In early 2021, I wrote that Qantas in-flight catering was miles ahead of Virgin Australia. But Virgin Australia has massively improved its Business Class offering since then… while also slashing its Business airfares.

At a basic level, Qantas and Virgin Australia now provide very similar domestic Business Class products. Both airlines have lounges, the Boeing 737 Business seats are similar, and both airlines provide reasonably good meals on board. But lately, Virgin Australia just seems to be doing a lot of little things better. Those many small things add up to a big difference in the overall experience.

In my opinion, Virgin Australia now has a Business Class service that’s just as good as Qantas – if not better – for a fraction of the price.

Virgin & Qantas Business Class catering

On all domestic Business Class flights, Virgin offers a choice of two meals along with a side like cheese & crackers. Additional snacks are also available from the “secret” pantry menu on request, and on longer flights a dessert or additional sides are also served with the main meal.

Overall, I’ve been impressed with the variety of meals I’ve been served on Virgin since the airline relaunched its Business Class menus a year ago. On a recent Melbourne-Sydney flight, for example, I was served a delicious chicken cacciatore for dinner.

On another recent flight from Melbourne to Canberra, departing at 11am, I was served a “burrito power bowl” which was fresh, tasty and healthy.

You can see lots more photos of what Virgin Australia is currently serving in Business Class on the dedicated Australian Frequent Flyer thread.

Over the past year on Qantas, I’ve seen some rather ordinary Business Class meals. For a time, many flights seemed to be catered only with pies, toasted sandwiches or sausage rolls – the latter of which was the only meal choice I had on a flight from Sydney to Coffs Harbour in 2021.

There are plenty of other examples of similar Qantas Business Class meals documented in AFF’s “Qantas Business Class meals” thread.

Qantas does seem to have lifted its game since then in the Business Class catering department. The Qantas menus also seem to be rotated more frequently than on Virgin.

Earlier this month, I was pleasantly surprised to receive a hot dinner on a short Canberra-Sydney flight with Qantas which was very good. (This was in stark contrast to another Qantas Sydney-Canberra flight last year where no meals were served at all in Business – only drinks and pretzels.)

So, while there are some differences, I would say the Business Class meals on Qantas & Virgin are about on par at the moment.

Where Virgin’s domestic Business Class experience beats Qantas

One noticeable difference on the catering side of things is that Virgin serves spirits in Business Class.

Despite calling itself the “spirit of Australia”, Qantas stopped serving spirits in domestic Business Class at the start of the pandemic and still hasn’t brought them back despite many customers requesting this.

Another key point of difference is the pre-departure beverages. On Virgin, you’re offered a glass of still water, sparkling water or sparkling wine. On Qantas, the flight attendants just hand out a small bottle of water (if they remember).

Boarding on Virgin Australia is a breeze as a Business passenger, with access to a priority boarding lane that is strictly enforced and works really well. On Qantas, priority boarding is advertised but little effort is put into actually providing the benefit.

With a smaller cabin and a proper divider between Business & Economy (Virgin uses a magnetic rope), the Virgin Business Class cabin feels more private. In my experience, the flight attendants on Virgin are also much better at turning away Economy passengers who try to sneak into the Business cabin or use the Business toilet.

After landing on Virgin, a flight attendant even stands at the back of the Business cabin to assist passengers, have a chat and make sure all Business passengers have a chance to disembark first.

These are all small things, but they add up to an on-board experience that feels more premium and exclusive.

There are lots of excellent staff working at both Qantas and Virgin, and the service on both airlines is usually very good once you’ve arrived at the airport. But Virgin is also a very clear winner when it comes to the service on the ground. Unlike Qantas, Virgin usually answers the phone promptly if you need to call them!

Where Qantas Business Class beats Virgin Australia

Qantas does have some advantages over Virgin Australia, too.

While both airlines offer lounge access before departure to Business Class passengers, Qantas has lounges at more airports. That’s a mathematical fact. Qantas even offers dedicated Business Class lounges at many of the seven airports where Virgin operates lounges.

Virgin Australia previously offered premium lounge entries in Sydney and Brisbane, but these have been closed due to COVID-19 and haven’t yet reopened. Qantas’ premium lounge entry in Brisbane already reopened after the initial COVID shutdown in mid-2020.

Qantas also has a larger domestic and international network, and more frequencies on many routes.

When flying on a Boeing 737, as you normally would for a domestic flight, the physical Business Class seats on Qantas and Virgin Australia are similar. But Qantas is also able to offer lie-flat Business seats on selected routes such as Melbourne-Perth or Sydney-Perth that are operated by Airbus A330s or Boeing 787s. Virgin cannot compete with this as it no longer has any wide-body aircraft with lie-flat Business seats in its fleet.

Virgin’s huge advantage over Qantas

So far, these differences between Qantas and Virgin domestic Business Class in 2022 are largely swings and roundabouts. But Virgin Australia has one final edge, and it’s a huge one: Pricing.

On most routes, Qantas charges at least 2-3 times more than Virgin Australia for a Business Class seat.

For example, Virgin’s Business fares on the Melbourne-Canberra route start from $249 one-way.

Qantas starts from $898 one-way. No, I haven’t just singled out an expensive travel date – this is the normal pricing.

Here are a few more examples of Qantas vs Virgin Australia one-way Business Class pricing:

• Melbourne-Darwin: $499 on Virgin Australia vs $1,200 on Qantas
• Brisbane-Cairns: $299 on Virgin Australia vs $549 on Qantas
• Adelaide-Sydney: $299 on Virgin Australia vs $788 on Qantas
• Sydney-Perth: $1,199 on Virgin Australia vs $2,572 on Qantas

You get the idea…

The difference is less pronounced when redeeming frequent flyer points. But Qantas Frequent Flyer also charges more points for a Qantas Business Class redemption, compared to the Velocity points needed for a Virgin Australia Business Class reward.

Even if Qantas was your preferred option, it’s difficult to see how their Business Class product could be worth that much more than Virgin’s – especially if you were paying full-price for a ticket.

So, over to you…

What do you think – does Virgin Australia now have a better overall Business Class product than Qantas? You can share your thoughts on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 90 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.