Recent Decline of VA service

[medhead]

Could not disagree more. Unless there is a mythical VA fine dining lounge somewhere in Sydney - every time I've been to VA Syd (and MEL, and BNE and PER) lounges I have been really disappointed with the food range and quality.

I'm not that interested in hot food but I do want fresh salads, nice bread and some healthy options. VA seems to be stuck in the same boring bland food for years. VA also have no naughty treats for morning or afternoon either, something the QF J lounge does very well. As I am usually in a QF or VA lounge anywhere between 2-5 times a weeks I know which one I prefer.

Disagree all you like. The salads are the same and as fresh as each other, the cold meat cuts are the same, the sliced cheese is the same. VA often has pineapple for toasted sandwiches which is not provided by qantas. As I said, my comment was about the basic food, not the extras.

 

[QF WP]

i think it's about time that we told VA about their poor Lounge fare. About to email the VA BNE Lounge Manager contact about something else, so will include a link to this thread to see what she says

 

[anat0l]

i think it's about time that we told VA about their poor Lounge fare. About to email the VA BNE Lounge Manager contact about something else, so will include a link to this thread to see what she says

I thought people already were doing so, in one way or another.

Why should it take the equivalent of a Spanish Inquisition each time people are not happy with the VA product?

 

[toowongman]

i think it's about time that we told VA about their poor Lounge fare. About to email the VA BNE Lounge Manager contact about something else, so will include a link to this thread to see what she says

They'll throw you some platitudes, introduce something 1% better for a month then let it go back to normal. VA know exactly what they're doing.

 

[pblackie]

Flew Business SYD - PER last night and was very disappointed that the cheese platter is no longer an option for dessert, apparently it is now only offered on alternative weeks??

 

[vitagen]

My folks were in syd-per last night and they enjoyed!

 

[QF WP]

I thought people already were doing so, in one way or another.

Why should it take the equivalent of a Spanish Inquisition each time people are not happy with the VA product?

Yes, we are discussing it here however I would disagree that many are putting it to VA very effectively via Social Media.

I would like to take it to VA Management.

 

[JohnK]

Yup, last night in BNE it was pea and bacon soup or toasted sandwiches. Went to Red Rooster instead.

To be fair BNE Qantas business lounge had Beef tagine with mograbiah and the Qantas lounge had vegetarian fried rice. Same choice on Friday in both lounges. Same choice the week before. And the week before that.

The tagine is hardly touched most times I am there. The lounge staff say that the food is not turning over as quickly as other choices. Perhaps that is the reason. Save money. A race to the bottom.

 

[bullerdude]

The Qantas J lounge does have nightly hot food selection that is slightly better. But then the J lounge is a premium lounge. That's important to remember the VA lounge does not claim to be anything more than a basic lounge. The fact that VA's basic food offerings match the J lounge is embarrassing to Qantas.

Disagree. VA claim to have breakfast, lunch and dinner buffet's that rotate monthly. Lies, lies and more lies.

Stop in and enjoy barista coffee^. Treat yourself to quality snacks and cold drinks at any time of the day. Stay a little longer and enjoy our Luke Mangan designed breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets – the menu changes monthly, and rotates throughout our lounges. Or relax and unwind with your choice of boutique premium wines and refreshing ales, available from 11.00am daily.

 

[medhead]

Disagree. VA claim to have breakfast, lunch and dinner buffet's that rotate monthly. Lies, lies and more lies.

Which actually has what to do with the bit of my post that you quoted? The VA lounge does not claim to be a premium lounge. It is does not claim to be a business class lounge. It is a basic airline lounge. That fact is not changed by claims of rotating buffets.

You might disagreed but you might actually like to address my post rather than posting something unrelated.

 

[atreides]

After jumping ship from QF a while back, it is pretty clear to see that there has been a decline in the onboard J service, especially over the last twelve months.

To be specific:
- Substantial decline in the quality of food and poor variation of menu,
- Did I mention the food?
- Significant decline in staff morale,
- Small things like having to ask for a amenity pack rather than having one offered, enhancement of the mocktail, enhancement of the coat jacket, etc...

A couple of times now, VA have subbed their A330 for a 737 a few days out and not informed me. Had I not checked my booking prior (due to the fear of ending up on a SYD-PER 737) I would not have noticed and would have been a little annoyed at the gate. Luckily in both these cases I checked and was able to move to a later flight. Though I know QF is no better at this, I think because so many J customers book specifically on the A330 and avoid the 737 like the plague on East-West, VA should call their customers to discuss options when they sub aircraft a few days prior to your flight.

I'm still willing to bear with these issues because I still believe the B777 and A330 is an excellent product, and on short-haul flights the E90 and B737 J product is fine.

For so long it felt as if VA was a roller coaster climbing higher and higher, I should have known the drop was only moments away.

 

[anat0l]

After jumping ship from QF a while back, it is pretty clear to see that there has been a decline in the onboard J service, especially over the last twelve months.

To be specific:
- Substantial decline in the quality of food and poor variation of menu,
- Did I mention the food?
- Significant decline in staff morale,
- Small things like having to ask for a amenity pack rather than having one offered, enhancement of the mocktail, enhancement of the coat jacket, etc...

