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Virgin Australia

2.5 (51 reviews)

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Jon L.

Virgin Australia is the second largest airline in Australia behind the flag carrier, Qantas. It was co-founded by Richard Branson and initially began operations under the name Virgin Blue. It re-branded in 2011 to its current name, Virgin Australia. The airline was a lot like Virgin America in its early days as it was a low cost carrier. But the airline changed into a full service carrier over the years to compete with Qantas. On my trip to Australia, I decided to book a side trip on VA from Sydney to Hobart on Tasmania. The pricing was comparable to Jetstar (low cost carrier) for the lowest priced flights on this route. Qantas is my preferred airline, but their fares on this route are considerably higher. At Sydney Airport, VA flies out of Domestic Terminal 2 in which they have their own wing of the airport terminal. Since VA is a full service carrier, they offer a free checked bag in the fare price. My experience with the VA counter was quick and easy. The service agent also assisted me in adding my Delta mileage number so I could get credit for the flight. The VA website wouldn't allow me to add it since I bought the ticket on another online travel site. Flew on a Boeing 737 that was pretty comfortable. Seats have average legroom, but the flight wasn't very full so I had an empty seat next to me. VA doesn't have the mood lighting you find on Virgin America nor did the plane have an entertainment system in economy. Though they do offer free entertainment if you download their app on your phone or tablet. Since the flight was less than 2 hours, I was perfectly fine to just read a book instead. Even though the flight was short, the flight attendants served a snack to passengers along with a choice of coffee, tea or water. And if your domestic flight happens to leave between 5-7 pm on weekdays, they offer a selection of complimentary beer, wine, cider and soft drinks to choose from as well. The snack on this flight was a mini sandwich containing parmesan and basil pesto. It isn't a full meal, but was certainly more filling than getting a bag of peanuts. The flight to Hobart was pretty smooth. The only issue I had with the flight was that there was only one bathroom available in the back of the cabin, so there was a bit of a wait to use it. Overall, I enjoyed my flight on VA. While the flight experience isn't as good as on Qantas, their fares on domestic flights are pretty reasonably priced and competitive with the LCCs. If that is the case, I would fly with VA since they offer a free checked bag and a complimentary snack in-flight.

Sonia C.

First flight: New Zealand to Sydney - Coach 2 stars Very similar to Southwest Airlines. The flight attendants were very cold, almost robotic. Obsessed with looking for trash. Tip- download their app to watch movies for free. Second flight: Sydney to Fiji - Business 5 stars Seats quite comfortable. Food was decent. Good movie selection. Love the messages sent via the screen. Impeccable service - very personable.

http://www.virginaustralia.com/
Justine C.

More a Qantas lover and frequent flyer. The service at Virgin Australia isn't too bad. I like flying domestically with Virgin Australia once in a while. Why? If you're a Virgin Mobile customer (like I am) - and if you book your Virgin Australia flights through your Virgin Mobile account page online, you receive 10% mobile phone credit equal to 10% of your total airfare on that particular booking excluding airport taxes. Nice one. The lounge is quite good too - excellent food. Make your own tortillas on a Friday night, covered. And I loved how the airline decided to allow me to keep my silver frequent flyer status on only 60 status credits (I should have had 250) for only six one way flights between Sydney and Melbourne over a 12-month period. This is great, two free lounge passes coming up. Otherwise I will still fly Qantas. It is good when you can listen to Foxtel on your designated flight. Some flights you can listen to Foxtel, while on other flights you can't. Inconsistencies. The seats on the A380 are not comfortable. They're now copying Qantas and it isn't working. Virgin Australia is a great airline, yet I am more of a Qantas flyer.

Dinner Beef hotpot and linguine

We have flown to the USA via Delta airlines & Air china previously with our 8 children, this time we flew with Virgin Australia without our children. The check in was very quick and easy and the staff were very friendly. The flight was great, entertainment selection was good and staff were polite and helpful. Unlike our previous flight we very rarely saw the cabin crew through out the flight maybe once or twice or only during food service. The food was good for dinner service but breakfast was totally different. we had an option of an frittata or zucchini fritters, thank god we didn't have our children with us. i think they need more simpler foods for breakfast maybe muesli and yoghurt or some mini pancakes ( this is what we got on our flight with Delta) apart from the food and lack or snacks or drinks service the staff and flight were fine i would highly recommend them to anyone.

Christina C.

