Virgin Australia Business Class - Meals, Menus & Service

[pythonisman]

We would have past you waiting as we arrived from Perth on XFE last night, flight info was working but maps weren't on the way over.

There was only 4 spare J seats and the service was just as good as when there is only 4 in J. Kids (4 & 8) were looked after well from the time we boarded. One thing I did like about the IFE was you could play the games with anyone else, especially good with the kids when sitting in different rows.

Good to hear they keep it up to a good standard even when it's loaded. (Also good for their sake that the flights are not too empty)

I can imagine the games would be pretty popular with the kids!

One thing I forgot to mention was that our captain was an absolute champion. I forget what his name was, but he definitely lightened up the announcements in true VA fashion.

Fingers crossed for XFC/D/E on the return flight!!

 

[pshepvic]

View attachment 9679
DJ992 BNE-SYD 15 September 2012
Dinner: Penne with lamb meatballs, linseed roll, salad

I had this MEL-BNE on Tuesday night this week - I thought it was a bit disappointing when offered, but it was actually very tasty. Just needed a sprinkle of Parmesan and would have been awesome!


Sent from my iPhone using AustFreqFly app

 

[esquire]

Flew this evening from Sydney to Perth, A332 VH-XFE (booyeah!). Fantastic layout and J seat comfort. J load 10/24, my seat 1K (incidentally I think in the new config all seats are about as good as each other, in terms of leg room etc.


Awesome experience from start to finish. Friendly and attentive crew.


Started with a Pinot Grigio that wasn't in the wine list and was delightful, but the hostie was incredibly apologetic when she went for a second refill as they'd only loaded one bottle.



I had the lamb salad entree, pretty tasty. I didn't see anyone go for the soup.

Was on MEL-PER yesterday - The "Winter Vegetable Soup" was horrible. Had about two little pieces of celery in it and was effectively flavoured water. Even one of the cabin crew said "this one is not popular at all .... maybe a Spring Vegetable Soup may have been better!" They replaced a few of them in the cabin with the lamb entree (which was very good). I had the beef checks - a bit dry but good flavour and excellent combination. Wine on offer was a bit so so... and after some feedback on the lacklustre wine - the CSM pull out a very nice Tassie Pinot which wasn't offered on the trolley! :!: (Was very nice too but only one bottle!)

Flight was about 10-11 /24 Pax. Crew ranged from delightful (including a new cabin crew who has come across from B737 J to A330 and was very excited) - to bordering on the "what-ever" Qantasesque cabin crew style...!)

My last point please get rid of the Moet and bring back Lanson - it appears brand factor is more important than quality..... or maybe that's the new plan so people will drink less...

 

[VA777]

Flew J last week MEL to SYD with snack service being the cheese platter and cake. Being a gluten free person I was very please that someone in VA had done some thinking and the biscuits with the platter are gluten free. Couldn't have the cake, but the FA got the gluten free cookie and took out of the wrapper and nicely presented it on a plate on my tray. All in all very well done.

 

[pythonisman]

Re: Virgin Australia Business Class Catering

XFE both ways! How lucky is that!! I'll post the eastbound meal photos after I land

 

[Must...Fly!]

Re: Virgin Australia Business Class Catering

Referring to the cannellini bean soup? I had that last month, I found it quite tasty.

 

[jazza1971]

Re: Virgin Australia Business Class Catering

Referring to the cannellini bean soup? I had that last month, I found it quite tasty.

Same, had that on one of my flights and found it very nice.

 

[Justinf]

Re: Virgin Australia Business Class Catering

Had the prawn green curry today on SYD-MEL. Was quite nice. No salad though and no pre-departure beverage. Service very 'meh'. Not bad, but not amazing either. I guess for an hour flght, there's not much to expect. Dudn't get my drink and meal (both came out together) until 28 mins in (i timed it). Load in J was 6/8.
I would upload a pic if i could work out how to do it from my iPod touch but i haven't a clue.

 

[Moopere]

Re: Virgin Australia Business Class Catering

Had the prawn green curry today on SYD-MEL. [snip]....Service very 'meh'. Not bad, but not amazing either. I guess for an hour flght, there's not much to expect.

I think the crews get tired. I don't know how many runs a day they do, but I usually end up with a 5pm or later MEL-SYD and this short run in J is always as you say ... 'meh'. Its not an excuse in my eyes, but it seems to be the way. PER-MEL and PER-SYD, even on the 738 is always substantially better, and the crews appear to me to be fresher. The A330 transcon runs are, as everyone seems to agree, superb by comparison.

 

[ash.1111]

Just a little FYI...

The days can be quite short, 1 or 2 sectors (though a rarity). In saying that, 3-4 sectors are the norm. Often PER flights on the 330 are direct, while the 737 can be a mix of direct or 2 sector days.

Although in a lot of cases, it's less about the days and more about the rest in between.

Cheers

 

[lovestotravel]

The problem being, with tired staff around 5-9pm, is that is when business travelers are filling up the J cabin and they expect the best service

 

[Moopere]

The problem being, with tired staff around 5-9pm, is that is when business travelers are filling up the J cabin and they expect the best service

Yes, indeed. Perhaps a mid-day shift change would work better? difficult to impossible to work that I suspect as we don't have enough traffic, and nights really quieten down, meaning two half shifts per day rather than full shifts.

