Virgin Australia Business Class - Meals, Menus & Service

[robd]

Just did my first transcon MEL-PER-MEL. Was really happy to board VH-XFE, however a few issues; IFE in 1H, not working. They did try and reset, but still didn't work. We were offered another seat, but Jnr#2 didn't want to change (superstitious apparently). Jnr also asked for a dessert wine per menu, but was told none was loaded. Minor things, but a little disappointing.

Boarded VH-XFD for the return, and all good.

Jnr & I both thought the meals on the MEL-PER leg were tastier than the return leg (from the menu as recently posted) Jnr had the eggplant and I had the lamb. On the return, Jnr had the vege curry and I, the duck - my starter of the prosciutto was rather tasteless, which may have been better served at room temperature instead of cold. No shiraz loaded on the return, but the merlot sufficed. The service was better on the return leg with a full cabin and our CA Ashleigh was attentive.

Excellent seats with heaps of legroom, although Jnr smacked her head against that hard bit of the seat at ear height as did I once or twice when leaning towards each other to speak. It reminded me of the Leathal Weapon ride at Movie World - ouch!

 

[serfty]

...

Excellent seats with heaps of legroom, although Jnr smacked her head against that hard bit of the seat at ear height as did I once or twice when leaning towards each other to speak. It reminded me of the Leathal Weapon ride at Movie World - ouch!

SWMBO and I had the same issue when we first employed them.

Perhaps that's one of the reasons there's a really strong indication are replacing these seats. (http://www.australianfrequentflyer....news/afr-sunday-rear-window-virgin-55569.html)

 

[robd]

SWMBO and I had the same issue when we first employed them.

Perhaps that's one of the reasons there's a really strong indication are replacing these seats. (http://www.australianfrequentflyer....news/afr-sunday-rear-window-virgin-55569.html)

Head smacking aside, we still thought they were very comfortable. Perhaps just a bit of padding is all that is required to fix the issue.

 

[drewbles]

Just did my first transcon MEL-PER-MEL. Was really happy to board VH-XFE, however a few issues; IFE in 1H, not working. They did try and reset, but still didn't work. We were offered another seat, but Jnr#2 didn't want to change (superstitious apparently). Jnr also asked for a dessert wine per menu, but was told none was loaded. Minor things, but a little disappointing.

Great to see maintenance on the ball. 1H had non-functioning IFE on Nov 10. :shock:

As for the Noble 1, they didn't have any loaded on my MEL-PER flight, and only had one bottle on the way back (and it was a full J cabin). There's still some things they really need to brush up on.

 

[robd]

Great to see maintenance on the ball. 1H had non-functioning IFE on Nov 10. :shock:

As for the Noble 1, they didn't have any loaded on my MEL-PER flight, and only had one bottle on the way back (and it was a full J cabin). There's still some things they really need to brush up on.

So it was broken for at least a week? That's pretty poor form, particularly for the J cabin. And the wine situation, well....

 

[carwashhair]

So it was broken for at least a week? That's pretty poor form, particularly for the J cabin. And the wine situation, well....

I understand it's trivial in the grand scheme of things (and unsure if they qualify for recompense), but if these issues are recurring and experienced by multiple customers, then surely VA need to be firmly reminded of these things. Little details make up the big picture, particularly in premium cabins.

 

[drewbles]

I understand it's trivial in the grand scheme of things (and unsure if they qualify for recompense), but if these issues are recurring and experienced by multiple customers, then surely VA need to be firmly reminded of these things. Little details make up the big picture, particularly in premium cabins.

Having a seat 'out of action' is very poor form, for any airline, in any cabin. On my XFE flight, a couple were in those two seats, and the CSM asked why they were there, when their boarding pass was for another seat. Turns out they requested and were moved. One single person ended up in the window seat, but they said people were not being seated in 1H due to the faulty IFE.

If they can't fix it, don't sell it. That's my 2c anyway.

 

[jpk]

As for the Noble 1, they didn't have any loaded on my MEL-PER flight, and only had one bottle on the way back (and it was a full J cabin). There's still some things they really need to brush up on.

No dessert wine either on a MEL-PER in Sept, half full cabin.

 

[maninblack]

Just completed a rare Perth trip. Pleasant flights but my goodness the meal service was slow and tedious. 2.5 hours from start to finish in half full cabins. That's ridiculous :shock:

 

[drewbles]

Time for an update I figured (new menu mid December). I didn't really bother taking photos of the breakfast from MEL to PER (was a 'bacon and egg' burrito, which really looked more like a taco, ie just folded in half, was very average).

Snack service on the AM East-West flight; 'Gourmet' Sausage Roll and Pie (The Pie was vegetarian and actually quite nice):

The return was better.

Starter: King Smoked Salmon with Fennel remoulade, dill and chervil (and a glass of Pinot Gris):

Was tasty and light

Main was Chargrilled lamb cutlets with lemon couscous, summer vegetables and mint pesto (and a glass of rather tasty GSM):

And the obligatory Cheese Plate; King Island Black label cheddar, Old Telegraph road Brie and Tarago River Shadows of blue:

The only disappointing part was the lamb. It had been killed well and truly (was actually pretty tough). The mint pesto was beautiful though.

The flight did have Noble one, but I was rather well into the GSM so kept going with that!

