thaia345 From Indonesia, joined Oct 2006, 814 posts, RR: 17 Posted (11 months 1 day 18 hours ago) and read 12357 times:
Reason for trip
Got to head to Brisbane for work for a few days before heading back to Perth from some rest and relaxation. Main highlight for this trip will be trying out DJ’s all new A332 east to west coast service in J. Date: 31 May 2012
Route: Jakarta (CGK) - Sydney (SYD)
Flight: Garuda GA712
ETD: 2345
ETA: 0930+1
Seat: 2J (Executive Class)
Aircraft: A330-300
Flight time: 6hrs 2mins
Registration: PK-GPA
1st Flight: 21 Nov 1996
Preflight
Decided to leave a little early as traffic was hell the past couple of days, especially today which had a torrential downpour. But amazingly it took us just 45 mins to get to the airport. By the time we completed formalities and got to the lounge, we had about 1.5hrs to kill before boarding. Besides walking around abit and stocking up on duty free cigarettes, we just relaxed im the lounge till boarding was called. Was also told that there is a last minute change in equipment from A332 to an A333.
There she is, waiting for us
Inflight
Cheerful and very attentive crew greeted us onboard. Y was 90% and J was 50%. This bird is one of GA's older A333 but has since been retrofitted with new seats in both J and Y.
IMHO GA did a good job with upgrading the older A333’s
Midnight snack
After take off I just watched some shows on my iPad and managed to sleep till 1hr before start of descend.
Breakfast is served
Overall it was a simple yet comfortable flight, GA has indeed come a long way since they started their turn around strategy.
After bags were collected we dropped our bags off at the DJ counters before making our way to the DJ terminal. Had lunch at the food court before relaxing at the lounge till boarding was called.
Shower room at Virgin Domestic Business Lounge
General views of the lounge
DJ has a nice terminal and although it was crowded, it still nice to navigate thru her. Pretty excited too as this is going to be my first time onboard an E Jet!
Inflight
Once onboard I was pleasantly surprised by the cabin space in the E190, it feels really spacious and the large windows are also a nice touch.
Pushback and take off
Cabin crew were really cheerful and courteous. Actually J service in DJ is better than QF in my opinion. I am inclined to change loyalties to DJ now, lets see what happens on my next flight.
Farewell you beauty!
Date: 06 June 2012
Route: Brisbane (BNE) - Melbourne (MEL)
Flight: Virgin Australia DJ318
ETD: 0855
ETA: 1125
Seat: 1A (Business Class)
Aircraft: B737-800
Flight time: 2hrs 00mins
Registration: VH-YFI
1st Flight: 19 Mar 2012
Preflight
Arrived at BNE domestic with an hour to spare. Priority check in and priority screening means within 10mins of arrival I am already airside. Just bought some snacks at the food court and decided to give the lounge a miss. We just decided to wait at the gate till boarding was announced.
Our B738 to MEL
Inflight
Surpised to see that this is a new B738 with Boeing's sky interior. Upon arrival at door 1L, a cheerful and ehthusiastic crew member greeted us onboard and showed us our seats.
Handheld entertainment device
A good start on our 2nd flight with DJ
Nice snack again on this short flight
Flight itself went by quickly and I must say I am impressed with DJ's inflight crew and also premium inflight product. I am now almost 100% sure I will change my preference from QF to DJ
Date: 06 June 2012
Route: Melbourne (MEL) - Perth (PER)
Flight: Virgin Australia DJ685
ETD: 1300
ETA: 1510
Seat: 1D (Business Class)
Aircraft: A330-200
Flight time: 3hrs 40mins
Registration: VH- XFC
1st Flight: 5 Apr 2012
Preflight
After arrival into MEL it was just a quick bite at Mc Donalds and then a quick smoke outside before heading back in. By the time we got to the gate boarding has just commenced.
Our brand new A332 to Perth
Inflight
This is the very reason why I chose MEL as a transit point. DJ's brand new A332. I will let the pictures do the talking.
Menu
More cabin views
Some more shots for taxi and take off
The best inflight meal for domestic in Australia I have ever had
What I can is wow! Perfect inflight J product kn this brand new bird and to think she is mainly used domestically. Koodoos to DJ. They are now definitely my choice for all Australian domestic flights. Crew again were friendly and extremely helpful once we came onboard. 3 out of 3 perfect flights with DJ for me now. So goodbye QF, DJ it is from now on for me ☺
Date: 10 June 2012
Route: Perth (PER) - Jakarta (CGK)
Flight: Garuda GA725
ETD: 1415
ETA: 1930
Seat: 2E (Executive Class)
Aircraft: B737-800
Flight time: To DPS 3hr 30mins
Registration: PK-GFC
1st Flight: 28 Jul 2010
Preflight
Arrived with almost 2hrs to spare. After formalitites were completed, time was just spent browsing duty free and then we just relaxed at the QF lounge which GA uses.
Inflight
Full flight to DPS, delayed departure due to strong gale force winds. We were held about 30mins before ATC ok'ed the push back. Slept through most of the flight.
Sorry for lack of pics as I have already posted cabin pics of Ga’s B738 so many times, but if there are any requests, I will be happy to post some from my archives.
Many thanks again for reading guys
Thanks for reading guys, below are my TR from newest to oldest:
What a coincidence! I flew on board this bird to CGK around five days prior to your flight, and on the return flight to SYD I had the same bird as the one flew you into HKG, PK-GPN.
