Virgin Australia has launched its 1-2-1 all aisle access reverse herringbone business class seating onboard their Airbus A330 aircraft. The first reconfigured plane has taken flight, and the airline expects to finish A330 conversions by the end of October.

Virgin Australia’s fleet of Boeing 777s (which are the aircraft used on US routes) won’t be reconfigured until winter.

I flew their Los Angeles – Brisbane service in March. The cabins are surely antiquated, and I was concerned before the flight about flying seven across business class that distance.

I found the seats narrow with no storage, but they’re completely lie flat — and Virgin Australia has outstanding bedding (they make your bed in business class!). Ultimately it was very comfortable and the amenities — including pajamas — as well as food and service were top notch

Virgin Australia has been by far the easiest way to get non-stop between the US and Australia in a premium cabin on award travel for the past several years. With Delta miles, no less. (Availability on the Los Angeles – Brisbane route is especially good.) With the introduction of this new product I fully expect that to change.

It does look pretty fantastic:

There are privacy dividers that can separate the middle seats, universal power ports and USB power, and 16 inch screens. And they’re keeping their excellent turn down service.

Virgin Australia has 6 Airbus A330-200s and 5 Boeing 777-300ERs. The A330s operate primarily on Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane – Perth routes although they’ve occasionally flown them on routes like Sydney – Fiji and Sydney – Melbourne. Melbourne – Perth is merely the distance of New York – Denver while Brisbane – Perth is about the distance of Washington DC – Los Angeles. These are true premium transcons. Meanwhile, the 777-300s primarily serve Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi.