Flying from Cairns to Brisbane with Virgin Australia

A Virgin Australia 737-800.

The plane: A Boeing 737-800.

Class: Economy.

Price: This flight usually costs about $397.

On time: Boarding was delayed by more than 10 minutes, but the flight time listed as 2h 15min was shorter — a fortunate thing as my Airtrain connection to the international terminal at Brisbane was delayed and those of us needing to connect who didn't want to wait 20 minutes were transferred by bus.

My seat: 6F, a window seat allowing me a view of the grey sky as the clouds opened over Cairns and then evolving into a relatively sunny day in Brisbane.

Fellow passengers: Two Aussie businessmen were busy on their tablets for most of the trip.

How full: The flight was full, but all were well-behaved.

Entertainment: Virgin operates a Wireless In-flight Entertainment system, where passengers download the app pre-flight on to their own phones, tablets or laptops and then, once given the go-ahead, can access movies, TV, music and games (with flight mode on, of course).

The service: Friendly and efficient.

Food and drink: For those with the all-inclusive "Flexi" fares, a feta-and-spinach muffin was the snack, accompanied by water/juice/tea or coffee.

The toilets: A visit was not required on this relatively short flight — fortunately as to displace two large Ockers could have been an issue.

Luggage: The allowance is 23kg in the hold and up to 7kg on board.

The airport experience: As a departing passenger, Cairns domestic terminal was not particularly appealing. There was little information at the gate about the imminent flight — and its delay — then a long walk along a concrete hallway to the aircraft.

Would I fly this again? Yes, as long as I had the foresight to download the inflight app. Choosing the Flexi option with snack also helps pass the time.