Virgin launches new cafe-style business class menu

Commuting between Sydney (Friday PM) and returning from the Gold Coast (Sunday PM) I can honestly say Virgin's food offering is terrible, menus are the same week in week out in both directions, meals are often incinerated and too hot to eat, the crackers with cheese the crackers are often stale, not a bread role in sight and no longer offered the little chocolate on the tray (cheap) and the funniest thing is depending on which crew members are serving you the description of the meal being offered varies from crew member to crew member for the same meal.

Having recently flown business domestically on Qantas same route the food offering was a pie or salad, having opted for the pie the food was so much better.

Sorry VA I am a fan but maybe you need that celebrity chef after all or simply survey your customers then opt not to ignore the survey.

Dream on

I fly between Melb/Hobart return(business) and we never get hot food ever because it's "a short flight".

Options are always cold!!!

Believe it when I see it. Won't hold my breath

I know this isn't really a practical idea, but I would love for Virgin to introduce a 'Business Express' fare along the same lines as 'Economy Getaway', a few hundred dollars cheaper and with NO meal and NO checked luggage, just carry-on only. That would satisfy a lot of regular travellers like myself, we travel light and we don't need a fancy meal because we eat at the lounge or often at a superior cafe in the terminal. Oh how miss SYD T2's Movida! But I still prefer to get a proper meal in the terminal, then during my SYD-MEL and MEL-SYD flights I can just relax, focus on work etc.

Ali, I disagree with the above comment VA has a better food offering than QF, just remember the total calorie count. Being a super frequent flyer I normally need to eat while on a plane and the less calories in a meal the better!!!

Virgin crap all over Hudsons business offerings. Virgins are fresh, quick, healthy. Qantas is stodge, they persist with that bloody bread roll and butter pack (think weve on from our irish roots) and its always a dogs breakfast.

Not sure I'd go for pancakes or french toast but generally I like the idea of this 'cafe-style' food, Qantas just over-complicates things, it's always trying to be some fancy 'restaurant in the sky' or it just gives up and settles for cheap unappealing stodge. Virgin seems to hit the middle ground very nicely, always did, especially back when Luke Mangan did their business class meals.

Have to agree with @upupandaway. VA jclass onboard food and drink offering far superior to QF.

Recently flew syd-bne-syd with both.

Pre-flight drink: VA offered prosecco/h2o, vs QF's nothing

In-flight meal: VA 2 × hot options vs QF 1 tiny "pizza"(which was also being served in the BNE business lounge), or cheese sliver plate.

Beverages: VA - 2 × white, 2 × red wines and prosecco vs QF - 1 red, 1 white, is there bubbles?

I know it's only an 1.5 he flight and generally I don't eat at all, but it's nice to have a decent CHOICE of food/wine, if I choose to partake, considering what I am paying to be seated there.

I fly VA MEL CNS a LOT and the food is always the same and I am sooooooooooo bored with it.  Even the FAs say, "Well, I suppose I don't need to explain the menu because you've had it so many times"  AND if only every meal was 30% larger.  This is just marketing spin, and the VA team clearly don't fly their own airline.  But I guess one doesn't fly to eat.  

But it's way better than QF and at half the price.  Swings and roundabouts.

I flew business on VA454 DRW-BNE and the two offerings were the VegetableRagout cortage pie and the  beef with black bean sauce.  The beef was gristly and I would love to know what happened to the black bean sauce. VA keeps setting the bar lower and lower.