Virgin Australia Business Class - Meals, Menus & Service
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It's a personal decision. Pre-departure lounge access is handy for me.
To be fair, a biggie for me was the restriction of forward toilets to J class only on VA. That doesn't happen on Qantas !
No picture, but I was served the cottage pie on a daytime BNE-MEL flight yesterday (other choice looked like a noodle salad but none left by the time the FA got to us). Quite possibly the worst dish I've had in VA J, very bland and textureless, like something that was intended to be served in a nursing home. Came with two pieces of fairly bitter broccoli as well. Anyway recommend avoiding this one.
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Oh yes the toilets only for J is a big positive.
Do love that.
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I had the same meal a couple weeks ago, I didn't think it was that bad. Certainly had far worse VA meals.
Perhaps the caterers in NTL have a different recipe
Harrison_133
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Would've been catered in BNE where the aircraft originated.Perhaps the caterers in NTL have a different recipe
The-Aviator
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October 2026 | VA57 | BNE to VLI
Second flight in a return trip from Sydney to Vanuatu. Spent a bit of time at the VA Domestic lounge before switching terminals but due to a late aircraft change, we ended up spending an extra half hour wandering around in the international terminal. Was nice hearing the in-terminal announcements for the flight in both English and French!
Waiting at our seats upon boarding were a pillow, blanket and small amenity kit containing ab eyemask and toothbrush/toothpaste. For whatever reason, this wasn't provided on the return flight.
The flight wasn't super full and there were just 4/8 in J. Our CM came around with PDBs.
Once airborne lunch orders were taken 1A, 2F, 1DF. Options were pulled beef with roasted chat potatoes and vegetables or spinach and ricotta ravioli in a leek sauce with optional chicken. I went with the beef and being a longer flight, the meal was accompanied by warm focaccia , a coconut vanilla cake and cheese and crackers.
Presentation (splatter) aside, it was one of the least enjoyable meals I've had on VA. Needed a sprinkle of the salt and pepper for flavour which is something I almost never do! Not something I would order again. That said, the focaccia was lovely and the standout on the tray was that coconut vanilla cake, could have had ten of those and it was well-suited to this leisure-focused route!
CM Kiri was a superstar, she had an encyclopaedic knowledge of the drinks menu and made a point to have a chat with each passenger. Switched to a gin and tonic while passing over the northern tip of New Caledonia, swizzle stick right way up for a change!
We made up a little bit of time enroute and landed about 20 minutes late. On the approach we caught a glimpse of Eretoka, nicknamed Hat Island for its distinctive shape!
Second flight in a return trip from Sydney to Vanuatu. Spent a bit of time at the VA Domestic lounge before switching terminals but due to a late aircraft change, we ended up spending an extra half hour wandering around in the international terminal. Was nice hearing the in-terminal announcements for the flight in both English and French!
Waiting at our seats upon boarding were a pillow, blanket and small amenity kit containing ab eyemask and toothbrush/toothpaste. For whatever reason, this wasn't provided on the return flight.
The flight wasn't super full and there were just 4/8 in J. Our CM came around with PDBs.
Once airborne lunch orders were taken 1A, 2F, 1DF. Options were pulled beef with roasted chat potatoes and vegetables or spinach and ricotta ravioli in a leek sauce with optional chicken. I went with the beef and being a longer flight, the meal was accompanied by warm focaccia , a coconut vanilla cake and cheese and crackers.
Presentation (splatter) aside, it was one of the least enjoyable meals I've had on VA. Needed a sprinkle of the salt and pepper for flavour which is something I almost never do! Not something I would order again. That said, the focaccia was lovely and the standout on the tray was that coconut vanilla cake, could have had ten of those and it was well-suited to this leisure-focused route!
CM Kiri was a superstar, she had an encyclopaedic knowledge of the drinks menu and made a point to have a chat with each passenger. Switched to a gin and tonic while passing over the northern tip of New Caledonia, swizzle stick right way up for a change!
We made up a little bit of time enroute and landed about 20 minutes late. On the approach we caught a glimpse of Eretoka, nicknamed Hat Island for its distinctive shape!
Harrison_133
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Next business class menu rotation starts 11 November.
