Virgin Australia Business Class - Meals, Menus & Service

[Jousams]

I had the same curry ( allegedly as it looks nothing like your picture) today MEL-SYD
View attachment 11829
3 prawns ( edible), rice burnt to a crisp and broccoli which was so overlooked it disintegrated at the mere touch of a fork
Hands down the worst meal I've ever been served in domestic J

It's amazing how 'the same' meal can differ so greatly in quality.
I guess it comes down to CS training & care, aswell as regular audits of the caterers. (which I doubt is happening)

And, the virgin V, in the dessert is a big no no in my eyes.
Food should not be an advertisement.

 

[dk4]

For completeness of contrast, what is served on a C2C equivalent of QF?

I have not stepped foot onboard a QF transcontinental flight for a year. As mickeyc747 says...

I think C2C DJ win hands down...

IMO Virgin is simply light years ahead of Qantas when it comes to business class on wide body domestic aircraft. (So until QF upgrades both its hard and soft product levels on widebody flights to/from PER, I am unlikely to bother with them.)

However last time I compared, I posted here http://www.australianfrequentflyer....ss-coast-coast-bigger-35264-2.html#post535838

 

[bullerdude]

The cycles seem to change ok on the flights i've been on. Asked one of the crew once and each port has a set cycle so all flights out of SYD will have meal x that week, next week SYD will have meal y and meal x would then be put on the cycle for flights from MEL. Idea according to the CC was so that people who fly from the same port weekly/few times a week dont get the same meal.

Flying once a week I haven't had the same meal offered more than once or twice.

Well there's a big problem... same meal for a whole week. Perhaps adding a few more meals and a bit more rotation like Qantas would help.

 

[MarkD]

You're taking the piss aren't you?

 

[IainF]

I flew BNE-SYD-BNE yesterday in J and for the lunch meal I took the shepard's pie with minted peas, which was fantastic. The service was great & the CSM had a good chat with me about the level of training the J crew are getting.
My wife still has no dedicated food option in J, but I was told that will change when Sabre kicks off in January.
I am currently rating VA J ahead of QF J, mainly because the service is friendly, but the food options are getting better.
MrsF will not ever fly QF J BNE-PER again. She is currently doing everything via SYD on the big planes that VA have & loves the seat and the service but mostly the price....

 

[pangwen]

I flew BNE-SYD-BNE yesterday in J and for the lunch meal I took the shepard's pie with minted peas, which was fantastic. The service was great & the CSM had a good chat with me about the level of training the J crew are getting.
My wife still has no dedicated food option in J, but I was told that will change when Sabre kicks off in January.
I am currently rating VA J ahead of QF J, mainly because the service is friendly, but the food options are getting better.
MrsF will not ever fly QF J BNE-PER again. She is currently doing everything via SYD on the big planes that VA have & loves the seat and the service but mostly the price....

When you say "dedicated food option", do you mean the option to choose "abcd ingredient-free food" (e.g. gluten free, meat free, lactose free etc)? My SO and I are travelling BNE-SYD (and return) in DJ J in early Feb, and were a little nonplussed to find (or not find, as the case is) that DJ doesn't offer a location to put allergy information for Dom J meals.

 

[straitman]

I flew BNE-SYD-BNE yesterday in J and for the lunch meal I took the shepard's pie with minted peas, which was fantastic. The service was great & the CSM had a good chat with me about the level of training the J crew are getting.
My wife still has no dedicated food option in J, but I was told that will change when Sabre kicks off in January.
I am currently rating VA J ahead of QF J, mainly because the service is friendly, but the food options are getting better.
MrsF will not ever fly QF J BNE-PER again. She is currently doing everything via SYD on the big planes that VA have & loves the seat and the service but mostly the price....

I concur with the points that IainF makes including the shepard's pie though sauce or chutney would have been good.

My one big gripe recently was an 1155(dep), 1515(arr) BNE-MEL when morning tea was served. This is just ridiculous IMHO. I did give feedback to DJ before posting here but got no response.

 

[Fifa]

We were on an 11:00am flight from MEL-SYD on Christmas Eve.
6/8 in J and we were seated in row 2 for the legroom.
After serving the first 3 pax we were advised (apologetically) that the frittata had run out and there were only ricotta, capsicum and pinenut sandwiches left, plus fruit and raspberry muffins. A bit disappointing but at least we had an extensive breakfast at HSW

The CSM was fantastic - so attentive and professional with a delightful personality.

