A Virgin Australia Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Photo / Bloomberg
Daniel Richardson flies Virgin Australia VA65 from Wellington to Brisbane.
The plane: Boeing 737-800
Class: Economy class. I will take what I am given.
Price: $447.
On time? Yep, you could set your watch to it and when you're on the early morning 6.45am departure, the last thing you need is an annoying delay.
My seat: 14D. I scored an exit row, which was a great result as it offered extra leg room. Thankfully, there was no emergency - I'm a terrible listener when it comes to those in-flight briefings. Basically all I can recall is that if you see flames, don't open the emergency door. Sage advice.
Fellow passengers: There was a spare seat between me and another bloke who got the window. He kept to himself and I was in no mood to make extensive conversation given my alarm had gone off at 4.30am that day.
How full? Around two-thirds. There were never any long waits to use the bathroom.
Entertainment: The movie selection was distinctly poor. The only thing that really grabbed me was The Company You Keep so I sat through that. Otherwise there was a random collection of television shows, with a couple that were watchable, a music collection that had absolutely no flow to it and a few Australian-based podcasts that didn't get more than a glance from me. From this perspective I was glad the flight was less than four hours long.
The service: Very polite and efficient. My portable viewing device was delivered to me promptly and the crew were helpful when dishing out refreshments.
Food and drink: Great. Some decent eggs for breakfast, nice juice and plenty of coffee. There was complimentary beer and wine on offer, but 6.45am is a bit too early for an ale for even the most committed drinkers. Isn't it?
The toilets: I ventured in there only once but they housed me adequately and I found them to be clean and tidy.
Luggage: My bag weighed 11.2kg so it was checked-in without fuss as I cruised under the 23kg limit. Heck, I was only heading away for four days. Oh, and my laptop bag travelled with me in carry-on.
The airport experience: Wellington's airport Wi-Fi didn't seem to agree with my laptop, which wasn't something I wanted to see to start the day. Once I'd proceeded through to the international departure lounge I found my way on to another provider, which eased my concerns before take off.
Would I fly this again? To borrow a term that is used by too many of New Zealand's top athletes: "Yeah, definitely."
Daniel Richardson was a guest of Brisbane Marketing and Tourism Events Queensland.
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