Virgin Australia’s The Business ticks all the boxes

Virgin Australia offers business class, called The Business on its A330 aircraft which operate transcontinental routes between Sydney / Melbourne and Perth.

The Business is, in fact, International Business Class and the equal of some airlines First Class.

Matching the product is the consistently stunning service from the staff.

I took the 9.05am flight from Sydney to Perth on May 31, 2018.

Seat and Amenities

I had seat 1A, which is clearly closest to the galley area and within moments of boarding Dane the FSD offered to move me further back away from the noisy part of the cabin.

This wasn’t an issue for me as I planned to zone out with my iPad and headset and watch some movies that I wanted to catch up on.

The seat was excellent and part of the new cabin refit done in the past two years.

It has excellent recline positions and of course a flatbed if required.

In that position it is excellent and a very comfortable bed.

So big ticks all round in that area.

Customer service on board

Within a minute or so of boarding and getting settled Savina offered to take my coat and then a refreshment and I chose an orange juice – it’s the thing you do before breakfast particularly if you have mid-afternoon meetings in Perth.

Before pushback the Captain welcomed us and told us there would be a few bumps out of Sydney but the rest of the flight was smooth – and it was.

Savina reappeared to offer an amenity kit which was a surprise but welcomed.

Catering

Breakfast starter was a cappuccino and orange juice which was out within minutes of the seatbelt sign being switched off and that told me that this crew was switched on.

I succumbed to the tempting bakery items which were warm bread rolls and croissants
with your choice of jam, honey or Vegemite.

Next was the much more healthy seasonal fruit selection served with Greek yogurt.

For my breakfast main the choice was even more tempting of banana bread with apricot, kaffir lime, coconut and maple syrup, a potato and ham rosti, with mushrooms, egg and Tuscan cabbage and tomato relish and finally a Bircher muesli with ginger and lemongrass, spiced pear and almonds.

I chose the Bircher option and it was stunning with wonderful flavors from the lemongrass and ginger.

To finish off another coffee although I could have selected a range of teas – Special Blend Black Tea, Earl Grey Twist, Green Tea with Jasmine & Pear or Mint Tisane and even hot chocolate

Inflight entertainment

Didn’t use the IFE as I opted for my iPad to catch up on TV shows and movies that interest me. However, a quick flick through the system revealed an extensive range of movies and TV shows that seemed to cover almost all tastes.

Extra information

All in all and outstanding service. I was traveling on points and on this occasion I don’t think anyone recognized me so I believe this was a fair test of the airline’s typical service levels.

The one thing that shines through about Virgin Australia is the consistency of service – it is always exceptional.

You feel as if you are its most cherished flyer.

A word of caution, however, when booking make sure you are on an Airbus A330, not a Boeing 737 where the product is vastly different.

It is easy to tell, just let your cursor hover over the flight number or click on the flight number and it will tell what the aircraft type is.