Virgin Australia Business Class - Meals, Menus & Service

[MEL_Traveller]

Its zucchini season in Tas - you can't give 'em away (as everyone grows them to excess).

They must be banking on zucchini season for the next 14 months if the length of the last menu rotation is anything to go by!

(Actually, had I known I would have bought shares in a zucchini farm!)

 

[The-Aviator]

19/11/23 | VA875 | MEL to SYD

Boarded on time with a warm welcome from Christy and CM Kim. PDB was offered so already an improvement over the SYD-MEL flight!



Meal orders were taken on the ground in the traditional order. I thought taking orders on the ground was a great idea, at the time. More on that later!

The options as described off the iPad were chicken with chat potatoes and greens or vegetarian pasta. I suspect these are the items described by twinaisle as roasted soy caramel chicken with spicy potatoes and broccoli, with the pasta being the pumpkin and sage pasta with chilli and pepita crunch. I chose the chicken with a shiraz and sparkling water.

We pushed back on time but unfortunately due to weather-related runway issues at Sydney they were spacing out departures, this resulted in almost an hour of taxi time on the ground, during which crew were seated and the ovens were heating the meals past the point of no return!

Meals were brought around very quickly after take-off, probably didn't take longer than about ten minutes. Note the infamous chocolate heart has been replaced by a BSKT Davidson Plum chocolate square. It was nice but personally I think they should either provide a more substantial piece of chocolate/dessert or scrap it altogether.



Close up of the new dish.



I don't think it's fair to review this dish when it has been sitting in the oven for an hour, but if it was still this dry, tasteless and watery in normal circumstances I would have been disappointed.

The aircraft (-YIW) was fitted with Wi-Fi which was reliable enough to stream the Cricket World Cup final in standard definition.

Unfortunately no drink top-up was offered and there wasn't time to request one either, for some reason the captain announced we were starting descent about 45 minutes out of Sydney which led the crew to clear away everything and take their seats. Wasn't turbulent or anything so I'm not sure why this was the case but anyway, it is what it is!

Overall I would say it was an improvement compared to the first flight of the trip and the issues are outside the cabin crew's control, but to be honest I am wondering if I made the right choice prioritising and pursuing VA WP over other statuses. Hopefully international partner experience continues to make up for the domestic experience and VA improves once they are through this tricky pre-IPO period!

 

[kerfuffle]

It was nice but personally I think they should either provide a more substantial piece of chocolate/dessert or scrap it altogether.

You only get substantial dessert if it's a long flight e.g. SYD-PER. Dunno what the cut-off is but must be three hours as I'm pretty sure MEL-BNE and similar flights only get a piece of chocolate going by my experience last April

 

[dk4]

Unfortunately no drink top-up was offered and there wasn't time to request one either, for some reason the captain announced we were starting descent about 45 minutes out of Sydney which led the crew to clear away everything and take their seats. Wasn't turbulent or anything so I'm not sure why this was the case but anyway, it is what it is!

Ummmmm, you nearly always have time for a drink top up between "prepare the cabin" and "seat belt sign on"! This is not no-service Qantas, it is full service Virgin!!

The CM won't proactively offer you more after "prepare the cabin", but you can still request a drink... BUT, if served in a glass, then be prepared to surrender that glass at "seat belt sign on" (which on Virgin means - guests seated, crew do final cabin check, again not the same meaning as Qantas, where it's all bums on seats)... but I always manage a full drink in this (generally) ten minute or so period on VA. (If there is going to be significant turbulence on decent, the CM will often serve this final drink in a paper cup, in case they have to buckle up quicker than expected, and might not get back to remove the glass.)

 

[twinaisle]

Ummmmm, you nearly always have time for a drink top up between "prepare the cabin" and "seat belt sign on"! This is not no-service Qantas, it is full service Virgin!!


Technically we stop everything with preparation of the cabin. I've done drinks until seat belt sign for nice pax

 

[Mattg]

VA267 MEL-CBR
12:30 departure

Same two meals catered as my last MEL-CBR earlier in the week. This time I got the other option, a couscous salad with rocket, beetroot, zucchini, peas and orange, with a tangy dressing and optional chicken on top. Was fresh and tasted fine.

 

[RooFlyer]

HBA-MEL today, 12:15 departure delayed 30 mins.

PDB of water or sparkling. Orders taken straight after seat belts sign off. Me in 1D first.

Two cold choices, both salad types. Mine was a zesty beef salad. Light and just hit the spot.

For a drink, I asked if they had a Riesling. She replied - Chardonnay? No, I was after a Reisling, if there is one. "Is that a type of Chardonnay?"

I settled on a Pinot Grigio. Couldn't fault the service other than the Riesling bizzo.

 

[bsb]

I fly MEL CNS lots (at least 3 times a month) and I get a ‘substantial dessert’ about 30% of the time. It doesn’t seem to have any logic as I’m usually on the same flights. I’m bored with the VA food. It NEVER changes. I’ve flown many other routes too. But having said that, the other lot have stepped up their game and whilst I generally think VA is friendlier, the red people are making a marked effort lately. But rarely a substantial dessert.

