Flying between Darwin and Perth is one of Australia’s longest domestic sectors—and oddly enough, it’s also one of the most underserved when it comes to aircraft quality. Recently, I put Virgin Australia’s infamous ex-Tigerair Airbus A320 to the test once again, to see whether this ageing, hand-me-down aircraft still offers a noticeably inferior experience compared to the airline’s mainline Boeing 737 fleet.
In 2025, Virgin Australia operates just five A320s in Western Australia, all originally part of Tigerair Australia’s budget fleet. Renowned years ago for tight legroom, minimal amenities, and no-frills comfort, these A320s still carry much of their old DNA today. But do they necessarily deliver a bad experience? And more importantly—how does a nearly 4-hour transcontinental flight on this aircraft compare with Virgin’s newer jets?
Today, I fly Virgin Australia Regional Airlines flight VA1438 from Darwin to Perth, covering a distance of 2,646 km in a scheduled 4 hours—completed in just 3 hours 34 minutes on this occasion. Here’s the full review from ground to touchdown.
⭐ Flight Overview
Airline: Virgin Australia Regional Airlines
Route: Darwin (DRW) → Perth (PER)
Flight Number: VA1438
Aircraft: Airbus A320-200
Registration: VH-VND
Aircraft Age: ~18 years
Configuration: All-Economy, 180 seats, 3-3 layout
Flight Time: 3h 34m
Cruising Altitude: 34,000 ft
Darwin Airport: Smooth, Quiet, and Surprisingly Efficient
Despite being a relatively small capital city with just 140,000 residents, Darwin International Airport punches far above its weight. Handling nearly 2 million passengers per year, it features an impressive mix of domestic and international links, with direct flights to Bali, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and even China.
Check-in and Bag Drop
Virgin Australia uses self-service check-in kiosks and automated bag-drop, shared across multiple airlines. It’s fast, intuitive, and very convenient. My entire check-in process took only a few minutes.
Security is equally efficient, with modern CT scanners meaning electronics and liquids can stay in your bag. This is a welcome upgrade more airports in Australia need.
With plenty of time before boarding, I enjoyed some plane-spotting—Darwin is Embraer territory, with QantasLink, Alliance Airlines, and Airnorth all heavily relying on E-Jets in the Top End.
Aircraft & Boarding: Meet the Ex-Tigerair A320
Today’s aircraft, VH-VND, has a colourful past:
- Ordered originally by Tiger Airways Singapore
- Delivered to Tigerair Australia in 2007
- Transferred to Virgin Australia in 2013
- Moved to Virgin Australia Regional in 2023
Despite Virgin branding, this is still very much a Tigerair-era cabin.
Cabin & Seating
- 180 all-economy seats
- 3-3 layout
- Black leather upholstery
- No USB power
- No adjustable headrests
- Likely 28–29 inches of pitch (far less than advertised 31”)
The legroom is tight—easily among the worst of any mainline Australian jet. On a full 4-hour flight, this could be rough. Fortunately, my row wasn’t full, which made a significant difference.
Takeoff from Darwin: A Golden Top-End Sunset
Pushback was perfectly on time, and we departed Darwin into one of the most stunning tropical sunsets you’ll ever see from an aircraft window. With smooth climb-out, we settled into the cruise at 34,000 ft, with the captain forecasting an early arrival into Perth.
Inflight Service: Buy On Board, Plus Free Tea & Coffee
Virgin Australia in 2025 positions itself as a hybrid airline—somewhere between Jetstar and Qantas. As such:
- All food and beverages are paid, except
- Complimentary tea
- Complimentary coffee
- Complimentary water
Buy On Board Menu
The menu features:
- Snacks
- Sandwiches & toasties
- Soft drinks
- Wine, beer, and spirits
- Hot meals (only on select >3.5h flights—not offered today)
Prices are typically $1–$2 higher than Jetstar.
I had already eaten in Darwin, so I skipped the paid options and only had the complimentary coffee—standard filtered brew, nothing special but it did the job.
Crew were attentive, friendly, and performed two drink runs during the flight.
Inflight Entertainment: Limited but Functional
Despite being an older aircraft, these A320s thankfully feature Virgin Australia’s streaming entertainment system, accessible via your own phone, tablet or laptop.
What you get:
- Movies
- TV series
- Kids’ content
- Podcasts
What you don’t get:
- Moving map (a major omission for aviation fans)
- Wi-Fi internet (unlike 737s, where it’s available for a fee or free in business class)
- Seatback screens (not expected on A320s)
Content selection is okay but hasn’t changed much this year. I watched my own downloaded shows for most of the flight.
Lavatories
The A320 features three standard lavatories—one at the front, two at the back. Basic, compact, and kept surprisingly clean even late into the flight.
Arrival into Perth
We began our descent into Perth just after sunset, touching down smoothly in cool winter weather that sharply contrasted the tropical humidity of Darwin and Bali. Taxi and disembarkation were efficient, and baggage was delivered quickly.
Final Verdict: Does the Ex-Tigerair A320 Ruin the Virgin Australia Experience?
Short answer: No—but it definitely brings it down a notch.
The Virgin Australia A320 is undeniably inferior to the airline’s 737 fleet in nearly every measurable way:
Cons
- Very poor legroom
- No USB power
- No adjustable headrests
- No Wi-Fi
- No Business Class (unfortunate on a 4-hour flight)
- Dated cabin feel
- Former Tigerair hard product is unmistakable
Pros
- Flights are often cheaper
- Streaming entertainment does work
- Crew friendliness remains a Virgin strong point
- Complimentary tea/coffee/water
- Flight was punctual and smooth
- Quiet load today made it more comfortable
Ultimately, this was an unremarkable but perfectly acceptable flight. It got me home to Perth safely, on time, and with minimal fuss—which, at the end of the day, is what matters.
But make no mistake:
Darwin and Perth passengers deserve better than ex-Tigerair A320s on such a long domestic route.
With Virgin introducing Embraer E190-E2s on select WA services and Qantas increasingly using 737-800s on longer domestic flights, there’s hope the A320 era on this route may be nearing its end.
Disclaimer: This article has been repurposed from the original transcript of my own flight review on the Aussie JetSetter Youtube channel with the assistance of AI technologies. Please be advised whilst I have taken the utmost care to review and revise this article where necessary to reflect the upmost of accuracy at time of publication please be advised my reviews whether written or in video form are for entertainment and general information purposes only. They reflect the objective views in good faith of the person only whom is presenting them unless otherwise noted. Any decisions you make resulting from consuming my content must take into consideration your own circumstances, research and responsibility as I can not be hold responsible for any inaccuracies or future changes effecting the relativity of such reviews. All Rights Reserved by Aussie JetSetter from 2022 >
