Virgin Blue embarks on brand overhaul

[concorde71]

Yes, "how it was flown" needs further details please :shock:

Probably landed in 40 knot crosswind in peeing down rain, and didnt pull off a pearler of a landing. Geez, fair dinkum, the computer flies the buggers and the pilots gets it off the ground, and puts it back. TOOOOOOOOO many variables to knock how it was flown, it didnt crash so its all good.
Anyway back on topic, if you dont want to pay $15 for a pie and beer, just step outside and buy one next door. Fair dinkum, you are flying at 30,000ft, there MUST be a surcharge to serve a product in an airline environment. ANY product that is sold to a captive crowd will be more expensive than a similar product where there is 20 shops necxt door to each other. Wing hop onto a tiger and buy some of their food.
FWIW - Id be happy to pay $15 for a pie and beer if I was hungry, however, most times, my flights are BNE-SYD or BNE-MEL, and TBH a coffee is all I need/want. Bringing my next question to Virgin volunteers on here. When is the cappucino machine coming???? Id be happy to pay extra afor a cappucino.

 

[DJ737]

I like the inclusion of Mrs T's spicy tomato juice and the Bunderberg ginger beer

The $15 for a Pie and Beer deal is the same price as if you had bought the items by themselves ie : $8 & $7, maybe the deal price should have been $14? or they could have thrown in a choccy bar or something into the $15 deal

 

[simongr]

The prices are certainly not cheap... But I have seen worse. I think Luke is a good choice for a chef tie-in with DJ.

How can DJ expect to be considered a full service airline when they are charging for food onboard?

 

[anat0l]

How can DJ expect to be considered a full service airline when they are charging for food onboard?

What do you call most of the USA based carriers then? And NZ on the new Seats to Suit service routes?

QF do charge for booze most of the time, too.

 

[DJ737]

Honolulu-Chicago is about 8hr:30min to 10 hr sector depending on direction and you are paying for your food on board in Y plus $1170 for the airfare.

 

[concorde71]

FWIW if I had to have a meal in flight ie: BNE-PER, I would be more than happy to pay for what I wanted, rather than try to a) Work out what the heck was on the QF "Meal" and B) Take what you are given in the little lucky dip with no choices. As someone posted previously, make a total trip cost out of it, Dont forget to allow a bonus of the gorgeous waitresses serving you in the sky , as against the Growl you get at the alternative. They have won me, and I was seriously aligned with the other mob, but they just dont care anymore.

 

[spaceboi]

They have won me, and I was seriously aligned with the other mob, but they just dont care anymore.

They'll soon care if business starts being diverted away from them... but that seems to always have been QF's problem.. They're reactive as opposed to proactive .....

As the first airline touted to have offered business Class travel, they've rest on that laurel for way too long

 

[lovestotravel]

Maybe so, but when choosing flights I use a measure I call TCF (Total cost of flying), which will factor this into my decision making

Exactly!!!!

At the moment if you have to pay for baggage on DJ along with say $15-$20 for food the pricing is the same or a little higher than Qantas on a few routes that I checked...

 

[lovestotravel]

How can DJ expect to be considered a full service airline when they are charging for food onboard?

This "new menu" which is basically not that much different from their old menu, except it has a "renowned chef's" name on it...

This is yet again just another "teaser" (hopefully) of what's to come

New uniforms - Who cares
Slightly different menu - Slight carefactor
New name - Who cares
Couple of A330's - Great, how are those business seats going to fit on the 737's......?

The business class "menu" Gallery: Virgin Blue's new inflight meals by Luke Mangan - Flights | hotels | frequent flyer | business class - Australian Business Traveller looks much more impressive and has me :mrgreen:

I will continue to wait for the "full launch" and still think they will go towards the Air NZ model of "Seat only" "Seat Plus Bag" "Seat Plus Bag/Food" etc etc

In a perfect world I would love DJ to be totally full service with no extra fees and paying for food in Y etc etc, but don't think that will happen.

Time will tell

 

[AirlineGuy]

In a perfect world I would love DJ to be totally full service with no extra fees and paying for food in Y etc etc, but don't think that will happen.

I agree with the above. The new menu offering gives a more 'upmarket' feel to the experience then the old junk food menu, however I am quite disappointed that they have not opted to provide a complimentary basic drink, eg even a glass of water/water cuplet. I think if you want to eat, then you should purchase from the menu, however non-alcoholic drinks should be complimentary.

I wonder if this will change with later changes to their inflight product? I for one certainly hope so!

 

[Justchecking]

Well I think it's better than the 15 different flavours of pringles and coke that used to be the menu. There is more than 1 item that resembles actual food now.

 

[ishkaban]

flew over to perth today from sydney,
tried the beef pie and later had vermicelli noodle salad.
i can say although the pie was pricey ( for a pie), it was absolutley delicious, and I would definitely buy it again.

(to be fair, try going to a pie shop these days and get a pie under at least $4)

The noodle salad was also very tasty and would definitely recommend.

it was nice to have some "fresh" food on board instead of egg&lettuce/ ham,cheese,tomato sandwiches and wraps.

Also had a bourbon and pepsi, for $10, but its actually 1.6 standard drinks (50ml), so comparable to bar prices.