I'm quite surprised to read the other reviews for Virgin Australia. I've been flying in and out for business since October and have had the best service every time. Yes the drop of bags is usually crowded depending on the time you fly. For example if you're flying early morning on a Monday or Friday evening, there is more people than usual due to business clients would travelling at this time. Even though the drop of bags is long it's usually goes really fast as you're only dropping off your bags. I have the lowest velocity membership with them and have no problems before. They are very courteous and friendly at all check points. You do get coffee tea and juices. And a snack in the morning. I've never flown during the day. Only after 4:30pm. If you fly after 4:00pm(?) you also get a snack and beer or Australian wines as complimentary. Not bad I say. Virgin also comes with checked luggage included with your rate. I would fly with them for personal purposes as well as I've always had awesome service! :)

Cheese platter in business class

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do not every book a hotel via there website --ever... they will not assist you in anyway and will keep your money..

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Getting a ticket for the bus from international to domestic was pretty hectic. The plane itself was pretty messy.

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Page 1 of 2

Review Highlights - Virgin Australia

Qantas is my preferred airline, but their fares on this route are considerably higher.

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Tigerair Australia - Legroom

Tigerair Australia

1.5(29 reviews)
0.4 km

I went from Adelaide to Brisbane, after which I was ready to give a 1-star review. A few days…read morelater, I went from Brisbane to Sydney, and changed my rating to four stars. In that time, I realized that if you do your reading of the fine print and understand what to expect, you can maximize your chances of having a good experience. 1. This is a budget, no-frills airline. You pay for everything beyond a seat: bag check, queue jump, overweight checked or carry-on bags, food, drink. You may very well need to use stairs to get on and off the plane. You do get to select a seat. They save money by hiring less staff, by using stairs instead of buying ramps or paying to use jetbridges, and so on. They have no check-in desks and you need to be prepared for gate changes. A few staff just wander around between check-in kiosks and bag check. 2. You will have to do a lot of stuff yourself - check yourself in, tag your bag, take your bag to the belt, and place it on the belt properly for scanning. If you check your bag, it's better to pay online in advance. My understanding is that it is cheaper to do so than at the airport. 3. Make sure to read EVERYTHING. I discovered the hard way that if you need assistance, such as a wheelchair, you need to contact them preferably at least five days in advance. I was SOL at the Adelaide Airport. The staff basically told me too bad, so sad. They could care less. The line at security was the longest I've ever seen at any airport anywhere throughout the world during 42 years of flying. I am grateful to the officers who allowed me to take a close spot in line. I never would have been to stand for that long and walk to the gate in time, despite my getting there about two hours in advance. BTW, flight check-in starts two hours ahead of time. After clearing security, I sat down for a few minutes rather than go directly to the gate. I'm glad a did, because a few minutes later, a gate change in the opposite direction was announced. Another TigerAir flight boarded around the same time and it was confusing as to what flight was boarding when. This was because the other flight was late. This is another drawback you have to be okay with: My understanding is their flights are often late, and sometimes cancelled, for various reasons. I had no idea about the stairs. I did not see this on the website. Thankfully they used the jetbridge to board this flight. But once on the plane, I found things were okay. Even my girth fit between the armrests. The seat configuration is 3-3. Leg space is minimal, something you need to know and be okay about if you have longer legs. If you have claustrophobia - might be tough for you. An aisle seat would be better for you. The seatbelts were the shortest I've ever seen. I actually laughed when I saw them and knew immediately I would need an extender. There are snacks and drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) available for purchase by card, no cash. There is no free food or drink, not peanuts, not pretzels, nothing. I had only two days before I went from Brisbane to Sydney. I tried to reach them by phone but couldn't. I sent an email but still haven't gotten a response. So I was ready to not have a wheelchair at the Brisbane or Sydney airports. I mentioned the situation to an agent at bag check in Brisbane. She told me to hold on, and they got a wheelchair for me. I was so grateful. I got there two hours early again, which was good because it took some time to find someone to assist me. There were stairs to the plane, but there was a cool two-person free-standing lift the agent and I rode up on. I would have struggled on the stairs. I wonder why they don't get ramps. They would help everyone and while not perfectly safe, they would be safer and faster than stairs. Not to mention access issues. I will pay extra for bag check, food, overweight bags - but I don't see easy access for all as a luxury item. At the Brisbane Airport, all carry-ons - even purses - were weighed. If your carry-ons were even an ounce over, you paid right then and there. They didn't do this in Adelaide. I don't know why. But be ready for it and be ready to pay if you go over. I think all their planes are the same, so again that part was okay. I even recognized some of the same flight attendants as from the other day. Apparently they fly like three different routes on the same day, same plane. They knew I required assistance and were helpful. There was a wheelchair and an individual available to help when we got to Sydney. (They "borrowed" a wheelchair from another airline since they didn't have their own.) We went to bag claim and they pulled my bag off the belt. It was an infinitely better experience than the Adelaide-Brisbane trip. I realized if I read all the fine print, remained flexible, and made my special requests early, I could enjoy the low fares offered by TigerAir.

