Virgin Australia Business Class - Meals, Menus & Service

[QF WP]

12/6 VA353 MEL/BNE

Hmmm, struggling to think what this was - drawing a blank. All I remember is thinking they dropped a full handful of leaves on top so I had to find the food underneath (photo taken after I’d cleared them)

 

[PDF]

I think the problem with my lamb was lack of sauce. Anyhow on board AKL-MEL right now and enjoying beef short ribs. Quite tasty. Tender and in a sweet sauce.

 

[zig]

A few meals over the last few days.
Bircher muesli with spiced plums.



Potato hash with pork and feta.

 

[zig]

Chicken and corn finger sandwich




Chicken skewers



Prosciutto salad

 

[Astro]

Few meals over the past week. @zig we have the same taste!

The virgin DOM J Product is actually really good.

 

[kermatu]

It is excellent. No pics I'm afraid but flew ADL-MEL and then MEL-CBR on the weekend. Used my two remaining comp upgrades (expiring shortly) to get J. In part to see what the short haul service is like c.f. QF.

ADL-MEL was 11:35 departure. Flight pretty full (including a footy team) so was only able to secure upgrade in the lounge - so catering not assured. Well explained in the lounge and by the CSM on boarding. Nevertheless, my luck held and got my first choice. Chicken, kale, walnut and berry pasta. It was delicious. Other option was the cos and radish salad with optional prosciutto (as posted above, had by my seatmate, she said it was delicious). Interestingly only two of the salad option loaded. At least 4 pax had the pasta. One declined to eat anything, the other asked for something else and was given a sandwich from Y (but nicely presented on a plate, from what I could see). Great service from CSM Stephen, who solo served 8 of us on a short flight with a couple of drink top-ups.

MEL-CBR was a 15:15 departure. Two hot options. Satay sticks, or two mini cheese tartlets. I had the latter. CSM gave me three. Very tasty, and not that small either. Again CSM (Adam, I think) did a great job looking after 8 pax solo, offering top-ups well into descent and on a very short flight. Two pax asked for cheese and crackers and a plate was made up from the J chese and suplemented by the pack from Y (I presume available for purchase).

While only having 8 pax maximum does help a bit, VA is so far ahead of QF on these short flights. Two hot options for a mid-arvo flight in particular. Orders taken before take-off, and no messing around with a trolley. Notable though that the Y FAs did not come up to help, but maybe they were fully occupied. (QF one of the FAs usually shows up after maybe 15 minutes to lend a hand and 'speed' things up).

 

[zig]

Chicken, kale, walnut and berry pasta.

Good to hear you enjoyed this. It was the alternative meal when I had the salad option (pictured up thread). I noticed that most of the other passengers on my flight ordered the pasta, but no one finished it, so I assumed it wasn't particularly good.

 

[kermatu]

Good to hear you enjoyed this. It was the alternative meal when I had the salad option (pictured up thread). I noticed that most of the other passengers on my flight ordered the pasta, but no one finished it, so I assumed it wasn't particularly good.

Having seen some negative feedback perhaps my expectations were low. But it was great. I didn't quite finish it ether, but because the serve was too large!

 

[jase05]

It is excellent. No pics I'm afraid but flew ADL-MEL and then MEL-CBR on the weekend. Used my two remaining comp upgrades (expiring shortly) to get J. In part to see what the short haul service is like c.f. QF.

ADL-MEL was 11:35 departure. Flight pretty full (including a footy team) so was only able to secure upgrade in the lounge - so catering not assured. Well explained in the lounge and by the CSM on boarding. Nevertheless, my luck held and got my first choice. Chicken, kale, walnut and berry pasta. It was delicious. Other option was the cos and radish salad with optional prosciutto (as posted above, had by my seatmate, she said it was delicious). Interestingly only two of the salad option loaded. At least 4 pax had the pasta. One declined to eat anything, the other asked for something else and was given a sandwich from Y (but nicely presented on a plate, from what I could see). Great service from CSM Stephen, who solo served 8 of us on a short flight with a couple of drink top-ups.

