Virgin Australia 737-800 Seat Selection Guide (2026)
Virgin Australia's cabin refresh is now essentially finished. Seventy-one of the airline's 737-800s fly the refreshed 8C/174Y interior, making it the default experience rather than the lucky draw it was two years ago. This guide covers that cabin row by row, then deals with the handful of older airframes still out there.
✈️ Quick verdict
The two overwing exit rows sit at 38" pitch — more legroom than the front Economy X rows get — and row 15 is the one that also keeps its recline. 15A and 15F are the best Economy seats on the aircraft.
Quick Verdict
| Aircraft | Boeing 737-800 (IATA: 738) |
| Fleet | 71 refreshed airframes — the dominant configuration |
| Configuration | 8 Business + 174 Economy = 182 seats |
| Layout | 2-2 Business (letters A/C, D/F — no B or E); 3-3 Economy |
| Business pitch | 37", 20" wide, 5" recline — Collins MiQ cradle recliner |
| Economy X pitch | 34" (rows 3–4), 38" (rows 14–15) |
| Economy pitch | 30" forward, 31" rear, 17" wide, 2" recline |
| Best in Business | 1A and 1F — bulkhead windows, maximum knee space |
| Best in Economy | 15A / 15F — 38" exit row with full recline |
| Best windows | 6A/F, 9A/F, 22A/F, 24A/F, 26A/F |
| No window at all | 11A and 11F — wall only |
| Seats to avoid | Rows 30 and 31 (lavatory adjacent), 11A/11F |
| IFE | Streamed to your own device — no seatback screens |
| Power | Business: 240V AC + USB-A. Economy: USB-A only |
| WiFi | Intelsat 2Ku, selected aircraft, 10–40 Mbps |
| Version lottery | Largely resolved — see below |
The version lottery, mostly closed
For years this aircraft was a genuine gamble. It no longer is.
Refreshed (8C/174Y, 182 seats) — 71 aircraft. Boeing Sky Interior, Space Bins, mood lighting, Collins MiQ recliners in Business, Collins Meridian slimlines in Economy, USB power throughout, four Economy X rows. This is what you will almost certainly be on.
2022 prototype (8C/162Y, 170 seats) — 2 aircraft. The two airframes used to trial the refresh. Five Economy X rows marked with red-accented headrests, Economy rows 3–30. Fewer seats and more extra-legroom rows than the production cabin, so it is not a downgrade — just different. Odds of drawing one are roughly 3%.
Legacy (8C/168Y, 176 seats). The un-refreshed original, Economy rows 3–30, five Economy X rows with dark grey accents. No longer carries a published fleet count, which means the remaining examples are residual and shrinking. If you get one, expect the older Business seat and no in-seat power.
The practical upshot: plan for the refreshed cabin. The row numbers below apply to it. If your seat map shows Economy ending at row 30 rather than 31, you are on one of the older two and the exit rows move forward to 13 and 14.
Business Class — rows 1–2
Eight Collins Aerospace MiQ cradle recliners in 2-2. Note the lettering: seats are A, C, D and F. There is no 1B or 1E.
37" pitch, 20" wide, 5" recline, leather trim, extendable leg and footrest, tablet holder in the tray table, and an aisle-side armrest that lowers for easier access. Power is 240V universal AC plus USB-A.
✅ Best seats
- 1A and 1F — bulkhead windows with the maximum knee space in the cabin. 1A is the pick of the four: 1F has no underseat storage, so anything you want during the flight has to go in the bin.
- 1C — bulkhead aisle, same knee space, easy exit.
Be aware
1D — same bulkhead position but the forward galley sits directly ahead. Expect noise and light through the service. It is the weakest of the four front-row seats.
Row 2 — perfectly good seats with full recline and underseat storage, just without the bulkhead legroom. On refreshed aircraft the divider behind Business is lighter than the old solid bulkhead, so row 2 gets a little more spillover from the front of Economy.
The honest caveat: these are recliners, not lie-flat. Virgin operates no lie-flat product on any 737 regardless of sector length — including the overnight Perth–east coast runs and Bali services where you might reasonably expect one.
Economy X — rows 3, 4, 14 and 15
Four rows, 24 seats, in two blocks with very different pitch. This is the single most useful thing to know about the aircraft.
Rows 14 and 15 — the good block, 38" pitch
Both overwing exit rows. Thirty-eight inches is a genuinely large amount of legroom for a narrowbody, four inches better than the forward Economy X rows.
- 15A and 15F — the best Economy seats on the aircraft. Exit row pitch, full recline, and two windows at each position.
- 15C and 15D — same row, aisle, same 38" and full recline.
- 14C and 14D — 38" aisle seats that also recline normally.
- 14A, 14B, 14E and 14F — 38" pitch, but reduced or no recline because exit row 15 behind them has to stay clear. Fine for a 90-minute hop, less appealing on a five-hour Perth sector.
Rows 3 and 4 — the forward block, 34" pitch
Four inches less than the exit rows, but you are at the front of the cabin and off the aircraft first.
3A, 3C, 3D and 3F — front row of Economy, 34", quickest disembarkation. Row 3's catch: the armrests here are fixed. Tray tables are stowed inside them, which means the armrest will not lift and the seat is fractionally narrower than the rest of the cabin. If you travel with a child and like to raise the armrest, book row 4 instead.
4A, 4C, 4D and 4F — the fourth Economy X row, same 34" pitch, normal lifting armrests. The quiet pick of the forward block.
Economy — rows 5 to 31
Collins Meridian slimline seats, 3-3, with a four-way adjustable headrest and a tablet holder. Thirty inches forward of the wing, thirty-one aft. Seventeen inches wide, two inches of recline. USB-A at every seat; there is no AC power in Economy.