What were we thinking? We should've checked the reviews before booking this flight. Coming from the…read morestates we didn't realize that this was a budget airlines with such poor reviews. On the same trip, we traveled with the same bags, without incurring baggage fees on Alaska Air, Jet Blue & Air China. Our carry-ons, checked baggage, purse, and camera bag all went on the scale and were measured like I've never seen before. We were charged $260 in overweight baggage fees. Any money we saved on this flight we paid in fees. Amazed that there were fees for everything on this flight, two dollars for water. The stewardesses were pushing carts of products not food for sale. They were selling jewelry, perfume, and small electronics. Never again!

Qantas - Sunrise approaching Sydney (April 2025)

Qantas

3.0(46 reviews)
1.2 km

Do not want to diminish others' complications. However, I flew with them twice and both times,…read moreflawless. Staff are always professional and cheerful. Expedient service throughout. Went economy both times and it was comfortable. The only time is a little snug if a passenger in in front of you Leans all the way back. My flight from Sydney to Indonesia ,They kept us constantly fed and hydrated. There's no comparison with this airline in relation to the J S economy Airline. Fly the Q

I am reviewing the Sydney to L.A. flight only. I prefer Qantas as I worked for them in the 60's,…read moreknow how they trained their pilots back then and hoping it's still the same. It's been 18 years since my last trip 'home' so things have changed. Meals are served in a container with bamboo utensils. This is par now if you travel economy on most airlines. I found the staff on board all well groomed, fresh uniforms and very attentive with lots of smiles and eye contact. No sooner took off than we had a bottle of water and a fun savory snack to enjoy. I read an actual book on board so did not use the entertainment system except to view the view from the tail of the plane and also the flight tracker. 14+ hour flight, you need hydration and snacks along the way, these were there to enjoy. Nearby was a large compartment with choice of cold drinks and snacks ready to enjoy wherever needed during the flight. The seating is snug, I knew it would be and so not an issue for me, I was mentally prepared for that. I travelled with my adult Down syndrome son and without asking, Qantas staff offered us pre boarding on each flight, much appreciated. My next visit, I will fly Qantas airlines again happily. We all know their safety record, that counts!

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Qantas - Pajamas they provide with the noise canceling headphones

Pajamas they provide with the noise canceling headphones

Qantas
Qantas - Sunrise

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Sunrise

American Airlines - Bfast was better vs dinner fr LAX-SYD, but still weak AF

American Airlines

1.5(4 reviews)
0.7 km

Its Mediocre Mon again, but its also Down Under time!…read more The Australian Travel Companion (ATC) and I flew 15 hrs direct from LAX-SYD. Although the flight was on time and uneventful, there were some negatives warranting a 3 Star experience. Positives: The flight was on time; The staff were friendly & efficient; Negatives: The plane was an older 777 whose model first debuted in 1997. The overhead space and underseat space was limited even in Premium Economy; The footrests were lame AF, and the seats did not recline sufficiently vs more current model planes; The food sucked! Dinner consisted of something that resembled teri chicken. I had 3-4 small pieces of chicken. The meal also included a dry AF roll. Breakfast was slightly better bc it included fresh fruit. However, there was a snack in between of a ratatouille stromboli and ice cream. The stromboli was nasty, and the combo made no sense; The charging & headphone ports were difficult to access; I shopped all 3 US majors & Qantas, but AA had the best flight times and price. However, next time I will check on equipment. I wouldn't have minded paying a little more for a newer model plane. Lastly, I have flown United, Delta and many international airlines in Premium Economy on international flights. I can't remember having such bad food for paying more. I would have hated to see what they were served in Economy.

American Airlines is insensitive to global COVID 19 restrictions and denies requests to extend…read moretravel vouchers. As a resident Australian, I had an American Airline voucher for travel I was unable to take due to COVID 19 restrictions. This travel voucher was set to expire on March 31st. Notwithstanding my inability to travel outside of Australia until February 21st this year because of Australian Governmental restrictions for temporary visa holders, American Airlines would not extend this travel voucher to enable me a reasonable opportunity to use it. Rather than extend this voucher or perhaps even refund the amount, American Airlines instead chose to keep these funds. I feel as if I have been robbed as my inability to use the voucher was out of my control. I have written to Camren Noble, Customer Relations, who continues to assert that American Airlines will not change their position and apologizes for my disappointment. You too would be disappointed if you tried to work within American Airlines protocols only to be denied a reasonable opportunity to use your funds. Scott F - a cheated and now former patron of American Airlines

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American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines - Butter chicken

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Butter chicken

Virgin Australia - airlines - Updated May 2026

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