Pre-flight COVID test required for all flights to Australia, Australia to temporarily cut international arrivals, Face masks to be mandatory on all domestic flights, Virgin Australia, Air Canada launch frequent flyer partnership, 5 reasons you shouldn't bin your boarding passes, What to do when an airline cancels your flight, New ways for airlines to win your business. When will Qantas reopen its international lounges? As you can see, there are many elements that play a part in ensuring our Business Class offering is best suited to the flight, duration and destination of your travel. Virgin Australia; Business Class; Recently while travelling from the USA to Australia we flew in Virgin Australia’s ‘The Business’ Business Class. If you eat seafood, they might be great, but I do not and end with a salad. Crap Pool/Neil Perry or this so called Chef are once again curtains to hide behind. I’ll be honest, I’ve eaten two meals on planes that were worth eating. The amenity kits, headsets and pillow were already at our seats. When I travel I find I go the soup or the salad.”. Like others have said, it's fine to add options but if I get on a flight in J and all I have to choose between is a soup or a salad (this has happened in the past) I will be cranky. Virgin Australia’s Business Class service begins before you board. Virgin Atlantic Business Class Bottom Line. Especially as it's a daytime flight. Here are the best watches of the year: should you care? The breakfast omelettes are over microwaved and very hard, Then there is the Mexican bean breakfast, or the Bircher muesli. In fairness, British Airways has hugely improved their business class catering , and I think the two airlines might just be tied in business class in that regard, or British Airways might even have the slight edge in that regard (I can’t believe I’m saying that! The cabin was clean and fresh. We like to ensure Business Class guests are receiving a great variety of dishes. Its gotta be good Neil and Luke said so!? Subscribe to Virgin Australia V-mail to be the first to know about our best flight specials, Happy Hour sales alerts, holiday packages and partner deals. VA used to listen to its customers and respond. We opt for cuts like short rib that can be braised slowly until the connective tissues breaks down and the flavour of the meat is enhanced. Both of these were meals I’d happily have paid for in a restaurant. Such a retrograde step . Relax, nowhere in the article does Luke say there won’t be hot meals, he’s talking more about passenger trends over the years and his personal meal preference in that context. Photo: Virgin Australia. VA have obviously put a great deal of thought into this: "A meal with a Middle Eastern twist" WITH BACON ??? 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A complimentary snack and water will be offered on all flights. Why we’d choose Virgin Upper Class. The carpets had been vacuumed and there were no obvious signs of wear and … To start with I had the Australian Prawns with Soba Noodles, It was full of flavour … David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis. I suppose this is necessary to stay afloat. Personally I enjoy a decent meal when traveling internationally. Upon boarding we were quickly offered a drink and given menus. Virgin Australia is changing up its business class menus for domestic and international flights, with the airline’s consulting chef Luke Mangan aiming to deliver what he describes as “lighter, cleaner, fresher approach” than Qantas when it comes to inflight dining. Anyone whose had anything to do with catering (airline or not) will tell you “light” options = light cost, soups and salads are the cheapest and easiest things to produce and serve. Wasn’t “lighter and fresher” also the terminology used when JB introduced boxed meals at QF? Lunch Menu . Business Class 'Great Escapade' tickets (in conjunction with Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and Silk Air) represent fantastic round the world value for money. … That’s right, a stand up bar in the air with a qualified mixologist. The new dishes will take flight from March on domestic flights, with June for international routes. My last flight which was Melbourne to Canberra I went for the Greek yoghurt and fruit, which to be honest on a 7am 1 hour flight like this is more than acceptable. Hm, now Detroit currently doesn't have a Virgin lounge, it has a (very busy) generic one. Over 70 customer reviews for Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Business Class seats, with opinions on Virgin Atlantic seat comfort in their business class cabin. Virgin Australia make much of their exciting new onboard menu with signature Luke Mangan items. For international long haul flights such as Sydney to Los Angeles, crew have detailed instructions regarding cooking times and how to plate up dishes on-board. If you’ve forgotten your password, simply enter your email address Virgin Australia domestic Business Class is my go-to points-redemption for domestic travel – if I have enough points, and the flight is long enough to justify it. VA just doesn’t know what it means to provide proper J class service. I.e. If you have not received the activation email, simply enter your email address below, then click 'Submit'. { After lunch/dinner, the mood lighting kicked in which is another cool feature of the Virgin Australia 777 business class cabin. By the time they got to me in row 4 guess what. Almonds, Olives and Snowpeas. The Virgin business class cabin is in a 1-2-1 herringbone configuration and split over two cabin spaces, the front cabin is larger with 24 seats, while the second cabin behind has only 13 seats. Virgin Australia business class menu SYD to LAX VA1. "@type": "Organization", And frankly what I’ve read doesn’t inspire much confidence. I.e. VA's business menu has certainly gone down hill. ✈ Are there certain meat cuts that are more suited to consume at high altitude? I agree that this must be cost cutting. London has The Upper Class Wing, which looks very interesting, but I haven't had the chance to test that out yet. The fact is that most decent carriers, including QF, provide something to this effect as a matter of course these days. Its ok if they introduce light options, but any attempt towards cutting down on hot meals would be looked upon as cost cutting and I