A couple of times now, VA have subbed their A330 for a 737 a few days out and not informed me. Had I not checked my booking prior (due to the fear of ending up on a SYD-PER 737) I would not have noticed and would have been a little annoyed at the gate. Luckily in both these cases I checked and was able to move to a later flight. Though I know QF is no better at this, I think because so many J customers book specifically on the A330 and avoid the 737 like the plague on East-West, VA should call their customers to discuss options when they sub aircraft a few days prior to your flight.

I'm still willing to bear with these issues because I still believe the B777 and A330 is an excellent product, and on short-haul flights the E90 and B737 J product is fine.

For so long it felt as if VA was a roller coaster climbing higher and higher, I should have known the drop was only moments away.

Since when do airlines sub out aircraft and tell you in advance? Only some will perhaps because it will affect the seating assignment, or, in the cases of some lucky ducks, their class of service changes. Of course, it can also work the other way (for example, sub out a 737 for a A330 and if Business was full to start with, a bit of a problem there), and you might be told then...

I think many people (or rather, specifically here) book certain flights for certain aircraft - whether it be a specific aircraft type or (more accurately) a specific product within a certain aircraft type.

I don't know about poor food variation without the experience to back it up, but I would have thought VA have a varying cycle which is seasonal, like pretty much every other airline out there. So it changes maybe once every 3 months or maybe twice a month cycling between options until the season is up, then a whole new set of cycling options. Not sure about the food quality, but from the reports that keep coming in, especially on coast-to-coast it still sounds like it's at least par.

The amenity packs are interesting. The "rumour" out there was that the amenity packs were being "moderated", or in some cases not even being distributed unless (a) there was stock, (b) a customer specifically requested one, or (c) used for customer recovery. The representative here can likely dispel these, but my third party reports (not on this forum) indicate a mixed bag (of course they are unaware of the "theories").

I assume the "enhancement of the coat jacket" means that they just don't give you a coat jacket cover any more - I would think they would still hang up your coat jacket for you.

Why do people keep using the rollercoaster analogy and going up? A rollercoaster ride has both ups and downs and both make it exciting; you're just as likely to die if the rollercoaster goes too high up as it will if it plunges too far down...

 

[Edge]

Flying MEL-ADL this morning and staff at the gate were keeping a keen eye on passengers and what they were carrying on. I saw them weigh a couple of bags. Haven't seen this before.

Not necessarily saying this is a 'decline' in service, just a change. I think it's for the best, too many people carrying on too much these days.

 

[anat0l]

Flying MEL-ADL this morning and staff at the gate were keeping a keen eye on passengers and what they were carrying on. I saw them weigh a couple of bags. Haven't seen this before.

Not necessarily saying this is a 'decline' in service, just a change. I think it's for the best, too many people carrying on too much these days.

Was it a case of, "if it looks heavy, it just might be," or did they appear to be pulling out completely random people for checks?

 

[Edge]

They were walking over to people who had larger carry-ons, picking them up by hand and then taking them over to the scales if they felt they might be overweight. Only saw them do it to about 5 pax (me included). My bag wasn't actually weighed, just picked up. It was only half-full but looked like the type that could be quite heavy.

 

[Sojourner]

Both QP and the VA Lounge are on par in terms of the poor quality of food. For me VA occasionally comes ahead if I'm lucky enough to get something nice when they've got the pass arounds going. I think the best think I got was a char siu bao (chinese pork bun). This probably doesn't count though because it's not part of the standard fare but a luck of the draw kind of thing.

 

[lovestotravel]

Why is it "new news" that the VA lounge is pathetic for food ?

VA claimed they were trailing new menu items about a year ago at BNE, they did for a brief period and that was it, nothing else changed

Soup and hot dogs are the order of the day or a toasted sandwhich.

VA lounges have always been rubbish. All style, no substance, which was one of the reasons I swapped all my domestic flying to QF, and enjoyed the QF J lounges.

However, now the QF Dom J lounges have been "enhanced" lucky to get one hot meal selection now for dinner and it's usually the cheapest possible slop you can imagine and it rarely seems to change. Breakfast in the QF J lounge still has eggs, but bacon has been gone for months at MEL and SYD, and the sausages there are hardly touched. You used to be able to get eggs, bacon, sausage and tomato. Tomato has also been enhanced away for sausages, the same as the bacon

I would like the VA lounge to improve as it might force QF to actually improve and not enhance their Dom J lounge offerings any further!

VA service as I said about a month/two ago, has gone downhill. CSM's reading from scripts and checking the manual to see what food they offer in-front of customers is laughable! They seem as happy to be working there as JQi staff....

 

[JohnK]

Soup and hot dogs are the order of the day or a toasted sandwhich.

You forgot the vegetarian fried rice.

 

[Princess Fiona]

I'm bored and XFA or XFB is delayed so here's the pics from PER this evening


The tags are actually an improvement on MEL but the overall offering is poor. I have been here since 1530, there is no hot food other than soup. Every so often the stale greasy smell of an unwashed toasty machine drifts by and I'm currently using my Telstra 4G because the wi-fi is back in the '90s somewhere.
It is grim

 

[lovestotravel]

It's VA so not sure why you expected anything better!

Again, it's a shame as the MEL and CBR lounges are nice, but just rubbish food offerings for lunch/dinner

The SYD lounge I really do not like, it doesn't feel "welcoming"

Oh and XFA/XFB is a major VA FAIL, they had a chance to get the A330 experience perfect, for a relatively small investment!