Virgin Australia Business Class [Catering during COVID-19?]

[Rod H]

Has anyone flown VA domestic Business Class lately. I’m flying home from Perth to Brisbane on 26 May Business Class via Melbourne ( no direct flights ATM ). I see from their web site they only serve snacks and water.
Seeing as this is quite a long flight I need to know just what the snack is in case I need to bring my own if it’s rather small. Also is there wine or beer a available?
I did see a short report from an AFF member re. This but not sure when this report was written.
Any info will be much appreciated as I cannot find the answers anywhere and nothing from VA except the limited information on their web site.

 

[Astro]

I'd be curious to know also - I am supposed to be flying next week VA in Y. I assume it will be slim levels of service. Probably wont even be able to use the loo!!

 

[AIRwin]

VA's COVID-19 Minimal Network Schedule

Stupid first-wold problem I know.... but looking at flying VA next week.... J is still at the same price as usual - is there any cabin service on board? Does anyone know? The website says that due to "safety concerns" nothing is available for purchase.... but since J is all-inclusive, does that...

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[Rod H]

I’m quite surprised that this thread has had 95 views and yet not one person has been able to answer the query.
Sure some knows a VA Flight attendant that could answer the query or even better surely there must be someone who has actually flown lately or knows someone who has.
Guess I will just have to wait and see if anything turns up In this forum.

 

[mannej]

I’m quite surprised that this thread has had 95 views and yet not one person has been able to answer the query.
Sure some knows a VA Flight attendant that could answer the query or even better surely there must be someone who has actually flown lately or knows someone who has.
Guess I will just have to wait and see if anything turns up In this forum.

Post #3 of this thread provides a link to the summary of a recent J experience, and answers both questions does it not?

 

[Rod H]

mannej .Sorry but I’m not sure which post you are referring to.
I have read several conflicting reports on what “ may be available “ but none on what actually occurred.

 

[serfty]

Post #4 provides a summary of a recent J experience, and answers both questions does it not?

That would be post #40:

Ok.... so there was no catering - the choice of a brownie or beef jerky- yuk. Who on earth would have suggested beef jerky as an option?

But, there was plenty of beer and wine - and with only 1 other pax in J the service was great. Nice crew, just happy to be at work! So I wasn't really that disappointed in the end.

All the planes parked in BNE.... a bit sad :-(

 

[Rod H]

Thanks mannej. That’s what I am looking for.
It would be great to at least have a few drinks with my BYO food which I will now bring on board.

 

[Astro]

Let us know your experience.

Also what meal are you thinking of taking on board? Serious question.

 

[Mexpirate]

I flew BNE to PER a few weeks ago, there was water only in Y. In J I was offered only an olive/cheese tart rather than 3 course meal plus anything from the pantry and usual drinks service.

Unfortunately not a fan of olives so I grabbed a sandwich from the retail menu (still had to pay which FA was very apologetic about) and some nuts/crisps

 

[Rod H]

Let us know your experience.

Also what meal are you thinking of taking on board? Serious question.

I’m still thinking about what to take.
Probably a few Asian rice paper rolls in a small cooler container .
These are easily packed and with a small cool pack will keep fresh for quite a while so could have them for lunch Perth-Melbourne.
Have about 2 hours transit in Melbourne so might be able to grab a Mc Donald’s Burger before the flight.
If all goes as some have suggested should be able to have some wine etc on both sector’s.
Would have been nice to have the full service but given the terrible Covid-19 crisis it’s completely understandable.
Just happy to have an Entry Permit for Queensland and be able to get home after many weeks stuck in Perth.

 

[Max Samuels]

Has anyone flown VA domestic Business Class lately. I’m flying home from Perth to Brisbane on 26 May Business Class via Melbourne ( no direct flights ATM ). I see from their web site they only serve snacks and water.
Seeing as this is quite a long flight I need to know just what the snack is in case I need to bring my own if it’s rather small. Also is there wine or beer a available?
I did see a short report from an AFF member re. This but not sure when this report was written.
Any info will be much appreciated as I cannot find the answers anywhere and nothing from VA except the limited information on their web site.

