Flight check: Melbourne to Auckland with Virgin Australia

Melbourne airport. Photo / Jeremy Little

Amelia Wade flies VA150 from Aussie to NZ.

The plane: Boeing 737-800.

Class: Economy.

On time? Definitely — though I nearly wasn't after being distracted by the Duty-Free perfumes.

Flight time: 3hrs 40min.

My seat: 27F towards the back. So I was seated near the toilets and galley, but because I was one of the last to board the plane because of that Duty-Free distraction, I didn't have to wait to get down the aisle.

Fellow passengers: A quiet bunch; they kept to themselves.

The airport: Melbourne Airport was under renovation so not much was open. The fragrance saleswomen were a shade pushy for my liking though.

Airport's food offerings: Limited because they're still under construction, though the mandatory Maccas is open for business. The Air New Zealand lounge was fully stocked with the standard breakfast spread.

Service: Friendly.

Oddities: There was absolutely no entertainment offered besides the inflight magazine. If you're on one of these Virgin 737s, be sure to bring a device loaded with movies or a decent book.

Entertainment: With none on offer, I was thankful I'd pre-downloaded a few episodes of The Crown, which kept me entertained combined with a post-meal nap.

Toilets: Standard and clean.

Luggage: Checked, though it was an add-on.

Would I fly again? For sure, though I'd be sure to have a backlog of good television to watch.