On a side issue, I flew several BA and LH Euro biz sectors recently . Whilst the seats are always dire, their food offerings have really stepped up in the last 12 months. On one BA flight from MAD to LHR I couldn’t eat everything (and I like to eat). 3 courses, plus cheese and salad and endless drink refills. I was shocked. It’d be nice to see our local carriers do the same.

 

[twinaisle]

HBA-MEL today, 12:15 departure delayed 30 mins.

PDB of water or sparkling. Orders taken straight after seat belts sign off. Me in 1D first.

Two cold choices, both salad types. Mine was a zesty beef salad. Light and just hit the spot.

For a drink, I asked if they had a Riesling. She replied - Chardonnay? No, I was after a Reisling, if there is one. "Is that a type of Chardonnay?"

I settled on a Pinot Grigio. Couldn't fault the service other than the Riesling bizzo.

View attachment 355873

That's a chicken salad. There are no cold beef dishes on this menu

Post automatically merged: Dec 4, 2023

On a side issue, I flew several BA and LH Euro biz sectors recently . Whilst the seats are always dire, their food offerings have really stepped up in the last 12 months. On one BA flight from MAD to LHR I couldn’t eat everything (and I like to eat). 3 courses, plus cheese and salad and endless drink refills. I was shocked. It’d be nice to see our local carriers do the same.

You'd most likely get that from QF than VA to be honest with you. It's all about the $ at VA.

 

[zig]

That's a chicken salad. There are no cold beef dishes on this menu

Post automatically merged: Dec 4, 2023

Really? I don't think I have seen chicken that colour before. If it really is chicken I think it is best avoided

 

[RooFlyer]

That's a chicken salad. There are no cold beef dishes on this menu

Fair enough; it was nice.

Really? I don't think I have seen chicken that colour before. If it really is chicken I think it is best avoided

It certainly didn't look unappetising at the time.

 

[twinaisle]

Really? I don't think I have seen chicken that colour before. If it really is chicken I think it is best avoided

It's marinated in spices hence that colour. Pretty sure it's the same chicken used in the hot shawarma dish. It's a very tasty salad.

 

[TheRealTMA]

Really? I don't think I have seen chicken that colour before. If it really is chicken I think it is best avoided

Looks a bit like Morrison chicken!

 

[zig]

It's marinated in spices hence that colour. Pretty sure it's the same chicken used in the hot shawarma dish. It's a very tasty salad.

Aaaah, that would explain it.

 

[dk4]

I just wanted to revisit the lamb rissole, which has already been posted about once before. This dish comes with some sides, which IMO add a very Greek component to the flavour, once combined with the lamb - so you don't have to rely solely on the tomato based sauce already on the dish, to add complexity to the palette. It then tastes more like eating Yiros. (Which on my flight to Melbourne, seemed rather apt.)

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Beef brisket. Oh dear. Service was full drinks to everyone first, followed by meals. Those didn’t come out until about 30 mins or so into cruise. The beef brisket unfortunately had died a second death by this time… couldn’t even cut it!

Flavour was ok, not my favourite though.

The lamb rissole is delicious!!

 

[TMP]

The lamb rissole with those accompaniments looks top notch

 

[Harrison_133]

SYD-MEL yesterday

Beef brisket with jasmine rice and bok choy (pictured) or a pasta with optional chorizo.

Agree with @MEL_Traveller, the flavour is fine but not my favourite meal. My beef was quite tender at least.

Service was excellent from CM Helen. Snack tray proactively brought around to guests not wanting a main meal, and then to everybody after the meal service. Drinks were never left empty.

 

[luckypierre]

VA418 SYD to ADL today.
Greeted on arrival. Friendly, cheerful staff up front, CM Tom and FA Erica. PDB drinks of sparkling wine or water offered.
All orders taken after seatbelts off indicated.
Choices were lamb rissoles or Teriyaki Vegetables,( with a chicken option.)
Went for the rissole, very tasty,( including the zucchini ) My meal washed down with a scotch and soda. ( or two)
The meals arrived about an hour after orders were taken. Perhaps a small improvement would be to offer a beverage service whilst you wait for your meal.
Regardless a good experience.

And OT , but Qudos to the crew who took great care assisting a number of less able senior people on board and during the flight. It’s good to know because the day may come when we’ll need the same assistance.

 

[Stealthflyer]

Some very generous pours from HBA-MEL. I think everyone was a bit frazzled due to the delays. The chap next to me put away 6 full to the brim wines in the hour long flight, which was impressive.

Options were a “roast chicken” salad with beetroot. It was that reconstituted chicken with the fake char marks. The greens were nice and fresh. It probably didn’t need the layer of couscous underneath. The lone raisin was a bit weird.

The small square of chocolate was unnecessarily vegan.