And the current J menu for the A330 can be found here: http://icns.com.au/~drew/menu_a330_business_domestic_20.pdf

 

[maninblack]

I wish they put even half of the the effort on east coast runs that they put into PER runs. Two J flights this week, food service a joke and cabin service only marginally better than one. BTW VA why is it so hard for the J FA's to just offer coffee and tea, other airlines do not find this to be a problem.

 

[serfty]

Morning snack service today MEL-SYD was a choice between fruit platter or egg & chorizo(?) wrap with avocado spread.

I had the wrap, it was filled with eggs (scrambled) with one or two long strips of sausage.

 

[Justinf]

Decided to treat Miss 13 on Christmas Day on our flight from MEL-SYD to stay at my sister's place in Mosman.
Very underwhelming. 3pm flight so was just the snack service.
The FA brought out the Galaxy tab and within one minute of switching it on, she handed it back. Instead my ipad picked up the entertainment app and she watched an episode of BBT. I was pretty impressed with the entertainment app.
Choice of snack was a beef and burgundy pie and a salad.
We both chose the pie and Miss 13 had some Pringles from the Y menu.
Served with a bread roll and a mango ice cream dessert.
The pastry was soggy. Wasn't bad though.
I had a McLaren vale shiraz and got a top up but nothing else. Cabin supervisor cleared everything away with 24 mins of the 60 minute flight remaining and didn't see him again.
Wasn't allowed vodka in the mocktail pre-departure, but that was perfectly understandable.

 

[DSFlyer]

Flew Hamilton Island to Brisbane in J this afternoon and with the Snack Service there was a choice between a cheese plate (Veg option) or a Sausage in a roll (small baguette) with onion and tomato relish. Was actually very nice and finished off with a lemon meringue pie, equally nice. Sorry no pics.

 

[Shumway]

Hi all took a flight back in November on cup weekend Mel-Brisbane return. Flight up was great. Offered mocktail, cabin attendant shook hands with everyone and introduced himself personally. Was offered a meal of salmon with a rosti style mash, bread roll and orange cake. Can't remember the alternative. Was very nice, but it could have done without the olives on the top, love olives but not a fan of the dry sliced black ones. The journey back was in the afternoon, so it was just the cheese plate and the Vietnamese rice paper rolls. Took the cheese plate to enjoy with my wine, which the FA a lovely older woman kept topping up while we descended over the Victorian countryside. Nice.

EDIT: I had an image of my meal to post but as it's my first post I'm not allowed to show it!

 

[JessicaTam]

Welcome to AFF, Shumway. Even without the photo, you have still painted a good picture.

 

[cleaver]

Has anyone done the PER-HKT route in J recently? Myself and the better half booked SYD-PER-HKT with velocity points for September. The latter segment is a daytime flight. The A330 service is a delight, just wondering if the PER-HKT in J is still as dire as it seems from previous reports.

 

[hummel]

Has anyone done the PER-HKT route in J recently? Myself and the better half booked SYD-PER-HKT with velocity points for September. The latter segment is a daytime flight. The A330 service is a delight, just wondering if the PER-HKT in J is still as dire as it seems from previous reports.

I did it in June last year (not recently obviously) and I don't see the big issue with it. I was on a *mistake* fare so that may have made it easier but seriously I had the whole cabin to myself, had a couple of drinks and dinner, chatted with the FA for an hour so and got some shut eye. Woke up 1hr out of PER.

Yes it's not international grade J but it's better than a poke in the eye!

 

[cleaver]

Cheers Hummel,

Did you notice any difference between domestic J catering and the international short haul?

Especially re the wine list! This is the first flight to commence our big overland trip, so we may need to celebrate on the way over!

 

[anat0l]

VA532 SYD/OOL 737-800 Business dep 1310h

Seat 2A. Load in J was 3/8 - other pax were 1D and 2C.

This was billed as lunch and the CSM came through asking for our lunch orders as soon as the seat belt sign was switched off. The cart was not wheeled into the cabin - complete tray service direct from the galley.

I opted for the baked salmon fillet with dill potatoes. The other option was a pumpkin and feta salad.

I've had this main course before on my previous VA J flight (which was a bit of a while ago now). Potatoes were served as a mash, with a sprinkling of capers, chopped tomato, blanched asparagus pieces and a single split olive. Other accompaniments were the usual bread roll, disc of unnamed butter and a chocolate and sour cherry moist cake. My drink choice was more of the VA mocktail (cranberry juice and other things); I would've opted for wine, but I was driving upon arrival in OOL, so I had to pass.

Salmon was alright. Slightly overcooked perhaps but cooking fish perfectly on an aircraft is more complicated than keyhole surgery. The taste was there, though. Maybe potatoes could use a bit more dill. It's funny because the shape of the fillet makes it look like you're not getting much to eat, but if you mentally cut it in half and lay them side to side to form a square shape, you actually see it's a big piece of fish you're getting. Chocolate and sour cherries are one of those marriages in heaven. Making a moist cake out of them - enough said. Bread roll was a tad chewy-tough.

When did VA stop offering olive oil and dukkah with the roll? On the other hand, this is the first time I've had the FA go back through the cabin to offer tea or coffee, and to top up drinks. Despite this, although it wasn't aloof and the CSM wasn't a cold fish, the service still felt very plain and to the letter of the schedule.