Virgin Australia VA492 Maroochydore [Sunshine Coast] to Sydney
Flight Details:
Airlines: Virgin Australia
Flight: VA492 MCY - SYD
Reg: VH-VUX "Nightcliff Beach"
Aircraft: Boeing 737-8FE
Departure Sunshine Coast Airport: 4.40pm [Actual:5.02pm]
Arrival to Sydney Domestic Airport Terminal 2: 6:15pm [Actual: 6.30pm]
Flight time: 1 hours 28 minutes
Distance: 835 kilometers or 519 miles.
VIDEO: Virgin Australia VA492 Sunshine Coast to Sydney
Introduction
This trip reports is from Sept 2022. I had flown to Cairns for holiday and this is return trip to Sydney. Read the report -> Jetstar Airways JQ956 Sydney to Cairns
Booking
My original booking was with Jetstar Airways
Had selected the bundle with check-in baggage.
I had selected seat for this flight.
I had received confirmation upon booking the flight.
Arriving at Airport
I had rented car in Cairns and drove from Cairns to Sunshine coast. Covered distance of 2000 kms, below map of the drive.
I arrived at airport early as car return time of 1p.m on day of departure.
Car rentals are located in the arrivals area.
I returned the keys in dropbox. Noticed a queue of arriving passengers for car pick up .
Stepped outside the terminal and walked towards the departure area.
Flight Transfer
I had checked online and joined queue to drop bag.
Arrivals board showing delayed flight.
Announcement was made that the flight is delayed and they are overbooked.
Those passengers wishing to changeover to Virgin Australia would receive a voucher from Jetstar Airways. I decided to take the offer as Jetstar flight was delayed.
Virgin Australia departed 10 minutes earlier than Jetstar and the flight was on-time. The Virgin counter was not opened yet. I would be flying with Virgin Australia after almost 10 years. Last time I flew with Virgin was when I travalled to Brisbane, they used to be called Virgin Blue Airline, Can read report here - > Virgin Blue Airlines DJ966 Brisbane - Sydney
Checked with ground crew and was informed Jetstar had not transferred the information. Had to wait for 1 hour for the Virgin counter to open.
Jetstar Airways check-in while waiting for Virgin counter to open.
Jetstar had issues with their aircraft and was in news for the flight delay.
I had checked the flight information and noticed JQ departure would be very delayed.
Check-IN
Check-in opened an hour before departure. Had few passengers ahead and took almost 20-25 mins to check-in flight. Was lucky that my ticket details were transferred, had no issues. Whereas other had difficulty in check-in due to ticket issues.
Security and Departure
Long queue had formed for security check.
Passengers were getting anxious, they would miss the flight. 1 x-ray machine was in use which resulted in slow scanning.
Waiting Area
I had to join the boarding queue immediately after security check as boarding had commenced. Wait area was full due to delayed flight.
Jetstar flight had still not landed.
Boarding
Boarding pass was scanned and passengers to walk towards aircraft from gate 6
Aircraft parked within walking distance.
Seated in the last seat, boarding from rear of aircraft.
Passengers filling cabin, Overhead lockers were full , had to put my bag few seats ahead.
Window view
Jetstar Airways arrives from Sydney.
Seat view
Pushback and Departure
Cabin crew closed the doors and boarding was completed.
Jetstar in view as pushback about to commence.
Pushback was short.
View of the control tower while taxing to runway
View of remote bay vacated by this aircraft.
Delayed Jetstar Airways to Sydney and Melbourne. In background, Bonza - Australia's newest airline.
Departure
Departure for this aircraft was towards North.
Turning East and then heading South towards Sunshine Coast.
Window view as sun closer to horizon.
3-3 cabin seating in economy class.
Flying close to Birbie island near Brisbane.
View of Brisbane airport below. Aircraft flew inland after overflying Brisbane.
Seat Pocket Material
Seat pocket contained safety card and menu.
Virgin Australia Boeing 737-800 safety card
Menu
Seat spacing, adequate for me. Seated in the last seat of the aircraft. Seat was not reclinable.
Inflight Service
Inflight service was Buy on Board [BOB]. I did not buy as I wanted to have dinner after landing.
Window View
Sunshine lighting the cabin.
Sunset almost
Different shades as sun sets.
Winglet on Boeing 737
Sunset
Time passed quickly for this short flight. Aircraft flying towards Sydney airport from North.
Heading South passed Sydney City with view of Sydney icons - Harbour Bridge and Opera house.
Descent
Aircraft would fly South and then turn West .
View of individual ac ducts as aircraft approaches runway 34R.
LAnding and ARRival
Landed smoothly and a long taxi to gate.
Passing REX SAAB 340 aircraft
Arriving at gate
Disembarkation
I was seated the rear, after collecting bag. I exited aircraft through stairs. Passengers in front rows used airbridge.
Entered the terminal using stairs and walked towards the exit.
I waited for few minutes for the bag to arrive.
Exiting Airport
After exiting the terminal, waited for the Blue Emu bus. I had to pick car from Long term parking. The bus was full and took about half hour to reach the car park.
Disembarked bus and arrived near the car.
Aircraft and Flight Information
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Aircraft rotation on the day.
Hope you enjoyed this trip report. Thanks for reading.
:)
Thanks for sharing this FR with us! It's interesting to see how far VA has slipped behind QF almost bordering into LCC territory (at least in Y). They used to give out packaged snacks in Y, now it is just BOB? The seat pitch looks good, but bad luck to get stuck with the last row with no recline, at least they gave you a window seat to at least be the same as what you booked on Jetstar. Nice night time shot of Sydney on arrival.
An earlier flight and a voucher, sounds like a good deal to me. How much did they give you?
Being a short flight, I didn't mind as it was last minute change. Got a voucher which helped book next Jetstar flight.
Thanks for your comment.
Hi Koresh, nice to see a recent review on Virgin Australia! It is sad to see what a shell of their former selves they've become, but at the same time, I'm happy they're still around and the competition within Australia is good for everyone. It's a shame they've retrenched to the LCC roots, but then again, if they are actually cheaper than QF and keep prices reasonable for everyone on the routes on which they compete, then more power to them. I'm glad they still offer Business and are still differentiating themselves from no-frills LCCs.
Beautiful photos on takeoff and landing! I always love flying at the golden hour.
Thanks for sharing!
Since the beginning, Virgin Australia hasn't been able to decide which kind of airline they are. By providing competition, they keeps fares somewhat competitive.
I had selected the seat according to light conditions, even though I was lucky to get the preferred side despite the airline change.
Thanks for your comment. :)