from a modern business class seat, including AC and USB power...
... adjustable reading lights with a three-stage dimmer, a privacy divider...
... and full controls over the seat, with massage functionality and adjustable lumbar support:
When it's time to turn in, the crew will make the bed with a pressure-relieving memory foam mattress underneath a duvet and pillow as you change into your PJs.
It's even better if you're perched in row five, as each group of two and three seats can be isolated with its own curtains for complete privacy – perfect for high-profile travellers and stars of the silver screen en route to Hollywood:
That could be a little awkward if you've only just met your seatmate, but it's otherwise the ultimate business class suite for VIPs across the Pacific.
Deciding to power away on the laptop rather than heading straight to sleep, I was able to sneak in around six hours of uninterrupted rest until breakfast time, although could have easily made that a solid eight-hour nap.
Meal
Virgin Australia's business class menus are designed by resident chef Luke Mangan, who has assembled quite a lunch to follow VA7's 11:15am departure and with iconic Aussie salt and pepper shakers to match:
Kicking things off are bread rolls or garlic bread – and who could pass that up in the air?
That's followed by a choice of starter, with the hot smoked salmon Nicoise salad with mustard dressing taking our fancy:
The mustard gave the dish a nice kick, the salmon was moist and the salad fresh, so it certainly tasted as good as it looked.
Next up is the main, with chicken and soft polenta, barramundi fillets and vegetarian lasagne all fine options – although the chargrilled lamb cutlets with lemon couscous, spring vegetables and mint pesto emerged as the winner:
The meat was tender and easy to cut with a regular knife, the greens were nice and soft without descending into 'soggy' territory, and the pesto and couscous were as you'd expect.
Next is the cheese board, with a semi-hard Blumen-käse (St. Gallen, Switzerland), a triple-cream brie (Tarago River, Victoria) and a blue d'Affinois (France), plated with seedless grapes, Yarra Valley almond and pistachio paste and a latte – although the promised crisp bread was absent.
The cheeses and their accompaniments were well-complemented, while the latte was smooth and creamy.
For the sweeter tooth is a flourless chocolate cake with spiced plum and mascarpone, however the Serendipity mangoes and cream ice cream does well as a small bite.
If you'd rather work after take-off and then dine later in the flight, just inform the crew and your preferred meal selections can be put aside for whenever you're ready for a bite.
Snacks such as finger sandwiches and baked chocolate shortbread cookies are available to tide travellers over in between lunch and breakfast, as is a rustic pork and fennel sausage roll with chunky tomato relish for something casual, tasty and typically Aussie.
Before dozing off, simply fill in the supplied breakfast card and you'll be woken around 1.5 hours before landing when it's ready to enjoy.
To sample a little of everything, we landed on the warmed croissant with jam; pear, pecan and spicy ginger toasted muesli; the seasonal fruit yoghurt and a smoothie to match.
The breakfast ordering card doesn't have a checkbox for espresso coffee – only 'filter' and 'decaffeinated' – although writing 'mug latte' on the form fixed that oversight.
For a quick nightcap or a little social time with your fellow business class passengers, Virgin Australia’s Sky Bar is the place to go…
A wide selection of spirits, beers and wines are on display, but you’ll need to press the call bell for a drink as the bar isn’t self-service.
We gave it a trial run and weren’t kept waiting long – so while it’s not in the same league as Emirates’ A380 bar with a dedicated cocktail bartender, it’s certainly better than being stuck in your seat for the entire flight.
Entertainment & Service
Business class passengers can pass the hours with a good selection of movies, TV shows, games and music, served up on a 12.1" touchscreen and via active noise-cancelling headphones.
The system is very responsive to a brisk touch and is easy to navigate, although the screen needs to be stowed for take-off and touchdown – thus giving you nothing to watch at the beginning and end of the flight.
To curb any boredom as you're preparing to land, we'd suggest heading to the music folder and adding an album to your playlist before folding your screen down, such as Jonas Kaufmann’s brilliant new recording of Schubert’s Winterreise.
Service on today’s flight was top-notch – business class passengers were referred to by name in every interaction, the crew offered guests a tasting when pouring wine and remained friendly yet professional when engaging in casual chit-chat.
