New Virgin Australia Business Class Route - Tokyo to Melbourne on new 737 MAX - Flight Review

This is a review of a brand new Route. Virgin Australia flying from Cairns to Haneda Tokyo on a new Boeing 737 MAX.

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We initially purchased return Economy (1 leg) and Economy X (3 legs) flights which cost AUD $750 each plus 125,000 Virgin frequent flyer point each. This was the very cheapest flight we could find at the time of booking. Most other airlines were charging upwards of $2,500 each return, all stopping at one or two other airports and the Qantas direct flight in Economy over $3,000 each. I recall business flights being around $8k - $12k each!!!

We were successful in our upgrade bid to Business Class from Economy X. This is a feature of the Virgin Australia Frequent Flyer program.

It cost an additional $AUD $750 each for the Haneda - Cairns leg and $250 each for the Cairns - Melbourne Leg - a total of $2,000 for the two of us.

We were in Business Class for the flight from Haneda to Cairns on the new route and Virgin Australia's new Boeing 737 MAX, VA 78.

We were also in Business for the domestic leg of the trip from Cairns - Melbourne on a 737-800 on VA 1292.

We were in the same plane we flew Economy and Economy X for the flight from Cairns to Haneda on the way to Tokyo. It was Virgin Australia's new Boeing 737 MAX, this time with a working WIFI and entertainment system.

I also review the Tiat Lounge at Haneda Airport and the domestic departure lounge at Cairns Airport.

Scheduled flight times:
- VA 78 Leave Haneda 09:45 ~ 06:15 7 hr 15 min flight time
- VA 1292 Leave Cairns 09:35 ~ 3 hr 10 min layover
- Arrive Melbourne 14:00 ~ 3 hr 25 min flight time

Both flights left late - 6 minutes from Haneda and 46 minutes from Cairns. The second leg was delayed by strong headwinds and we made of some of the time lost due to strong tailwinds on the way.

Details Flight 1:
Airline: Virgin Australia - VA
Class: Business
Aircraft: Boeing 737-MAX
Flight date: October 4, 2023
Route: Haneda - Cairns
Flight numbers: VA 78
Seat: 1C & 2A

Details Flight 2:
Airline: Virgin Australia - VA
Class: Economy X
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Flight date: October 4, 2023
Route: Cairns - Melbourne
Flight numbers: VA 1292
Seat: 2A & 2C

The flights fell below my expectations. The main issue was the lack of con is late departure at Cairns, lack of lounge access for business class passengers, limited gluten free food options, average seats that did not allow me to sleep on the overnight flight and very much a domestic business class experience rather than an international business class experience. I don't think the upgrade was worth it. We should have stayed in Economy X.

Links:
www.tokyo-monorail.co.jp/english/index.asp
www.virginaustralia.com
www.cairnsairport.com.au
www.prioritypass.com/lounges/japan/tokyo-haneda-intl

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