✅ Best standard Economy seats
- 6A, 6F, 9A and 9F — the best windows in the forward cabin. Properly aligned, quiet, pre-wing, and early off the aircraft.
- 22A, 22F, 24A, 24F, 26A, 26F — the best windows aft of the wing. Worth more than a generic seat five rows further forward.
- Rows 5, 7 and 8 windows — solid forward-cabin seats with standard window alignment.
- Rows 17–20 and 23, 25, 27 — unremarkable in a good way. Standard pitch, no flags, away from both galleys.
🚫 Seats to avoid
- 11A and 11F — no window. Wall only at those positions. It catches people out because it is not where the older configurations had theirs.
- Rows 30 and 31. Both sit immediately against the aft lavatories: noise, odours and a permanent queue in the aisle. Row 31 is the last row, so recline is reduced and the fuselage taper narrows the window seats. 31B and 31E are the worst seats on the aircraft.
- Row 29. One row further forward but still inside the lavatory queue path.
Window seats with restricted views
- 10A — window set behind the seat, you have to lean back to see out. 10F on the other side is fine and actually has two windows.
- 16A and 16F — poor alignment, first row aft of the exits.
- 21A and 21F — window set behind the seat, same problem as 10A.
Reduced recline
Row 13 — A, B, E and F cannot fully recline because exit row 14 sits behind them. 13C and 13D are unaffected. Row 14 — A, B, E and F, as covered above.
Cabin Features Comparison
| Feature | Refreshed | 2022 Prototype | Legacy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fleet count | 71 | 2 | Residual, unpublished |
| Total seats | 182 | 170 | 176 |
| Business | 8 (Collins MiQ) | 8 | 8 (original recliner) |
| Economy | 174 (Collins Meridian) | 162 | 168 |
| Economy rows | 3–31 | 3–30 | 3–30 |
| Economy X rows | 4 (rows 3, 4, 14, 15) | 5 (red accents) | 5 (dark grey accents) |
| Exit rows | 14 and 15 | 13 and 14 | 13 and 14 |
| In-seat power | USB-A Economy, AC + USB Business | Yes | No |
| Windowless seats | 11A, 11F | 9A | 9A |
| IFE | Streamed to device | Streamed | Streamed |
Quick-Pick Summary
| If you're… | Book… |
|---|---|
| Solo, legroom above all | 15A or 15F — 38" exit row window with full recline |
| Solo, want the view | 6A, 6F, 9A or 9F — best window alignment on the aircraft |
| Solo, aisle and legroom | 15C or 15D — 38", full recline, straight to the aisle |
| Couple, extra legroom | 15A+15B or 15E+15F — window and middle in the best row |
| Couple, no premium paid | 22A+22B or 26E+26F — best rear windows, standard fare |
| Family of three | Row 5, 7 or 8 — a full ABC or DEF block, forward and quiet |
| Travelling with a small child | Row 4 — Economy X legroom with armrests that actually lift |
| Business, best of the eight | 1A — bulkhead window, keeps its underseat storage |
| Off the aircraft first | 3C or 3D — front row of Economy, aisle |
| Price is the only factor | Rows 17–20 windows — no premium, no flags, mid-cabin |
| Avoid | Rows 30 and 31, 11A/11F, 31B and 31E above all |
How to Tell Which Cabin You're On
Count the Economy rows on the seat map. Refreshed runs 3 to 31 with exits at 14 and 15. Both older configurations stop at row 30 with exits at 13 and 14. This is the fastest check and it works at the booking stage.
Look at the Economy X markings. Refreshed uses dark grey with red accents across four rows. The two prototype aircraft use red-accented headrests across five rows. Legacy uses plain dark grey across five rows.
On board: refreshed aircraft have USB power at every Economy seat and Space Bins overhead. Legacy aircraft have no in-seat power at all — that is the single clearest tell once you are seated.
Odds. With 71 refreshed airframes against two prototypes and a shrinking residual legacy fleet, you are overwhelmingly likely to be on the refreshed cabin. Virgin also operates 18 737 MAX 8s in the same 8C/174Y configuration, so a MAX substitution will not change your seat experience much.
Comparable Guides
- Virgin Australia 737 MAX 8 — same 8C/174Y cabin, 18 aircraft
- Qantas 737-800 — the direct domestic competitor, seat for seat
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the single best Economy seat on Virgin Australia's 737-800?
15A or 15F. Both are exit row windows at 38" pitch — the most legroom in the cabin — and unlike row 14 they keep full recline. Two windows at each position as well.
Is Virgin Australia's 737-800 Business Class lie-flat?
No. All configurations use 2-2 recliners at 37" pitch with 5" of recline. Virgin operates no lie-flat product on any 737, including overnight Perth–east coast and Bali services.
Which seats have no window?
11A and 11F on the refreshed cabin — wall only at those positions. On the older un-refreshed configurations the windowless seat is 9A instead. Separately, 10A, 16A, 16F, 21A and 21F have windows that sit behind the seat, giving a restricted view rather than none.
Is Economy X worth paying for?
It depends which rows. The exit rows at 38" are a substantial upgrade and worth it on anything over two hours. The forward rows at 34" are a more modest four-inch gain over standard, but they get you off the aircraft first. Economy X also includes priority boarding and priority overhead space.
Is there free WiFi on Virgin Australia 737-800s?
Only on aircraft fitted with the Intelsat 2Ku system, which is selective across the fleet. Speeds run 10–40 Mbps where fitted, and the roll-out continues progressively alongside the cabin refresh.