 

[N860CR]

2pm BNE-SYD yesterday. Snack service (cheese plate or trout). Fish wasn't too bad, but didn't come with a desert, salad or anything. Just the plate on the tray.

Wines frequently refilled by a great CSM (however had it been a poor crew, it would have been shocking).

The wines on DJ are also a bit low. I haven't had a nice one yet. QF does have some excellent wines. The Yering red they have at the moment is my all time fav red.

 

[Justinf]

2pm BNE-SYD yesterday. Snack service (cheese plate or trout). Fish wasn't too bad, but didn't come with a desert, salad or anything. Just the plate on the tray.

Wines frequently refilled by a great CSM (however had it been a poor crew, it would have been shocking).

The wines on DJ are also a bit low. I haven't had a nice one yet. QF does have some excellent wines. The Yering red they have at the moment is my all time fav red.

The Sisters Run shiraz they are serving in Y+ on the LAX runs are quite nice. They had to open another bottle just for me.

 

[KCMil]

The domestic red's are currently, 2010 sister's run shiraz or 2009 second nature cabernet shiraz merlot. Both seem fairly popular on my flights, fortunately they now load 3 of whichever is stocked so less chance of "sorry there is none left". The whites don't seem quite as good though, the Golding chardonnay is fairly poor and the Alkoomi Sauvignon Blanc not a great deal better. Helps if the CS keeps them well chilled in the fridge though, instead of gently warming on the galley bench.

 

[notzac]

The whites don't seem quite as good though, the Golding chardonnay is fairly poor and the Alkoomi Sauvignon Blanc not a great deal better. Helps if the CS keeps them well chilled in the fridge though, instead of gently warming on the galley bench.

I actually quite enjoyed the Alkoomi Sauv Blanc - but then again the wine had been kept well chilled (and I don't like the NZ style of Sauv Blanc in any case).

 

[KCMil]

I actually quite enjoyed the Alkoomi Sauv Blanc - but then again the wine had been kept well chilled (and I don't like the NZ style of Sauv Blanc in any case).

Definitely a wine that needs to be kept chilled, seems to become more ascerbic at raised temperatures, although wine is of course a very individual taste. There is rumoured to be an introduction of an australian sparkling on the next wine rotation. Fingers crossed Jim McMahon hits on a decent one, he certainly chose well for transcon and long haul, (of course in my opinion.)

 

[AdMEL]

The domestic red's are currently, 2010 sister's run shiraz or 2009 second nature cabernet shiraz merlot. Both seem fairly popular on my flights, fortunately they now load 3 of whichever is stocked so less chance of "sorry there is none left". The whites don't seem quite as good though, the Golding chardonnay is fairly poor and the Alkoomi Sauvignon Blanc not a great deal better. Helps if the CS keeps them well chilled in the fridge though, instead of gently warming on the galley bench.

Why is the Golding Chardonnay poor? I haven't had it (if it's on my MEL-PER flight that I'm on the way to the airport to catch, i'll give it a try) but a quick Google search shows the only wine matching that descripton is Golding Block 2 Chardonnay from Adelaide hills at $35 a bottle! If this is it, it should be pretty decent! Do you like Chardonnay? Maybe a personal preference?

Oh and Chardonnay shouldn't be served icy cold - usually 8-10 rather than 0-4!

I actually quite enjoyed the Alkoomi Sauv Blanc - but then again the wine had been kept well chilled (and I don't like the NZ style of Sauv Blanc in any case).

Might have to try this too! Not a fan of kiwi style Sauv Blanc either!

 

[KCMil]

I just personally found it to be quite acidic, as mentioned it is personal preference, I just found it very sharp given that I was having a fairly subtle flavoured meal item at the time I tried it.

 

[veryfewmiles]

One more offering of the prawn curry and i am going back to QF. 4 times this month surely its time to change the menu VA

 

[QF WP]

One hopes that 2013 will mean a menu swap....DJ, there's only so many times you can enjoy the same menu items.

 

[Daver6]

Even warmer, depending on the style. 12-16 degrees is just about perfect for a more full bodied style.

Oh and Chardonnay shouldn't be served icy cold - usually 8-10 rather than 0-4!

 

[moa999]

No photos for a while.

Breakfast on SYD-MEL - Caramelized onion tart with rocket and parmesan, plus side of raspberry yogurt
(Other choice was a ham & cheese croissant)

 

[pythonisman]

Tart looks pretty good! Not sure how I feel about rocket and Parmesan for brekkie, (but I love them, so I'd take it). Also really like that there's a bit of dairy in there- having no dairy option on the breakfasts I've had is a bit poor IMO.