Virgin Australia Business Class - Meals, Menus & Service

[RickyT84]

Flew on a dinner time flight from SYD to MEL a couple of weeks ago and was offered the Thai chicken curry with jasmine rice or the truffled mac and cheese bake.

Went with the mac and cheese as I had the Thai chicken curry before.



Had a very good Tatachilla 2022 pinot grigio to go with the meal as well as the usual cheese & crackers plus chocolate.

Order was taken from 1A to 1F then 2A to 2F but meals were delivered to me first (in 1F) then back to 1A and 1C then 2A to 2F.

Peter the CM was excellent as he had a good sense of humour (which showed when he was doing the safety briefing and introduced all the crew with reference to all the girl names from the Kardashians) and proactively in offering drink refills during the meal service.

 

[jase05]

I thought I’d leave it here.
Now I don’t eat seafood but Mrs Jase said the Barra and slaw sliders at BNE the other night were absolutely superb. Going by the speed at which staff were replacing them I think they were a hit and a couple of comments overheard suggested that the guests loved the flavour of them too.
I stuck to my plain but very nice Ham, cheese and pickle sandwich but I got roped into bringing seconds back for Mrs Jase when a fresh batch of sliders came out

 

[jase05]

BNE-ADL
Was approached by staff when we got to the gate and told that we were a focus group for PB and message went out over the tannoy that boarding would commence in 5 minutes and only those with status should join the line at this stage. PB did work a treat and managed to slide in 2 PDB’s waiting for authority to push back. Service and crew were awesome, we were in 1A/C and had orders taken first followed by 2D/F, 1D/F and lastly 2A/C.
Copped the honey mustard chook which even though is getting a bit routine it still tasted great. Best part was the fact the beans were still crisp and the spuds were cooked nicely.
Cake was delicious so all up a great meal.
Several spirits on the journey which was mostly smooth and made up some time to arrive spot on schedule. Bags were in the first half dozen off the carousel and were coming out just as we approached. Really good flight

 

[RooFlyer]

Was approached by staff when we got to the gate and told that we were a focus group for PB and message went out over the tannoy that boarding would commence in 5 minutes and only those with status should join the line at this stage

What did that mean? Part of a focus group? And did they mean status to board first but not business class without status?

 

[jase05]

What did that mean? Part of a focus group? And did they mean status to board first but not business class without status?

No it was still status pax plus J etc like normal.
I’m.not sure if they were just trialing something or had someone from management observing.
The staff member came up to us and asked if we were status or J and said that our flight was “being observed and a focus group” We were then told we could line up and then then the announcement was made for all status pax and J pax only to come forward and reminded that only those to come forward and that it would be checked. Both lines were PB and a staff member then came through and checked BP’s to ensure eligibility. Then another message came over the PA that general boarding would commence once the priority lines were empty and to please remain seated until called up. It seemed to work from what I saw and probably 30-40 pax in the PB lines. Not sure what happened after we went though

 

[jakeseven7]

No it was still status pax plus J etc like normal.
I’m.not sure if they were just trialing something or had someone from management observing.
The staff member came up to us and asked if we were status or J and said that our flight was “being observed and a focus group” We were then told we could line up and then then the announcement was made for all status pax and J pax only to come forward and reminded that only those to come forward and that it would be checked. Both lines were PB and a staff member then came through and checked BP’s to ensure eligibility. Then another message came over the PA that general boarding would commence once the priority lines were empty and to please remain seated until called up. It seemed to work from what I saw and probably 30-40 pax in the PB lines. Not sure what happened after we went though

This is off topic but it is covered in the other thread discussing the VA2 priority boarding issues - apparently they are trying to fix them according to a VA2 staff member who contributes on here….

 

[alexczarn]

VA211 MEL-ADL yesterday morning; choices were Croque Monsieur or this cheesy egg wrap with salsa, probably my favourite domestic J breakfast yet

 

[twinaisle]

New meals and menu rotation for summer coming soon.

 

[serfty]

VA211 MEL-ADL yesterday morning; choices were Croque Monsieur or this cheesy egg wrap with salsa, probably my favourite domestic J breakfast yet

Looks good!