Business Class Menu Highlights (included in the Business Class fare)*
Breakfast
Business Class Menu Highlights (included in the Business Class fare)*
Breakfast
- Yoghurt with lychee, finger lime & mint salsa
- Cheesy scrambled egg with bacon & Boston beans
- Chorizo, pumpkin & fetta frittata with tomato relish
- Egg and cheese breakfast quesadilla with sour cream & salsa
- Bircher muesli with strawberry & rhubarb compote & pepita seeds
- Banana bread with mascarpone & strawberry
- Mango & coconut chia pudding with fruit compote
- Seared beef with roasted vegetables, potato & rosemary jus
- Asian beef noodle salad
- Pasta pesto salad with beetroot & fetta
- Crumbed chicken with broccoli, spiced potato & lemon, caper & dill sauce
- Beef bolognese with parmesan cheese
- Stir-fried beef in black bean sauce with rice and Asian greens
- Walnut brownie cake
- Berry choc cheesecake
The-Aviator
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October 2026 | VA54 | VLI to BNE
Start of the journey home to Sydney via Brisbane with what was meant to be a 2hr 15min layover - it ended up being one of the more interesting flights I've taken! This was the only flight in the four sectors on a MAX 8 and the inbound aircraft was slightly delayed, but nothing major and we boarded roughly on time.
Waiting at our seats was a bottle of water...
and PDBs were offered after a few minutes.
And then we waited. Two passengers eventually came forward and disembarked, one of them was clearly in some discomfort and saying she needed to see a doctor. This started offboarding procedures which took a lot longer than anyone expected, with the combination of removing bags and ground crew having to prepare a new passenger manifest.
We ended up departing just over an hour late. The CM throughout this was superb, her focus was on the wellbeing of the passenger impacted, as it should be.
Once in the air lunch orders were taken 1AC, 1DF, 2AC, 2DF. Choices were slow cooked beef with potatoes and vegetables (same as my flight to VLI) or spinach and ricotta ravioli with tomato cream sauce and optional chicken. Given my prior experience with the beef it was an easy choice for me!
This was an excellent dish, to the point where I was regretting not having ordered the pasta on the previous flight! Coconut vanilla cake as good as ever, VA should start serving these in the lounges too.
Wine top ups were offered after the meal. We had a long-ish approach into Brisbane coming in from the south and landed about an hour late. At this point we were still hoping the transit would be smooth, but we taxied to the most distant gate at the international terminal and then waited again, this time for a Border Force agent to come and check on a sick child. This process added an extra 30 minutes.
Once in the terminal we had some additional challenges with e-gates not working and queues at quarantine but VA staff were on hand to assist those with tight connections to be pulled forward at quarantine as much as possible. Unfortunately those on the ADL flight were too late to make their connection but we heard staff assuring them that hotels were being arranged.
At the VA transit counter in the arrivals hall they said to take our bags with us and go as they were holding the Sydney flight because of all the connecting passengers. Upon arrival at the domestic terminal after taking the transfer bus, staff at the bag drop were basically telling us to just leave the bags with them and go!
We made the connection in less than an hour, to the credit of VA ground crew. Will cover the final flight in a separate post.
Start of the journey home to Sydney via Brisbane with what was meant to be a 2hr 15min layover - it ended up being one of the more interesting flights I've taken! This was the only flight in the four sectors on a MAX 8 and the inbound aircraft was slightly delayed, but nothing major and we boarded roughly on time.
Waiting at our seats was a bottle of water...
and PDBs were offered after a few minutes.
And then we waited. Two passengers eventually came forward and disembarked, one of them was clearly in some discomfort and saying she needed to see a doctor. This started offboarding procedures which took a lot longer than anyone expected, with the combination of removing bags and ground crew having to prepare a new passenger manifest.
We ended up departing just over an hour late. The CM throughout this was superb, her focus was on the wellbeing of the passenger impacted, as it should be.
Once in the air lunch orders were taken 1AC, 1DF, 2AC, 2DF. Choices were slow cooked beef with potatoes and vegetables (same as my flight to VLI) or spinach and ricotta ravioli with tomato cream sauce and optional chicken. Given my prior experience with the beef it was an easy choice for me!
This was an excellent dish, to the point where I was regretting not having ordered the pasta on the previous flight! Coconut vanilla cake as good as ever, VA should start serving these in the lounges too.
Wine top ups were offered after the meal. We had a long-ish approach into Brisbane coming in from the south and landed about an hour late. At this point we were still hoping the transit would be smooth, but we taxied to the most distant gate at the international terminal and then waited again, this time for a Border Force agent to come and check on a sick child. This process added an extra 30 minutes.
Once in the terminal we had some additional challenges with e-gates not working and queues at quarantine but VA staff were on hand to assist those with tight connections to be pulled forward at quarantine as much as possible. Unfortunately those on the ADL flight were too late to make their connection but we heard staff assuring them that hotels were being arranged.
At the VA transit counter in the arrivals hall they said to take our bags with us and go as they were holding the Sydney flight because of all the connecting passengers. Upon arrival at the domestic terminal after taking the transfer bus, staff at the bag drop were basically telling us to just leave the bags with them and go!
We made the connection in less than an hour, to the credit of VA ground crew. Will cover the final flight in a separate post.
Harrison_133
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I'm pretty sure they did not long ago.
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