Would you fly 8 hours on a Virgin 737?

Virgin Australia’s first-ever link between Cairns and Tokyo-Haneda took off on Wednesday opening up yet another choice for travellers between the two popular destinations.

Unlike its competitors such as ANA, Japan Airlines, Jetstar and Qantas, Virgin is operating single aisle 737-700 jets from the Australian East Coast rather than the much preferred wide body or twin-aisle aircraft.

The reason? The airline needs to start flying the route or lose the very valuable Haneda Airport slot. Originally, before COVID, Virgin Australia was to use an Airbus A330, but when it was restructured those planes and the 777s were returned to leaseholders. The industry expects the airline to lease Boeing 787s next year and they would be used to fly to Japan.

So the question we ask is: Would you travel 8 hours on a single-aisle aircraft? Remember we use to be happy to fly from Australia to London in a single-aisle 707 which took almost 30 hours with four or five stops.

The 737-700 is a temporary measure while the airline waits for its new 737-8 MAX jets to operate the route in a few weeks. The 737-8 will offer economy passengers in-seat power and WiFi (for a fee) but it's still 8 hours sitting on a single aisle carrier unless you're travelling Business Class.

But with the MAX there will be Economy X for more legroom.

Whilst there are many options between Japan and Australia, only Jetstar and Virgin operate from Cairns and only Virgin flies into Haneda which is much, much closer to central Tokyo. Whilst Jetstar flies into Narita it is operating the widebody 787 giving passengers a more comfortable trip to their destination.

But back to Virgin, what can we expect on board this new flight?

The new Virgin Australia Business Class menu items include:

Japanese bento box with teriyaki chicken, green beans and shiitake mushrooms and accompaniments
Pan-fried pork dumplings
Asian slaw with soba noodles
Authentic Japanese green tea and green tea cake
Yoshinogawa Gensen Karakuchi sake
4 Pines Japanese-style Lager

*Business class bento box and what we believe will be the new Business seats on the 737-8*

Business Class passengers will also have a blanket, pillow and amenity kit provided.

In Economy, a buy-onboard menu will be offered with Japanese and Australian fresh and packaged food items. Tea, coffee and water remain complimentary, with a bottle offered to all passengers before take-off.

Travellers can also purchase amenity kits, pillows and blankets onboard.

New additions to the buy onboard menu include:
Japanese-style chicken curry
Vegetable pasta
Instant miso soup
Pokka lemon iced tea

To celebrate the maiden service, Virgin Australia has launched a seven-day ‘Take off for Tokyo’ sale, with return airfares starting from $699* (Economy Lite from Cairns). The sale ends at midnight AEST Tuesday 4 July 2023.