 

[ash.1111]

Without going into too much depth (and off topic)... There are early starts and late starts, but also many in between. It's hard enough to get flights to match up, and sometimes involves long waits or very short turnarounds. Also keep in mind that duty hours isn't the only factor that causes fatigue. Even if you designed the "perfect" trip, there's a chance the crew member will begin to show signs of fatigue by the end of it, unless 1-2 sectors became the norm (and what airline would want to lose productivity by having to hire and pay more staff).

The aviation industry is unlike no other, and unfortunately fatigue is going to creep in from time to time. In saying that, this is no excuse for sub par service. But it's something to keep in the back of your mind.

PS. Giving direct feedback to the company is always going to yield the best results.

Cheers

 

[pythonisman]

As mentioned above - VH-XFE on my return tonight DJ564 PER-SYD. Great luck to get the brand new bird both ways!

Though, I was happy with getting 1A (row 1 definitely better than rows 2-4 on the new layout), seat 1A had some problems. The IFE system headphone jack was completely fubared (sounded like robots were trying to take over my brain) and tested with more than one set of headphones (including my own). Also the remote for the IFE has been broken - it no longer retracts, and someone had stuffed it in (with all the cord/cable) to the receptacle which made it hard to extract.

Luckily there was noone in 2H/K so I moved over there after the seatbelt sign turned off. CS was incredibly apologetic.

Anyway, for the meals.

I started with the prawn salad (pfft soup - though I did see one pax have the soup)

It was tasty and pretty well balanced. I probably preferred it over the lamb salad I had westbound, but it'd be a close call.

For main I had the ocean trout:

Now - there was nothing wrong with this dish, really. The fish was cooked well, the vegetables were tasty and weren't over cooked, and the sweet potato puree was nice. I'm not sure if it was the sauce or if it was just "in general" but I didn't find this dish gelled as well as what I'd hoped. It was *very* sweet, overall.

That being said I didn't have any trouble with it, and I can't complain, really. Definitely preferred the snapper on the flight westbound though!

J load was 14/24 with 2 couples and the rest solo like myself. Crew was very good, and my glass only once sat empty for about 5 minutes before a refill was brought along.

Priority boarding/screening worked well, too. All in all I'm a happy camper.

Until next time!

 

[AirlineGuy]

Without going into too much depth (and off topic)... There are early starts and late starts, but also many in between. It's hard enough to get flights to match up, and sometimes involves long waits or very short turnarounds. Also keep in mind that duty hours isn't the only factor that causes fatigue. Even if you designed the "perfect" trip, there's a chance the crew member will begin to show signs of fatigue by the end of it, unless 1-2 sectors became the norm (and what airline would want to lose productivity by having to hire and pay more staff).

The aviation industry is unlike no other, and unfortunately fatigue is going to creep in from time to time. In saying that, this is no excuse for sub par service. But it's something to keep in the back of your mind.

PS. Giving direct feedback to the company is always going to yield the best results.

Cheers

I think what pays to note here as well, is the ongoing observation of crew disappearing behind curtains, as soon as they have done the minimum required service. A LCC crew mindset. VA Flight Attendants are still on an agreement that was established back in the Virgin Blue days, when it was an LCC. Their hours of work, and hours of rest in between, are suitable for a LCC, where no amazing service requirements are expected onboard. While I am not one myself, I know many who are VA Flight Attendants, and they are absolutely exhausted. Apparently they are working more hours now than back 2-3 years. So as they are delivering your service, also running through their mind is how tired they are, how hungry they are, then as soon as they can disappear and have something to eat and a rest, its the first thing they are going to do.

I think VA need to look at this situation and the way they work their Flight Attendants, if they want to continue to revolutionise inflight service. Their latest marketing campaign is all about the staff, and how its them who make the difference. Imagine if they were well rested, not pushed to their max, happy crew. Things would be even more wonderful!

 

[Justinf]

Here's my J lunch yesterday in the 1pm SYD-MEL service. Sorry for the poor picture quality. The more I look at it, the more disappointing it was. Maybe I was just on a high at having seen my team win the NRL grand final the night before.

 

[Moopere]

Here's my J lunch yesterday in the 1pm SYD-MEL service. Sorry for the poor picture quality. The more I look at it, the more disappointing it was.

What on earth is it???

 

[mannej]

What on earth is it???

I am guessing some type of a green curry?

 

[Justinf]

Yep, was a prawn green curry. Wasn't bad, but I would have liked a drink beforehand and then another with my meal. It wasn't like we had a massive tailwind either. 65 minutes in the air and only time for one drink. No salad and the roll was tiny.
No predeparture drink and no dig-e player. Was given a newspaper though.

 

[dk4]

...I would have liked a drink beforehand and then another with my meal. ... No salad and the roll was tiny.

On flights scheduled for 1.5hours, lunch does NOT come with a salad (it comes with a dessert in the bowl instead: whereas dinner is served with a side salad in the bowl but no dessert, except small chocolate), nor is there a drinks run before the meal is served on flights of this length, drinks are served as part of the meal service and afterwards apon request.

No predeparture drink and no dig-e player.

Obviously pre-departure drinks should have been served, but offering a Galaxy Tab on short flights seems to be at the CS's discretion, but if you ask for one you will get it.