Anyway since you're flying on Virgin Australia now, I would like to know how do you think about the service of DJ compared to QF domestic J class? Seems what DJ offering in Domestic J class is much better than QF? Thanks
Thai744 From Australia, joined Jun 2004, 249 posts, RR: 0 Reply 2, posted (11 months 1 day 11 hours ago) and read 11449 times:
Hi There,
Nice trip report - as usual from yourself!
I'm so impressed that DJ's J class on their A330's is such a high standard considered they're used for domestic flights. I have a feeling that if DJ expands their overseas network more they will use these A330s (and new ones if they order them) on medium-haul international routes. The hardware and in-flight service would easily translate to international on these aircraft.
Interesting as well to note your comments re: QF / DJ.
Virgin has really had QF biz class passengers in their sights and are offering really good discounts, status matching of credits etc and lots of promotions to attract this market and it seems to be working.
Hmmm... a beautiful new DJ A330 or a dilapidated, ancient QF 767 in J class to PER?
No brainer really!
gabrielchew From United Kingdom, joined Aug 2005, 2512 posts, RR: 13 Reply 3, posted (11 months 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 11213 times:
Nice report - It's interesting to see that Virigin OZ use the SQ regional business seat, just in a different colour. I thought thr seats were great when I flew up to Calcutta on SQ. IN flight service/catering looks good too. They'll be giving QF a run for their money
tullamarine From Australia, joined Aug 1999, 1157 posts, RR: 0 Reply 5, posted (11 months 20 hours ago) and read 10089 times:
VA's J Class product looks good. The J Class product on the E190 is due to be updated later this year to have the same seats as the 737 with 6 seats in a 1-2 configuration.
Quoting Thai744 (Reply 2): Hmmm... a beautiful new DJ A330 or a dilapidated, ancient QF 767 in J class to PER?
No brainer really!
In QF's defence, they do also operate A332s and 744s to PER from MEL and SYD. Some of the A330s(and all of the 747s) have full int'l sleepers in J. It's just a bit of a lottery as to what you get.
Quoting Thai744 (Reply 2): I have a feeling that if DJ expands their overseas network more they will use these A330s (and new ones if they order them) on medium-haul international routes.
There is no doubt that VA will continue to add to their A330 fleet over the next few years for both international and domestic use. They are currently gate constrained in MEL and SYD for A330 domestic services though they should resolve this issue within the next couple of years.
My best guess for the first routes for the A332s internationally would be MEL-HKG where CX operate 3 daily flights and QF one. VA's alliance with SQ means they already have a significant vitual Asian network.
aflyingkiwi From New Zealand, joined Nov 2010, 490 posts, RR: 3 Reply 6, posted (11 months 18 hours ago) and read 9941 times:
Thanks for the great report!
VA's J product looks very good. They did a great job redoing their cabin to make it more 'chic'. It's also great to see that their food & cabin crew service are also at the same level as their new modern cabins.
thaia345 From Indonesia, joined Oct 2006, 814 posts, RR: 17 Reply 7, posted (11 months 17 hours ago) and read 9828 times:
Quoting dirktraveller (Reply 1): I flew on board this bird to CGK around five days prior to your flight, and on the return flight to SYD I had the same bird as the one flew you into HKG, PK-GPN.
Really a nice coincidence
Quoting dirktraveller (Reply 1): I would like to know how do you think about the service of DJ compared to QF domestic J class? Seems what DJ offering in Domestic J class is much better than QF?
Well, QF in domestic J has always been efficient and friendly, but on all my DJ flights so far, they win it hands down!
Quoting Thai744 (Reply 2): I have a feeling that if DJ expands their overseas network more they will use these A330s (and new ones if they order them) on medium-haul international routes. The hardware and in-flight service would easily translate to international on these aircraft.
Actually thats a good strategy, one product for both domestic and international flights
Quoting Thai744 (Reply 2): Hmmm... a beautiful new DJ A330 or a dilapidated, ancient QF 767 in J class to PER?
No brainer really!
100% correct there !
Quoting gabrielchew (Reply 3): They'll be giving QF a run for their money
Like I said, DJ is my pick now for domestic flights in Aus
Quoting MSS658 (Reply 4): Great TR, DJ s A332s look very nice.
Actually they were better than what I originally expected
Quoting tullamarine (Reply 5): Some of the A330s(and all of the 747s) have full int'l sleepers in J. It's just a bit of a lottery as to what you get.
Once i had a A333 in international config from SYD to PER, and guess what, inflight entertainment was inop and a few seats were also inop. and the very grey colour scheme of QF's J, makes it very dull too
Quoting aflyingkiwi (Reply 6): It's also great to see that their food & cabin crew service are also at the same level as their new modern cabins.
Basically with DJ domestic J, you are getting international levels of service and catering, and of course also on their inflight products.
BA319-131 From United Kingdom, joined Jan 2001, 8275 posts, RR: 56 Reply 8, posted (10 months 3 weeks 3 hours ago) and read 8082 times:
Hi,
Great report and pictures as usual!
Quoting thaia345 (Thread starter): Pretty excited too as this is going to be my first time onboard an E Jet!
- Cool, nice result.
Well this new DJ domestic JCL product looks pretty darn good, very impressed by the catering too, QF certainly will need to up their game if they don't want to suffer from passengers deserting to DJ.
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