Virgin Australia Business Class 737-800 (DPS to SYD)

From Denpasar, Indonesia (Bali) to Sydney, Australia has to be one of the more popular routes for Virgin Australia, with many Australians viewing it like us Floridians view the Caribbean. A short flight away for an island escape. Is business class the way to go to either start or keep that vacation feeling going?

Check in at Denpasar Airport

Bali’s airport is surprisingly modern, with a large open terminal of check in counters, and long queues. Happily, I went over to the priority check in lane to leave my luggage. There was still a pretty substantial wait, even with priority check in, but I was very glad to have it in comparison to the regular line for check in.

The process took around 30 minutes. I then roamed the international terminal in the secured area of Denpasar airport. There were a few places to eat and a number of shops. I picked up some locally made items like silver jewelry and wished I had more room in my luggage for some of the well designed clothing I saw.

Unfortunately my one luggage had broken on the last day of the trip in Bali, so I had packed everything I had into a backpack and a few tote bags. I wish I had known the packing tips I highlight in this article covering my time on that two month trip in Bali and Australia.

Lounge Access

Virgin Australia does not have a lounge at DPS. This is disappointing considering the amount of people moving through this airport and the fairly significant length of my journey (over 6 hours in flight).

Thankfully, I was not counting it and had dinner (Ganesha ek Sanskriti in Sanur) before arriving to the airport for my evening flight. I used my priority pass to access the Concordia Lounge for a quiet place to wait and have a refreshment. I had access to this lounge thanks to my Capital One Venture X card, and I cover more about lounge access in this how to article.

The Concordia Lounge at DPS is located within the international terminal and is accessible via priority pass. It does not offer alcoholic beverages, but does offer a few things to eat and basic drinks. The lounge is located on the third floor, you’ll be able to see the entrance from the shops below.

Onboard Virgin Atlantic 737-800

Boarding was unremarkable but on-time. This Virgin Australia flight from Bali to Sydney was on the Boeing 737-800. The business class cabin is set up in a 2-2 configuration. At the seat was a pillow and blanket. I was promptly offered an amenity kit, which is probably the highlight of the whole flight.

In the Virgin Australia amenity kit is a sleeping mask, socks, earplugs, toothbrush/toothpaste, pen, tissues, and lip balm. I considered it to be a pretty practical kit that offered every essential you would need in-flight.

Now for the bad. The seat was very uncomfortable with very limited recline. It was so uncomfortable, that some business class passengers were on the floor trying to get some sleep, which I was honestly very tempted to do. Sleeping was really impossible on these chairs, which makes for a very annoying red eye flight.

The legroom was ok, but only slightly better than economy. Comparable to an exit row.

Entertainment, what entertainment? No seatback screen on this flight.

Snacks? No. A meal was provided. Service? Friendly.

Should you fly Virgin Australia Business Class?

Based on this product, no. I think there are better options that don’t make you want to cry in the middle of the night because you are so tired and can’t sleep on those uncomfortable chairs.

I booked this product as part of a larger booking with Aeroplan, so I already had everything priced out in business class. Booking this in economy would not have made a difference in the price I paid, so why not?

If only economy awards are available on the date you want to fly, then I wouldn’t sweat it. There is not a big enough difference in the experience to merit rearranging your travels or paying too much extra. Legroom and a wider seat are the main draws of Virgin Australia’s business class product on the 737-800.