After a long time on the ground, it's good to be getting back in the air again. Recent return Sydney - Melbourne flights gave Simple Flying a chance to roadtest the back-in-the-air again 737-800 domestic business class product on Australia's two biggest airlines - Qantas and Virgin Australia.

A big price difference between the two business class products

The Sydney - Melbourne city pair is usually among the busiest in the world, with four airlines competing for travelers - Qantas, Virgin Australia, Jetstar, and Regional Express (Rex).

Going down to Melbourne, I flew in business class on a Qantas Boeing 737-800. On the return trip to Sydney, I flew in business class on a Virgin Australia Boeing 737-800.

The flying distance between the two cities is around 450 miles (730 kilometers). Flying time is 90 minutes - largely due to usually crowded airspace around Sydney.

Qantas was asking AU$717 for a one-way business class ticket to Melbourne - a little rich for a 90-minute flight. However, Qantas business class fares on busy flights at peak times can be twice this. I opted to pay with Avios points. Qantas domestic business class flights under 600 miles (as this sector is) are a worthwhile Avios spend.

Returning to Sydney, Virgin Australia was asking AU$299 for a one-way business class ticket - cheap enough to pay cash for. Interestingly, Virgin Australia was selling their fully flexible economy class ticket for the same price on that flight.

The before boarding experience

Heading down to Melbourne on a Sunday lunchtime flight, the check-in process at Sydney's T3 terminal is largely automated. Instead of manned check-in counters and service desks, it's all self-serve kiosks, automatic bag drop-offs, and the odd roaming Qantas employee. But with no changes to be made, delays, or other hiccups, self-serve was a smooth process.

Business-class passengers flying out of the T3 in Sydney can head straight to the Qantas domestic business class lounge. The lounge is located airside and to the left of the security lanes.

Lounge employees staff the food and drink counters, making decent coffee, pouring wines, handing out bowls of soup, pasta, and nibbles. Sit in a soft armchair facing the big windows with views of the apron and it's a decent enough spot to wait for your departure.

Returning to Sydney on a Sunday afternoon flight, Virgin Australia also encourages self-service at check-in but does have some staffed check-in counters at Melbourne Airport's terminal three. Using the self-serve kiosk, the check-in process was swift and painless.

Down the escalators but before security is the Virgin Australia lounge. The lounge is open to business class passengers. Recently revamped, it offers an altogether better lounge experience compared to the Qantas Domestic business class lounge in Sydney.

The Qantas 737 domestic business class flight experience

The business class cabin on Qantas Boeing 737-800 seats 12 people across three rows (11 of the 12 seats were occupied). The leather recliner-style seats are 22" wide and have a pitch of 37". With a leg rest, the seats are perfectly fine for a short-haul flight. The cabin and seat area itself was clean and well-maintained.

Inflight entertainment in Qantas business class consists of small drop-down overhead screens running news programs. However, most passengers opt to bring their own devices and use the free WiFi onboard.

 

Lunch was a chicken and leek pie with a dollop of relish, some bread, and Lindt chocolate. Qantas domestic inflight catering has deteriorated markedly in recent years and the pies have become a daytime staple. It was tasty enough but pies for lunch in a business class cabin smack of parsimony.

The meal is served on a tray on a proper plate with real crockery. Drinks were complimentary including a perfectly decent Shaw & Smith sauv blanc and top-ups were offered.

Qantas keeps the sole bathroom up the front of the plane for business class passengers but did not seem to be enforcing the rule as several passengers wandered up from the main cabin. In typical 737 style, there wasn't room to swing a cat once the door was shut, but the bathroom was clean and serviceable.

Qantas has some amazing flight attendants

The flight attendant, Linda, who serviced the business class cabin was spectacular. Recently returning to work, she was thrilled to be in the air again and worked the cabin like the seasoned professional she was. "Can I twist your arm and offer you a wine?" she said after introducing herself. Sure.

People like Linda who can rip through a meal service in one hour and have time for casual banter are an asset to any airline. Qantas is lucky to have her. After a smooth on-time landing in Melbourne, she even praised the pilot's landing technique, calling it "a pearler."

The flight departed on time and arrived ten minutes early - as you'd expect with traffic still at low levels. After walking off the plane to baggage reclaim, my bag was on the carousel after a two-minute wait.

The Virgin Australia 737 domestic business class flight experience

Onboard Virgin Australia for the return flight, five of the eight business class were occupied. The cabin is configured in a 2-2 layout, and the recliner seats have a width of 17.5" and a pitch of 37". A key point of difference is the absence of a leg rest in Virgin Australia's business class cabin. As a rule, Virgin Australia's cabins normally look pretty sharp. But on this particular plane, there were some clear signs of wear and tear, including scuff marks.

Unlike Qantas, Virgin Australia offers business class passengers a drink before pushing back. The flight attendant, Kathryn, came around, introduced herself to each passenger, and offered a glass of still or sparkling water, juice, or sparkling wine.

Virgin Australia's aircraft are WiFi-enabled but the airline has turned the system off. Instead, they ask you to download the airline's entertainment app before boarding and to stream the various inflight entertainment options on your own device.

With just an hour in the air, Kathryn came around again once the fasten seatbelt sign was switched off and offered passengers a choice of chicken cacciatore with penne pasta or a delicious stuffed mushroom on a warm wild rice salad.

The on a tray, the meal came with proper crockery, cutlery, and glassware. While catering standards ebb and flow, Virgin Australia's business class meals easily trump the current Qantas offering. On the downside, the tray table flipped up from the armrest had evidence of a previous meal on it.

Virgin Australia's flight attendants are the airline's best asset

Kathryn worked the cabin offering wine and other drinks. Unlike Lindy on the Qantas flight, Kathryn didn't detail the wines on offer, rather she simply brought out the requested drink already poured. On top-up duty, she did do a pour from the bottle - it was a Boundary Block chardonnay.

Unlike in the economy class cabin, tea and coffee weren't proactively offered, but a cup could probably have been organized if requested. In contrast, Qantas explicitly said tea and coffee were not on offer.

Kathryn did a good job. She hit the right notes of friendliness, professionalism, and helpfulness. But Linda's sheer exuberance was a hard act to follow.

The Virgin Australia flight pushed back a few minutes early and landed around 15 minutes ahead of schedule. With ATC delays normally routine on this sector, airlines build plenty of padding into their schedules between Melbourne and Sydney to maintain good on-time arrival rates.

I was first off the plane. The downside of that arrangement is a longer wait at the luggage carousel. Wait time was around five minutes - not too bad. My bag was the last of the priority luggage to appear on the belt. As someone has to be, I'm not going to mark against Virgin Australia for that.

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The better business class product?

So which is airline's domestic 737 business class product is better? I think Qantas had the better cabin and they had a superb flight attendant working my flight. But Virgin trumps when it comes to on-ground experience, catering, and ticket price.

The difference in the ticket price is substantial. For that, I'd normally give Virgin Australia considerable leeway. But you don't need to. They have a really competitive business class product that in several aspects outshines the Qantas product.

If I was flying tomorrow, I'd happily fly either airline, but Virgin Australia's high-quality business class product and really reasonable price point makes it a pretty compelling proposition.