Bring food. Nothing for purchase on-board. J has a limited selection of wine/beer. Nothing really to eat except beef jerky and cookies. The airports (well BNE at least) have very limited food & bev operations.... I could only see 1 in BNE.

 

[Rod H]

Thanks Max.
Thats exactly what I wanted to hear , info from someone who has flown recently.
Definitely BYO food for me , just hope they continue with the wine and beer.
I guess the on board restrictions are mainly in place for handling cooked food and money/ credit cards.
At least In J there’s no money to change hands so I presume that’s why wine and beer are available there.
I’ll find out soon anyway.
Thanks again.

 

[Astro]

I haven't flown business for a few weeks now so can't comment on the catering. From sitting behind the purple divider it does seem they are only doing a snack out of a basket. Reminds me of Delta Domestic F in the USA.

I did take some pics of my travels for those wondering what it's like flying in Y at the moment. Very strange is what it is. However, no delays so far, no lines, no stress really.

Heading to Melbourne from Sydney:












Melbourne to Sydney:












The staff are treating it very much as business as usual - which is nice considering the circumstances. There are hardly any flights, as everyone knows, so security is a breeze - a few people that don't know how to behave and think that if they push through a crowd security they'll get to their destination before you...

No paperwork between NSW and Victoria. There were defense personnel along with many AFP in Sydney. Melbourne was much quieter.

They are serving wine on the afternoon leg. I think the smaller bottles are new. They used to serve out of 750's. On the morning flight down it was just a snack and water.

One other thing that was surprising was there wasn't many wearing masks. I thought it would be everyone - for instance the Apple Store in Donny Melbourne has a mask policy. I would have thought there would be more.

I notice availability is starting to become slim on Virgin so expect more and more are going back to work in other states. I have been lucky and haven't been needing to fly and I've kind of enjoyed being in the one spot for a few weeks.

 

[Rod H]

Thanks for the report Astro.
Seems like it’s much as the last few posters have said.
For the long flights it’s BYO food and looks like wine is being served in J.
I guess I will find out in 12 days.
If anyone flies J with VA in the meantime it would be nice to hear a report.

 

[jakeseven7]

I did take some pics of my travels for those wondering what it's like flying in Y at the moment. Very strange is what it is. However, no delays so far, no lines, no stress really.

One other thing that was surprising was there wasn't many wearing masks. I thought it would be everyone - for instance the Apple Store in Donny Melbourne has a mask policy. I would have thought there would be more.

Thank you for your spooky trip report.

I guess the absence of masks means not many covid cases / sick people on your flight which is good!

 

[drross]

Amazing photos Astro. Thanks

 

[Rod James]

Before the virus Virgin only gave a muesli bar in economy as a "meal" so I would now expect less from them.

 

[mad_atta]

No doubt things are changing fast, given 1) VA's uncertain state regarding its model and offering and 2) the unwinding of lockdown and constantly changing COVID-related protocols, but wondered whether there are any updates to VA's business class service levels or thoughts on where we'll see them headed?

We're about to book flights from Sydney to Darwin in late July / early August. I'm thinking about booking Freedom one way so I could attempt to use Platinum upgrades.

• Pros: potentially a chance to use them while I still can, and a more comfortable seat would be nice for the 4 hour flight.
• Cons: I can already get Economy X, and service levels are probably pretty bare bones.

Curious to hear any thoughts on what you'd do!

 

[mrmerc500]

Have flown up to Broome this week as a family of 4 in J and was still greatly impressed!

Firstly tough, I may actually miss Terminal 2 @ Perth, love the airside walk & Subway option to take onboard opposed to HJ’s @ Terminal 1 although will be good to get back to the Lounge once re-opened.

Onboard the 737, lovely cabin supervisor who was concerned that they were losing loyalty however was proud to see some new catering options come available. Water bottles offered throughout.

In Business, there was white & red wine, soft drinks and a more than substantial snack box.

This included a Pineapple & Passionfruit Bar, Soy Crisps, Cheese & Crackers and Arnott biscuit so a bit of variety to match any time of day food option.

Unfortunately Y only had the choice of the pink or blue bars.

Looking forward to seeing how VA evolve.

Broome is the new Bali for us Perth residents