MEL-CBR was a 15:15 departure. Two hot options. Satay sticks, or two mini cheese tartlets. I had the latter. CSM gave me three. Very tasty, and not that small either. Again CSM (Adam, I think) did a great job looking after 8 pax solo, offering top-ups well into descent and on a very short flight. Two pax asked for cheese and crackers and a plate was made up from the J chese and suplemented by the pack from Y (I presume available for purchase).

While only having 8 pax maximum does help a bit, VA is so far ahead of QF on these short flights. Two hot options for a mid-arvo flight in particular. Orders taken before take-off, and no messing around with a trolley. Notable though that the Y FAs did not come up to help, but maybe they were fully occupied. (QF one of the FAs usually shows up after maybe 15 minutes to lend a hand and 'speed' things up).

Agree wholeheartedly. The ADL-MEL route is our most frequent and despite the short flight VA do an excellent job and far better than QF.
Obviously other routes may be different but for us I find it hard to fault them

 

[PDF]

Two pax asked for cheese and crackers

The passenger next to me yesterday (AKL-MEL) asked for cheese and crackers that Josh the cabin manager said was no longer available as an appetiser, but he raided the staff's catering and figured something out much to the delight of the guest. Passenger in question also asked for nuts, repeatedly asked for two drinks at a time (one alco one not), and various other requests to get his money's worth that were all delivered with a smile.

I've only flown in VA J on four sectors and all had outstanding service. Oddly, the first couple (2 years ago now) I entered the aircraft and was addressed with "Welcome to business class, Mr ______", but not these latest two, despite now having higher status and in a paying class (not an upgrade/reward seat). Change in procedures?

 

[QF WP]

That’s surprising (the greeting), because I have always received it. Maybe some training required for those FA/CSM’s (depends on who was doing the greeting).

Edit: The greeting should be for all Business Class pax, irrespective of status. I'm only Gold at the moment, but have been Plat. I'd expect perhaps a little more effusive if I was a Platinum member in Business...like "please let me know if there's anything we can do for you"

 

[ozflier]

Do I understand it correctly that J pax on domestic services have the option of requesting food from the meals on sale in economy if they run out of something suitable in J ?

 

[Bagpuss]

Do I understand it correctly that J pax on domestic services have the option of requesting food from the meals on sale in economy if they run out of something suitable in J ?

That's correct and I always ask for the cheese and crackers from economy which are free. Anything in economy is free for business class travelers.

 

[nat965]

Do I understand it correctly that J pax on domestic services have the option of requesting food from the meals on sale in economy if they run out of something suitable in J ?

That's correct and I always ask for the cheese and crackers from economy which are free. Anything in economy is free for business class travelers.

With many people having food allergies/intolerances (including myself), I'm sure that it's not an uncommon thing either. The few J trips I have had, I usually fill myself up before flying anyway, so not usually an issue for me.

 

[Lemon_Party]

SYD-BNE 5pm Friday night dinner service. Sausage roll or noodle salad offered. Well presented, but I’d expected something a bit more substantial so was pretty disappointed overall. Full cabin but service was still good.

 

[traceyy]

that sausage roll they do is really nice though.....

 

[Mexpirate]

That's correct and I always ask for the cheese and crackers from economy which are free. Anything in economy is free for business class travelers.

Does this extend to the Ink Gin and Espresso martini that's on the retail menu?

 

[RisingPhoenix]

Does this extend to the Ink Gin and Espresso martini that's on the retail menu?

Have had the Ink Gin and Fevertree before in J after requesting.

 

[jase05]

ADL-SYD Dinner last night. Had the Chicken, kale, walnut and berry pasta as mentioned by a few above. When it first came out I must admit it looked a bit of an odd combination but was simply stunning with a ton of flavour. Large pieces of chicken that were moist and deliciously spiced plus a generous amount of creamy sauce on the pasta. Not a huge amount of kale which suits me and the walnuts and berries added some nice flavours to the dish. Excess sauce mopped up with an extra roll. Very enjoyable dish and would choose again. Other option was a pear and walnut? salad I think. Only 4 of us in J and all had the pasta. A couple of glasses of very pleasant Pinot Gris to wash down a very good meal. No PDB as we were rushed departing thanks to the inbound arriving late but apart from that service was great and attentive.

 

[freebo]

Been trawling this thread for flights to/from LAX but can't find any posts on this, any recommendations or advice, its been about a year since I did it?