VIRGIN PREMIUM ECONOMY 737
PREFLIGHT
Those who have read my post under NEW MEMOS about premium economy know that I’m not a big fan, however, even yours truly has his preferences. Of course, not all premium economy products are the same, apparently not even on the same airline. I’ve read some positive reviews on Virgin Australia’s premium economy product for the 777 international flights. I decided that for the one hour flight to Hobart from Melbourne business class was not worth it but, their Economy X product might fit the bill with more leg room and priority boarding included.
ECONOMY X CABIN
The priority boarding was right on time and I made my way to seat 3D and stowed my bags quickly in order to give way to boarding passengers. The seat was behind the bulkhead just behind business class. It was comfortable and had extra space under the bulkhead for your feet. The pitch here is 30 with a width of 17 although these seats have the tray in the armrest and this seems to tap some of the room between your hips. In spite of that I found the extra legroom as advertised and was able to stretch out my tall frame adequately for the short hop to Hobart.
The service and the food being offered is where Virgin has dropped the ball. You are expected to pay extra for any food or beverage other than water, tea, or juice. Even then the water they served was even enough to dampen the tongue. I know that Virgin Australia’s larger aircraft do offer great service and a meal plus beverage of your choice. Virgin…you need to step it up a notch. Surely for the extra cash you can afford to dole out a small bottle of water or two and maybe a glass of house red. I liked the addition of a rope separating business class but felt it should be behind premium economy. Even though we were 2 rows behind the forward lav, they expected us to use the one all the way in the back of economy. Really Virgin. Very disappointing.
THE DEBRIEF
I found the product as advertised but falling short on the service side. For a short flight it is tolerable but is still not what passengers expect for Premium Economy.
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