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Virgin Australia's newest Boeing 737-800s have been fitted with AeroMobile's connectivity solution that supports in-flight voice calls, SMS, and GPRS (3G) data usage.

Recent Boeing 737-800 deliveries to Virgin Australia have been notable not for their all white scheme or new livery but rather a small hump on the rear crown of the fuselage that Virgin will not comment on what it is, such as a radome for connectivity to use mobile phones or Internet in-flight. See this closeup of VH-YFC:

VH-YFF, the most recent 737-800 delivery to Virgin, also sports this hump. No, it is not the radome for the LiveTV antenna, which is larger and more forward on the fuselage:

It is also not a standard 737 fitting. Have a look at this radome-less Qantas 737-800:
The hump on Virgin's 737s is typical in shape to the radome used on aircraft to protect an antenna receiving a satellite or ground-based signal the aircraft then uses to supply connectivity to passengers. However, it is smaller in size than existing radomes to supply Internet, such as by Row 44 on Southwest 737s, but larger than the radome to cover mobile phone-only connectivity, such as on Air New Zealand's OnAir-equipped Airbus A320.

V Australia this morning joins 42 airlines around the world considering their next steps after the Federal Aviation Administration issued an airworthiness directive overnight for airlines to determine if their passenger seats meet safety specifications and, if not, to bring them up to standard or replace them within 2-6 years.

The Bvlgari amenity kit (nice, but necessary on a 3 or 4 hour flight?) came in a compact black case featuring a magnetic holder. Inside were Bvlgari-branded lotion and cologne, a toothbrush with Colgate toothpaste, earplugs, and then a large and soft sleep mask with an adjustable velcro closure--no more awkward lines on your hair and face from where elastic bands were. I did not see any passengers on my flight use the pillow and blanket, the latter of which was a soft fleece and perhaps thin, but the cabin was warm enough.

Air New Zealand is planning for its four-tiered "Seats to Suit" product and fare structure to serve as the model of its integrated product offering with trans-Tasman joint-venture partner Virgin Australia.

Jetstar passengers will be sure to notice a cabin retrofit the carrier will begin later this year.

The carrier plans to retrofit half of its A320 fleet with B/E Aerospace's Pinnacle seat, as we reported earlier today. The Pinnacle seat has relocated the "literature pocket" (where the in-flight magazine, safety card, and air sickness bag are typically stored) to the top of the seat, freeing up more leg room. All Nippon Airways features a similar type of seat (left).

Moving the literature pocket up "allows for the provision of a removable in-flight entertainment bracket which will hold our planned IFE system (iPad)", a spokeswoman says. See the end of this post for a video demonstration of how passengers will easily be able to view content on their iPad IFE.

The retrofit will be applied to half of the carrier's A320 fleet, all 6 of its A321 aircraft, and all future narrow-body deliveries. The retrofit will see the A320 fleet have a standardized configuration of 180 seats (three more seats than on some aircraft) while the A321 fleet will have six additional seats installed, bringing its total capacity to 220 seats. For all the details, see here.

Virgin Blue's (Australia's?) first Sky Interior Boeing 737 aircraft, VH-YFC, entered commercial service this weekend and photos are already coming in.

Photos of the all-economy 180 seat aircraft depict a simple and nondescript gray and black leather interior, a sharp departure from the carrier's current bright blue and red seats. Even the carrier's forthcoming A330 aircraft has hints of colours. The seats have sculpted sides and adjustable head rests.

The aircraft reportedly does not have any IFE system installed, yet.

Virgin Blue's 737 victor uniform yankee received a lot of attention for its AFL promotional livery, but its interior is more fascinating.

Where a PTV should be is a nice big gray plastic cover to hide the hole behind (above). How is this plastic fantastic?

The cover's proportions are much more rectangular than square, the traditional shape of PTVs. It is also quite large and takes up almost all of the upper seatback.

What this easily points to is affirmation of the talk of Virgin Blue installing on its 737s the Panasonic Red IFE system, which is currently in use on Virgin America and V Australia. 

A 737-800 takes off from Melbourne Tullamarine. (Photo: Will Horton)

Whatever April Fool's pranks punters come up with--787 in-flight restaurant, hologram IFE--Boeing can relax knowing it has today signed an agreement with Virgin Blue for 50 B737-800s with 25 options and 30 purchase rights for delivery from next year until 2017.

The order is the largest in Virgin Blue's history and the largest for Boeing in the past 18 months, a statement from the carrier says. While Virgin Blue declined to put a value on the order, at Boeing's list prices the 50 firm orders are worth approximately US $3.8 billion. Heavy discounts are expected, of course.

This purchase will more than double Boeing's year-to-date orders, but Boeing would certainly be happier if Virgin ordered the comparatively lacklustre -900ER variant of the 737 family. While today's deal leaves the -900ER out of firm orders, Virgin says its agreement with Boeing allows it to convert its firmed -800s to -700s or -900[ER]s.

Over the past few months Virgin had strongly hinted it would order the -900ER. Last December CEO Brett Godfrey said, "The -900 holds some appeal, at the right price obviously."

In February at the carrier's half-year results, when an in-principle agreement had been reached, Godfrey said Virgin was interested in the -900ER variant as it would provide more capacity out of slot-restricted Sydney and has a 2-3% lower operating cost per seat.

The -900ER can seat 25 more passengers in a single-class configuration than the Boeing 737-800, the next largest aircraft in the 737 family. Low-cost competitor Jetstar, owned by Qantas Airways, operates Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft domestically. The A321 has a similar capacity and range as the -900ER. Qantas operates widebody aircraft on some domestic routes, including out of Sydney. In late 2014 Qantas is due to introduce 787s on domestic routes, further pushing Virgin to have a larger aircraft on popular routes affected by slot control.

