hey jakeseven7, thanks for all your negative emojis to my posts in this particular thread - I appreciate that you, and company, went through absolute cough when Virgin went through administration
(and IMO Bain/Jayne should have identified that, and personally contact you, when rebuilding the business)! And I am very sympathetic, I know multiple people and employees with Ansett, who I am sure fared far worse
BUT... while Virgin has changed post-bankruptcy, their J/C meal service is still very good IMO, especially compared to Qantas lacklustre, swimming in sauce, economy-style offering domestically! That drink pictured above is a Scotch and cola BTW, something ONLY
Virgin Australia has to offer domestically at the moment (and you can even buy one in economy, if you want).
IMO it appears Qantas is in absolute financial strife, given their cost cutting, delays to refunds, etc - Virgin, backed by Bain, is the only sure bet for my dollars!
That 1.5 hour scheduled service meal, was light years ahead of something similar on Qantas-2022! (And the price, without corporate discount, can't be beat)... plus, they still have "shelf-stable-pantry"! (Three of the people on board my flight declined the meal offering, and just wanted a drink - so while servicing "just" that drink, the FA also filled up a snack basket of pre-packaged food to offer each of those passengers! Qantas simple does NOT have the capacity to do that! Oliver Twist eat your heart out - "more please"!)
I can add a few more date points to that flight!
1. Beside the BP scanner at boarding checking eligibility for priority boarding, Virgin also had another employee, at the head of the line, yelling out eligibility (which is no mean feat, given all those that have access)... Qantas seems to not give a rat's about priority boarding, it's all talk and bluster, typical Qantas - all marketing with no follow-through or action from staff...
good luck getting your wheelie bin into an overhead on Qantas if you don't brave the scrum!
2. Virgin seems to be moving away from jacket hanging. The old configuration was designed for it, but I noticed on that fight (with old configuration) a typical QF corporate seated nearby with jacket, who nested it on their lap the whole flight. (Moving to the MiQ seat hook is basic, but still better than the overhead bin IMO).
3. On that flight, the "QF corporate" grabbed their bags after me, as did those in the same row opposite - then all of us, except the QF-corporate, sat down again, clearing the aisle for others to collect their belongings - resting assured that exiting a VA B737 J wasn't going to be a bun-fight in J/C, because a FA would situate themselves between rows 2 & 3, and ensure the easy disembarkation for all business class passengers... (I acknowledge that the VA FAs often need to do a better job of chatting to those in row 3 who are detained/partitioned during this phase, as they are likely precious metal to the company.)
4. pre-departure drinks, booze and soft were served.
5... plus all the rest I can't think of at the moment.
Virgin's J/C cafe style meals are awesome so far!
(And IMO the move to now call a "toilet" a toilet, during onboard announcements in Australia, is important - especially given Jayne's accent.)