This year we have only travelled interstate a couple of times. There was the Perth trip back in January and today we flew to Melbourne for a surprise birthday party (happy birthday mum!). On both trips we have flown Virgin Australia and have been incredibly impressed with the service.
Virgin is an airline that doesn’t rely just on a front line of good customer service staff. Yes, their check in-staff and hostess’ all smile, look great in their red outfits and do their best to make everything run well, but they offer more than that. What I love about Virgin Australia is that they have actually created systems across their airline to make our trips seamless and entertaining to both adults and kidlets. We’ve defected and become bone fide Virgin Australia groupies.
The interstate long haul trip
I recognise that Sydney to Perth is not technically a long haul trip, but it is one of the longest trips within Australia. I always pack a goodie bag of delights for my kidlets but they rarely asked for it on the trip across to Perth, opting to utilise the inboard entertainment system placed in the back of each chair.
We had movies, TV shows and games right at our finger tips. As Master R and Miss N started to lose interest the food arrived! We filled other gaps of time with trips to the toilets (seriously- kids get a kick out of visiting airplane toilets!), puzzles and games. If we needed snacks they were ordered and delivered almost immediately by the hostess (who was always smiling). The trip was tracked on the monitor and our captain even let us know when we were flying over particular landmarks (say hello to the Great Australian Bite passengers!)
The quick trip
Flying from Sydney to Melbourne is a relatively quick trip so we never really expect much from an airline other than a seat, the option to buy a snack and perhaps a view from the window if we are lucky enough to get a window seat. We were pleasantly surprised to learn about the Virgin Australia In-Flight app (have it on your devise before you board) which runs on most services not offering the inflight service in the headrest.
This great little app allows you to watch movies and TV shows, read a selection of magazines and articles and check flight information. Gosh – it even had The LEGO movie as a viewing option! It was a winner!
While the flight has a selection of beverages and snacks to purchase during the flight, there is also a complimentary snack (Anzac biscuits) and water/juice/coffee/tea. Yum!
Prior to January, our last travels with Virgin Australia were some 6-7 years ago. I think they were still called Virgin Blue back then. The airline has made huge strides to become an efficient and kid friendly powerhouse. I’m so impressed! I think we have a new favourite airline.