 

[kerfuffle]

New meals and menu rotation for summer coming soon.

Guess Thai Chicken Curry is on it?

 

[twinaisle]

Guess Thai Chicken Curry is on it?

"We've done a survey and results have shown that our guests love this meal"

It is a nice meal though but I'm sure it's heading out the door. "Fresh, upmarket Cafe style meals" are coming so we'll see

 

[RooFlyer]

It is a nice meal though but I'm sure it's heading out the door. "Fresh, upmarket Cafe style meals" are coming so we'll see

I think the last time 'cafe' was used as a meal descriptor was Qantas's international 'cafe breakfast' which was God-awful and didn’t last long, thankfully. Keeping fingers crossed here ...

 

[twinaisle]

I think the last time 'cafe' was used as a meal descriptor was Qantas's international 'cafe breakfast' which was God-awful and didn’t last long, thankfully. Keeping fingers crossed here ...

The meals at VA have mainly been based around "cafe style" ever since the post administration launch.

That goes to say please stop asking us for "lattes, cappuccinos and flat whites" we don't have proper coffee machines like our ex widebody aircrafts

 

[Silvia]

Short hop to CBR this morning as part of VA259. Very full flight. Options were banana bread or chia pudding. I went for the chia pudding which I had to eat very fast as understandably flight time is very short.

Adequate but nothing to write home about

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Wow, "focus group", sounds very quasi VIP.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Short hop to CBR this morning as part of VA259. Very full flight. Options were banana bread or chia pudding. I went for the chia pudding which I had to eat very fast as understandably flight time is very short.

Adequate but nothing to write home about

30 years ago we had both first and business class on flights from Canberra to Sydney, with both cabins getting a full hot meal with all the sides! Dunno how they managed service… up to 24 first class and another 30 business. In around 16 minutes or so available time?

 

[Silvia]

Surprising hey? I found the service actually a little bit slow. I just flew VA268 on the way back and opted to skip lunch... choice of Reuben sandwich or couscous salad. Most people were happy with cheese and crackers and some pinot noir. I agree with comments that it's becoming more cafe type meals; however, given the quality of QF meals on domestic legs, I don't think VA needs to do much to top that.

 

[EuroKick]

30 years ago we had both first and business class on flights from Canberra to Sydney, with both cabins getting a full hot meal with all the sides! Dunno how they managed service… up to 24 first class and another 30 business. In around 16 minutes or so available time?

Kendall often featured oysters back in the day. Amazing.

 

[douglasac10]

On VA429 ADL-SYD tonight. Joshua as the CSM and Jenny working the business class cabin, both excellent.

Pre departure drinks offered prior to take off, water or sparkling wine, I had a glass of water of my own then also my neighbours via my pants as she knocked it over into me (Joshua was out in seconds without promoting with paper towels)

Orders taken 1AB, 1DC, 2AB, 2DC so despite having no status I got first pick. Chicken parmi or cheese tortellini were the options, it seems that there was five of the former and three of the latter loaded. It looked like all of row A went for the parmi which was actually pretty good I thought. The mash, whatever it was (sweet potato?) was excellent and the broccolini was in pretty good shape. Plus the usual chocolate and cheese and crackers.

I know this probably isn't the right place but a suggestion: instead of cheese and crackers, perhaps cheese and some kind of dip (hummus might be good as I believe it's vegan)? Surely that won't break the catering budget!

 

[servicerequired]

Orders taken 1AB, 1DC, 2AB, 2DC so despite having no status I got first pick. Chicken parmi or cheese tortellini were the options, it seems that there was five of the former and three of the latter loaded. It looked like all of row A went for the parmi which was actually pretty good I thought. The mash, whatever it was (sweet potato?) was excellent and the broccolini was in pretty good shape. Plus the usual chocolate and cheese and crackers.

Is this a thing again, are we back to taking orders 1AC, 1DF, 2AC, 2DF ?

Flew MEL-ADL, ADL-DRW, DRW-ADL last week, all in J, and each flight was of this sequence.

I was seated in 1F on all sectors.

Previously as WP, seated in any J seat, I was normally hunted down and served first.