for one will be tempted to look elsewhere. I’ve asked multiple times in J on the 737 and have always been told they do not have it. Snack Menu . Is it a seasonal offering? The amenities were top notch (amenity kits, pajamas, etc. With regards to fish, we tend to opt for kingfish, salmon or barramundi, as their oil content is higher. There are a couple of restrictions when cooking for an airline too, as opposed to a normal restaurant kitchen. third The galley plans of each aircraft type can be quite different, so we work with Galley Loading Plans (GLPs) to ensure we're creating dishes that can be prepared and served with ease on every flight. Have regard to the standard of food in J on VA (at least domestically and short haul international), it couldn’t get much worse than it already is. Agree with majority of above concerns. But what was dished up was awful. A tiny dollup of yoghurt and the this mess of overly sweetened summer fruits. I don’t even know what This dude is going on about stuffing our mouths with food. I was thinking the same thing! Clearly he and John Borghetti think we're stupid. When creating each dish, we look to ensure the flavours are enhanced. Economy cabin. What to do in Miami: 3 ways to experience the city. Worth noting that the Ayala NV has been replaced by the pedestrian NV Croser on the A330 to Perth in J, a real shame as this was a differentiating food/beverage item vs the awful Grant Burge on QF and offered upon boarding. Modern trends are hardly moving away from hot meals, especially on long-haul. Va dom J food is very strange, the quality is always great but sometimes they have very polarizing dishes. Didn’t receive an activation email? Virgin Business Class Lounge. For mains, we chose the petuna ocean trout and the red duck curry. Virgin Australia 777 Business Class Menus . The food was excellent as well. Please see Darren’s detailed review of the V Australia amenity kit. If pressed, we tend to feel that we’ve had better, more memorable meals on British Airways, which focus on very bold flavors that hold up at altitude with less ability to smell and taste. The first thing you notice, because Virgin have made a point of making it a point, is the glowing white bar. Good stuff! Looks like more options not cuts, how about you give it a go then critique. We have some fantastic new products on the retail cart, which is regularly updated to ensure our guests have plenty of choice.” One of the big attractions of flying J is the elaborate 3-5 course dining. interact with our community. Yes, we do! More like a cheap open pie with baby rocket sprinkled on top.... As a platinum member I'm questioning if I'm beginning to fly bogan air. ✈ How often does your team change the menu in Business Class? Good food, wine and a few movies. Wine Menu . For domestic flights, the menu changes every six months; however the meals offered are rotational throughout this time. “That's one of my favourites,” Mangan confesses. It’s not as if airlines serve us a lot of food to begin with. 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Virgin Australia confirmed the forthcoming changes to business class meal options, with a spokesperson telling Executive Traveller it would introduce “the retail cart to the Business Class cabin for our guests to purchase from in addition to the current offering. Recently I flew to London for a few days and I was so excited to learn I was upgraded to Upper Class Virgin Atlantic for my return flight. Hi Guest, join in the discussion on Virgin Australia previews new business class menu, Executive Traveller is published by Business Travel Media Pty Ltd, a corporate authorised credit representative (#515763) of MGS FINANCIAL PTY LIMITED (#337568). One of the standouts on domestic routes, Mangan says, will be a falafel with roasted mushrooms. No hot meal is business class ? I for one like a hot meal and a good break between service to aid digestion and get some rest. For domestic flights, the menu changes every six months; however the meals offered are rotational throughout this time. I prefer a proper meal with 4-5 courses when travelling J to LAX - it's a bit of an occasion. If you are travelling long-haul in First Class, Business Class or Premium Economy Class, you now have the opportunity to find out before departure which menus are being served on your flight. A range of hot and cold drinks, including beer and wine, are available on all flights. Already have an ET account? Whether you're with us for business or pleasure, travelling in Virgin Atlantic Upper Class makes your journey something to look forward to. You must be on different planes to what I fly on, because I find the food in domestic J to be excellent, especially compared to QF. }] Copyright © Virgin Australia Airlines Pty Ltd ABN 36 090 670 965. Not my intention to sound negative, my opinions are based on what I have received in other J Cabins domestically. Just amazing...and yes, its cost cutting. Business cabin. Subscribe to our free newsletter and get the latest news, reviews, tips and more sent straight to your inbox, Virgin Australia previews new business class menu. Here's the scoop from the team... ✈ Does your team have to adjust flavour profiles for on-board dishes? Virgin Atlantic has an on board bar, which is very tough to contend against, creating real separation in the business class cabin and a very swanky setting, if not just a bit of novelty. This week, we spent some time with Luke Mangan's team in their Test Kitchen, to find out the details for you. With a 1-2-1 configuration, Virgin business class passengers still receive direct aisle access from all their Upper Class seats, but with the new design, all the seats are forward facing meaning more privacy and better views for window seats. Happy to wait and see what comes of Wednesdays announcements, but I agree with the others - my first thought was this just sounds like cost cutting. There have been times where VA has been better than QF but most of the time its the other way around. A brand new Upper Class experience on the Virgin Atlantic A350s is providing business class passengers with a spectacular new start and end to their flights. FAs noted many passengers are complaining. when travelling J to LAX - it's a bit of an occasion. I agree with Brett's comments. 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