The aircraft purchased under today's deal will be feature fuel saving improvements and will be delivered with Boeing's Sky Interior, which includes newly designed seats and IFE that will coincide with Virgin's "Airline of the Future" concept to be rolled out next year, the carrier says. But there's no indication if the first of these new aircraft will be the first aircraft to take part in Virgin's Airline of the Future.

The carrier says a "significant percentage" of the new aircraft are to replace existing aircraft. Many of the carrier's -700s and -800s (the only type of 737s it operates) are coming off their leases and will soon require increased maintenance. Older aircraft, starting at approximately ten years, are more likely to develop costly structural and other issues where fixing the problem is more expensive in the long run than replacing the aircraft with a new one.

Virgin first revealed last September it was looking to order more 737s.

The second Qantas A330-200 in a new domestic configuration started service today between Melbourne and Sydney, Qantas says in a statement. Readers of this blog will know the aircraft's extolled product has a back story Qantas is shying away from.

The statement even goes on to say: "Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said the aircraft represents a new era of flying for the Qantas domestic customer." New era? More like the era before the B747-300.

I first flew AirAsia X in July 2008 not knowing what to expect. It was a low-cost carrier but flew long-haul. After a few hours on my flight from Australia's Gold Coast to Kuala Lumpur (disclosure: it was a complimentary ticket) I was sold.

The flight felt like any other. The main difference was that when you book your ticket you also need to pay for luggage and food (if you require them), and mid-flight snacks will cost you a few dollars. And heck, AirAsia X even had flair some legacy carriers lack.

After talking to CEO Azran Osman-Rani in KL, I knew this then-quiet carrier was going to usher in a new era in travel--low-cost, long-haul--and make it work.

Operative word: work. My flight was on the carrier's leased A330, a former Aer Lingus bird in a standard configuration (added bonus: Celtic music and Galway tourism ads on the audio system). AirAsia X's growth, however, hinged on 25 A330-300s in a dense 3-3-3 392 seat configuration. That's 79 fewer seats than what Singapore Airlines fits on its A380.

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The first two photos show the regular economy seats and the second two show the bigger business class-like seats

An AirAsia X ticket might be a fraction of a full-service carrier, but would the seats be too cramped to make the trip worth it? I wanted to find out, and with AirAsia X half the price of other carriers on a recent trip from Melbourne to the UK I had no reason to say no.

Below are cabin photos of A330s direct from Airbus. I flew this aircraft from MEL to KUL. (KUL to STN was on the carrier's A340.)

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The first interior on AirAsia X's new A330s. This interior will be replaced by June. These photos depict the regular economy seats in a 3-3-3 configuration for a total of 364 seats.

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The first interior on AirAsia X's new A330s. This interior will be replaced by June. These photos depict the XL economy seats in a 2-3-2 configuration for a total of 28 seats.

The verdict? The cabin is sleek, leg room is standard for economy, seat width is narrower but not uncomfortably so, or at least not for your skinny author, and there are flexible headrests.

One problem: the seats don't recline. As hard as I pressed on that silver reclining button while leaning back, the seat didn't budge. Flight attendants embarrassingly told me the seats didn't recline.

Osman-Rani explained to me in an e-mail the other day:

When we first procured the A330s in 2007, that was the period when all airlines were buying up new planes like crazy, and all the seat manufacturers were at full capacity. We did not have a choice as only one seat supplier could meet our time frame requirements.

So AirAsia X went with a supplier that provided a fixed-back shell design. The seat cushion was supposed to slide forward, giving passengers a recline without interfering with the passenger behind them. But it failed, and Osman-Rani doesn't hide it:

However, while the theory [of the seat] was interesting, in practice, it wasn't a great seat because the cushioning was not soft enough and the gliding mechanism was too stiff that most passengers did not know how to slide the bottom forward to recline.

It appears I was in the majority that couldn't slide the bottom forward.

AirAsia X doesn't want to be that carrier passengers love for the price but hate for the service. So AirAsia X is going to rip out the old interior and put in new seats that properly recline. Even full-service carriers shudder at the thought of re-configuring aircraft, but AirAsia X knows bad word could spread that their seats don't recline.

The re-configuration is being fast tracked: the first A330 with the new interior (including lie-flat business class-style seats--check back here in a few days for more details) entered service this month and all five of the carrier's owned aircraft will be completed by June. AirAsia X's leased A330--the former Aer Lingus bird--will receive the new interior by November, Osman-Rani says.

Costs will be high--the carrier hasn't disclosed a figure--but will be off-set because the new seats won't have AVOD IFE units in the seats (see above photos), shaving off more than one ton of weight per aircraft according to Osman-Rani.

AirAsia X found its IFE, at 30 Malaysian ringgits (US$8.75) for an eight hour flight, wasn't selling well. On my daylight flight from MEL to KUL, which was nearly full, I couldn't find more than 15 passengers using the system in the regular economy cabins. That's less than four per cent uptake. Ouch.

Instead of built-in IFE, Osman-Rani says flights will have a limited supply of portable units. "Portables are the way to go," he wrote, explaining the carrier can also achieve efficiency by regulating demand. I suspect IFE would be more popular on the carrier's eight-hour hauls to Australia than four-hour flights to Taiwan, or soon India. I wonder what my IFEC whiz colleague Mary "Runway Girl" Kirby will have to say about built-in units versus portables.

I'm due to fly on the aircraft with the new interior Thursday on my return to Melbourne. I'll post an update then. Before then, expect a report on my AirAsia X KL-London flight, currently the longest flight operated by an LCC.