Virgin Australia Business Class - Meals, Menus & Service

I wonder how VA thought about jumping on the bandwagon with offering focaccia rather than just a normal bread roll or a slice of warmed bread.

Except maybe Italian carriers (which I haven't flown before) and possibly SQ and QR, I have never seen any other carrier offer focaccia (especially sliced, cf. individual) until QF did it (and for all cabin classes).
Theres a sweet focaccia for breakfast floating around somewhere and it made sense to have savoury focaccia too
 
Completely made up. Yes they can serve alcohol on morning flights. The demand is obviously low so they don't proactively do it.

Off topic.
There's a sign in the Qantas Club (Brisbane domestic).
Liquor licence permits serving alcohol from 0500, however alcohol won't be served before midday (IIRC)
 
Not sure if this right thread for this - but:

Currently onboard 702 just about to push back - we spent 4hrs in lounge today - cannot believe the rubbish offered as food today - what a disgrace.

As for the wine - zero reqt to need to enforce RSA - Shiraz and Cab Sav both totally undrinkable
 
Not sure if this right thread for this - but:

Currently onboard 702 just about to push back - we spent 4hrs in lounge today - cannot believe the rubbish offered as food today - what a disgrace.

As for the wine - zero reqt to need to enforce RSA - Shiraz and Cab Sav both totally undrinkable
Agree on the VA lounges, they need a lot of love (and renovation). But responsible service of alcohol? How on earth does that come into a play when VA lounges don't serve spirits and the wine is largely undrinkable (+ bar only opens after 12pm)?
 
VA691 MEL-PER. Chicken with creamy leek sauce and roast potatoes. Half the potatoes were fine, the other talk tasted like they had been reheated 5 times, but the chicken was good. Foccacia and dessert also decent. Not bad after the horrible options in the lounge.
Screenshot_20260723_155030_Gallery.jpg
 
July 2026 | VA434 | SYD to ADL

Was originally booked on the later VA442 service but moved via Fly Ahead. It was a fortuitous move because not only did VA434 arrive 20 minutes early, VA442 arrived about 40 minutes late!

Priority bag drop at Sydney was slow due to one group taking an unusually long time to process, however security was fast and the lounge wasn't too busy. The buffet had the usual spread, complemented by staff walking around the lounge offering slices of pizza. The pizza was pretty good.

20260717_165516.jpg

Boarding commenced right on time and was very fast. Our CM came around offering water or sparkling wine.

20260717_173343.jpg

Orders were taken 1AC, 1DF, 2AC, 2DF with the choices being beef with mustard jus, creamy polenta and roasted vegetables or gnocchi with mushroom ragout and optional chicken. I chose the gnocchi with chicken and a shiraz to drink.

20260717_181440.jpg

I've certainly had better meals on VA flights but the portion was at least generous. Our CM was excellent and ever present with drink top ups. He also brought around a tray with pantry items around halfway into the flight.

20260717_184952.jpg

Hard product on the flight could have been better; it was one of the oldest aircraft in the fleet and although the new seats and curtain divider had been installed, my tray table had a slight droop to it even without any weight on top. There was also no Wi-Fi however notification of this in the app meant I was able to download my own entertainment in advance.

Water was distributed as we commenced descent, which was handy for the onward journey.

20260717_192433.jpg
 
July 2026 | VA434 | SYD to ADL

Was originally booked on the later VA442 service but moved via Fly Ahead. It was a fortuitous move because not only did VA434 arrive 20 minutes early, VA442 arrived about 40 minutes late!

Priority bag drop at Sydney was slow due to one group taking an unusually long time to process, however security was fast and the lounge wasn't too busy. The buffet had the usual spread, complemented by staff walking around the lounge offering slices of pizza. The pizza was pretty good.

View attachment 516287

Boarding commenced right on time and was very fast. Our CM came around offering water or sparkling wine.

View attachment 516288

Orders were taken 1AC, 1DF, 2AC, 2DF with the choices being beef with mustard jus, creamy polenta and roasted vegetables or gnocchi with mushroom ragout and optional chicken. I chose the gnocchi with chicken and a shiraz to drink.

View attachment 516289

I've certainly had better meals on VA flights but the portion was at least generous. Our CM was excellent and ever present with drink top ups. He also brought around a tray with pantry items around halfway into the flight.

View attachment 516290

Hard product on the flight could have been better; it was one of the oldest aircraft in the fleet and although the new seats and curtain divider had been installed, my tray table had a slight droop to it even without any weight on top. There was also no Wi-Fi however notification of this in the app meant I was able to download my own entertainment in advance.

Water was distributed as we commenced descent, which was handy for the onward journey.

View attachment 516291
Nice to see the crew hand out crew water to passengers which isn't what is supposed to happen.

When pulling the tray table out from stowage you have to pull the tray table right up so it locks in place before opening down into the half fold. It has to click in place for the tray table to be full stable and not droop down.

Can close it and stow away and try to re-engage it.
 
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July 2026 | VA441 | ADL to SYD

Boarding commenced right on time and the CM distributed bottled water to all passengers and then brought around sparkling wines too!

20260719_184702.jpg

Once in the air orders for dinner were taken 1AC, 1DF, 2AC, 2DF with the choices being the same as my flight to Adelaide, i.e. beef with mustard jus, creamy polenta and roasted vegetables or gnocchi with mushroom ragout. This time I went with the beef and a gin and tonic to drink.

Drinks were distributed first...

20260719_193238.jpg

Followed by dinner.

20260719_194021.jpg

The beef was tender and went great with the creamy polenta, probably one of the better meals I've had on VA.

Service was exactly what you'd want from a late evening flight - efficient and non-intrusive. As we commenced approach the CM came around and tipped wine into paper cups for those who were still going. Landed in Sydney 5 minutes early, can't remember the last time I did a return trip on VA where both flights arrived early but I like it!
 

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