Virgin Australia 777 Review LAX to Brisbane
I had never been on a ‘true’ international flight before. Previous journeys have seen me fly to Havana and Punta Cana, but those were operated with 737 and a320. I wanted the full experience, and boarding a Boeing 777 for a 14 hour flight across the Pacific, I got it.
In the Cabin
The economy cabin is setup in a 3-3-3 configuration. Each seat came with a pillow, blanket, and headphones. There was a nice twilight lighting aesthetic when boarding which was promptly turned off on departure to allow everyone the best chance at sleep.
The seat was as comfortable as can be expected. We had an average amount of legroom and were surprised by how far the seats were able to recline. As is the case when flying in economy, I did end up feeling cramped. A small seatback pouch doesn’t provide much space to store items you bring with. Finding a place for my bag, sound-canceling headphones, and personal pillow and blanket along with the items that were provided was cluttered to say the least. We were lucky that the middle seat was not occupied which we made good use of, along with some extra space in the overhead bin. However, these are both conditions I never take for granted.
In Flight Entertainment
Each seat comes with a TV, accompanying remote, USB charging and slim headphones. The system isn’t as sleek as those being rolled out on newer aircraft these days, but still checked all the requirements. There was a decent selection of recently released movies which gave me the opportunity to get caught up along with some shows and music offerings. It also has a couple games that can be played with others on board, but found those were handicapped by the remote. Mine wasn’t always responsive and the button layout for some of the games were not very intuitive.
The flight also came equipped with WiFi which can be accessed for a fee. If you prefer to use a device to access the entertainment options you can use their companion entertainment app to gain access to the media library on your phone. Be sure to install the app before takeoff if you intend to take advantage of this.
Food and Drink
The food on board was entirely adequate for me. I ended up sleeping through their dinner service, but was pleased with the breakfast offerings. Being a long haul flight, all meals and drinks are included with the ticket price.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, spending 14 hours in economy is rough. My time on board was certainly bearable and went about as well as can be expected. I wasn’t blown away by anything offered, but wasn’t appalled either. It was a perfectly average flight. Having paid bargain basement price for the tickets, average is okay with me.