We were unfortunately seated adjacent to both a toddler and an infant, neither of which were particularly quiet, although members of the crew frequently stopped by to keep the children entertained and to minimise disruption to other passengers, which made the journey significantly more pleasant.
All things considered, Virgin Australia’s now-daily business class seats and service from Brisbane to Los Angeles are incredibly competitive to what you’ll find on Qantas’ daily Boeing 747 flights, with VA’s row five the ultimate destination for the discerning or VIP traveller.
And, once the Boeing 777s are outfitted with Virgin’s new business class seats – providing every pointy end traveller with more privacy, space and direct aisle access – it’ll be the seat to beat across the Pacific.
Chris Chamberlin travelled to Los Angeles as a guest of Virgin Australia.
Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
10 May 2011
Total posts 732
Nice review, the food looks impressive, definitely a notch above QF who nowadays serves small plates, which I personally find underwhelming. Lovely champagne being served as well. I reckon Eva Air tops the list of best business class champagne, formerly serving Dom Perignon they now serve Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame if I'm not mistaking. Chris, what else was on offer in terms of wines and fortifieds?
Lastly, I do like their amenity kit. BA Fierst class used to have REN amenities (think they switched to another brand). Very decent products.
24 Apr 2012
Total posts 2424
Hi KG,
Here's the wine list:
Whites
Reds
I didn't go for the dessert or fortified wines after lunch, although the menu notes the choice of a Riesling or a Semillon (no label specified).
Fortified Durif or Muscadelle are the two possible fortified wine types carried (the airline only loads one). On the LA-Brisbane flight home, it was a Chambers Old Vine Muscadelle.
10 Jan 2013
Total posts 15
Mug latte? Is this a Brisbane thing? #boganchic
24 Apr 2012
Total posts 2424
Short for 'latte in a mug', rather than in the smaller coffee cup that they also have on board as pictured next to the cheese plate above.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
19 Jul 2012
Total posts 35
I like the VA long haul international product.
However it is a very clever bit of spin regarding row 5.
Unless you were travelling with the person/people in the next seat - would you really want the curtain closed?
Also it is sandwiched between the Business and Premium Economy Bars - so not ideal for sleeping. Every time I have flown across the pacific with VA I, and a number of other passengers, have made use of the Business bar. Somehwere nice to get away from the seat, have a chat with travelling companion(s) and meet fellow travelllers and the crew looking after us, and from my experience curtains do nothing to deaden sound, not suggesting rowdy behaviour, just talking and laughing!
I always go for row 1.
25 Sep 2013
Total posts 1242
Why are there curtains for the seats in row 5? Are they crew rest seats?
24 Apr 2012
Total posts 2424
Not crew rests at all – those are 'upstairs' on the Boeing 777... the curtains are there for added privacy, which makes sense when the airline flies to the home of Hollywood yet doesn't have a first class cabin.
23 May 2012
Total posts 35
Flew Row 5 (seat 5H) early this week LAX > SYD. Full Biz Class, slightly horrified to find a lady in the adjoining seat, and sure enough we were curtained off together. I was worried for her, of course, knowing I am not the wild kind. Turns out she worked for VA, so that settled things. Service was great - they throw crew at the J cabin in feeding time. Noise wasn't an issue either, the curtains block a lot of that. Love VA!
28 Nov 2014
Total posts 3
Flew premium economy to LA in August this year. When it was time to exit at LAX, the movie director James Cameron , and his wife, emerged from 5A /5B. So yes, it is true what they say.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
07 Dec 2014
Total posts 170
The 2015/16 upgraded seats can't come soon enough ... the hard product is definately the low point of the offering (particularly compared to partner Delta).
The bathrooms could also benefit from a look ... from memory they're basically the same as economy class. Whether anything would be possible on a 777 I don't know, but a clean and sufficiently roomy space to put on those PJs would be nice.
VA Platinum
26 Mar 2014
Total posts 116
What are the odd's do you reckon of VA booting you out of Row 5 to make room for VIP's? I'm booked in 5A next year, wonder if they will kick me out for someone "more important" :P
27 Sep 2013
Total posts 7
Great review. Food is definitely top notch as it the beverage selection. Agree with other comments that hard product in desperate need of upgrade - which is not too long away.
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