Business class now on all Virgin flights to Perth from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane

Virgin Australia's Perth flights to and from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane will all see business class as standard on every service from 28 September.

With the arrival of new Boeing 737-800 planes, and the refits of ex-Virgin Blue aircraft, the airline is promising an upmarket option for business travellers to go with the Coast-to-Coast Airbus A330 flights.

While the new business class seats do look good (and we reckon the Virgin America-style purple wraparound cabin divider is pretty snazzy), business travellers between Sydney and Perth looking to get the most for their fare are best to stick to the A330 flights, which have more legroom and a more spacious cabin.

This is the larger cabin on the A330...

A330 Sydney-Perth flights have 60+ inches of legroom, while 737 flights get 38 inches, so if you want a good snooze, or just to stretch out your legs a bit more, that's the one to go for.

...while this is the smaller cabin on the 737.

(We were on the inaugural A330 flight from Sydney to Perth earlier this year, and you can check out our in-depth flight review of the return journey too.)

One-way fares start at $1399 for Sydney-Perth, while Melbourne-Perth is slightly less at $1299 and Brisbane-Perth is slightly more at $1499.

For that fare, you'll get a leather seat, comfort kit, coat check service, and a private business class bathroom. On the ground, you'll also get priority check-in, lounge access and -- for a limited time -- limousine transfers to and from the airport at all four cities.

The service will be upgraded too, with a boarding drink plus two full meals on most flights, depending on the time of day.

Wine options will include Adelaide Hills Chardonnay, Eden Valley Pinot Gris and Frankland River Cabernet Merlot, while beer fans get Crown Lager and Fat Yak. There'll also be vodka, rum, scotch, Bailey's, gin and bourbon on board.

There's no news yet on the in-flight entertainment Virgin Australia has been spruiking on the rumour networks all year, though, with what sounds like an interim option being offered.

Business class passengers will receive a handheld Digiplayer with six movies, 10 TV shows, music podcasts and games. It's not exactly cutting edge, but it'll make the time go relatively more quickly.

John Walton

Aviation journalist and travel columnist John took his first long-haul flight when he was eight weeks old and hasn't looked back since. Well, except when facing rearwards in business class.