There is also an icecream sandwich ( vanilla bean ice cream between chocolate brownie cookies) This is not on the menu, as its a limited item, but mentioned verbally by crew over the pa.

It was amazing and worth the $6 I paid.
They were selling them like crazy.

overall I thought the menu changes were long overdue and a step in the right direction.

 

[scibo10]

I like the inclusion of Mrs T's spicy tomato juice and the Bunderberg ginger beer

The $15 for a Pie and Beer deal is the same price as if you had bought the items by themselves ie : $8 & $7, maybe the deal price should have been $14? or they could have thrown in a choccy bar or something into the $15 deal

Hmm, could this have been an oversight? Otherwise, what is the benefit of saying 'I'll have this meal please" rather than ordering the items individually?

I used to be in the complimentary food camp, but have been employing the TFC method for a while now, so doesn't really bother me. My greatest gripe was not being able to pay with card, however now it is the preferred method of payment.

Having said this, many have asked what you would call most US domestic carriers. Well, cleary, many of them are full-service legacy carriers, but all of them, bar US Airways, serve complimentary soft drinks. So I think this should be provided by DJ in the near future, especially given QF do provide this. But I'm sure this has been thought about in the DJ camp. Ironically nearly all US LCC carriers provide complimentary food in the form of nuts or cookies, think Southwest, JetBlue, Airtran and Frontier. Go figure

Given it is still food for purchase in economy, I think they now provide free in-flight entertainment in economy, otherwise risk not shedding the New World Carrier and LCC model.

 

[Qld4101]

Got to say a little confused about the change to Pepsi - if they are trying to create a better product in Australia why would you run with what could only be described as a poor alternative in this country........

 

[concorde71]

Got to say a little confused about the change to Pepsi - if they are trying to create a better product in Australia why would you run with what could only be described as a poor alternative in this country........

Ahh another Holden Vs Ford argument - me personally, I prefer Pepsi, only trouble is, I cant sleep after having a can of Pepsi, but coke, no dramas.

 

[Must...Fly!]

Got to say a little confused about the change to Pepsi - if they are trying to create a better product in Australia why would you run with what could only be described as a poor alternative in this country........

Because it is cheaper. Bean counters at it again.

Also I think the meal deal is correct and not an oversight scibo10, as Jetstar also have a similar "deal" in their in flight menu.

 

[DJ332]

Having said this, many have asked what you would call most US domestic carriers. Well, cleary, many of them are full-service legacy carriers, but all of them, bar US Airways, serve complimentary soft drinks. So I think this should be provided by DJ in the near future, especially given QF do provide this. But I'm sure this has been thought about in the DJ camp. Ironically nearly all US LCC carriers provide complimentary food in the form of nuts or cookies, think Southwest, JetBlue, Airtran and Frontier. Go figure

Given it is still food for purchase in economy, I think they now provide free in-flight entertainment in economy, otherwise risk not shedding the New World Carrier and LCC model.

I agree with you entirely. I think it is a missed opportunity for DJ to continue to charge for all food and drinks if they really want to take on Qantas. At the very minimum, they should be offering a basic complimentary service like Rex - free water, soft drinks, juice, tea and coffee and maybe cheese and biscuits (enough to tide you over on a short sector) and then continue to charge for substantial meals and alcohol. Then again, we could see this change when the full rebranding is announced.

In any case, I certainly hope the new IFE is free.

 

[Dee Thom]

Got to say a little confused about the change to Pepsi - if they are trying to create a better product in Australia why would you run with what could only be described as a poor alternative in this country........

To each their own! In my case Pepsi-Max does the trick and when buying thru a S/Market I can (sorry) buy a slab for about half price of Coke, nodoubt DJ would receive a better price than that, hence Pepsi is the supplier.

Cheers Dee.

 

[Virgin Australia]

New uniforms - Who cares
Slightly different menu - Slight carefactor
New name - Who cares
Couple of A330's - Great, how are those business seats going to fit on the 737's......?

New uniforms - Who cares? Our staff certainly do!
Slightly different menu - Slight carefactor - Hungry people would care!
New name - Who cares - I thought all AFF's care about this!
Couple of A330's - Great, how are those business seats going to fit on the 737's......? why would they need to fit on a 737? They are on the A330!

Got to say a little confused about the change to Pepsi - if they are trying to create a better product in Australia why would you run with what could only be described as a poor alternative in this country........

As part of the refresh of the menu, we introduced a range of new products, which includes Pepsi, Goulburn Valley Fruit Packs and Mainland Cheese and Crackers. The menu will continue to be reviewed and we'll happily take feedback from you on this.

How can DJ expect to be considered a full service airline when they are charging for food onboard?

Choice. We are still providing the service, but you have the choice as to whether or not you choose to utilise it.

When is the cappucino machine coming???? Id be happy to pay extra a for a cappucino.

Good question! (lets see what I can find out!)

 

[Nigelinoz]

At least the DJ menu sounds more appetising than this suggestion from the Virgin America menu-

CURRY CHICKEN SALAD SANDWICH
It’s chicken salad with a twist: roasted chicken tossed with curry, cranberries, apricots, almonds, onions, honey, yogurt, and mayo on 9-grain bread. Served with mayo on the side and a Toblerone chocolate.

Now that really does sound revolting!.
Cheers
N'oz