Inflight bite: Virgin Australia

And Qantas is better how, exactly? Depending on route and time of day you'll get a 'meal' or a 'snack' with them, just as with Virgin. Except that Virgin is open in calling it a 'snack' while Qantas calls it 'a meal on every flight' when most of the time it's no more than what Virgin serves.

The difference is: whether I'm flying from Auckland, Wellington, Sydney, Dubai, Jakarta, Broome or Cairns I know that I will get something to eat (whether it be a snack or meal) and bags included. I don't have to break it down in my head and think "ok so I'm flying from this city to this city at this time which means I get this and not that".

"And Qantas is better how, exactly?"

For an evening peak departure, I assure you that getting a hot dinner of Cantonese lemon chicken with seasonal Asian greens and steamed jasmine rice with multiple drinks, a roll and a chocolate on a tray is a damn sight better than a mini-pack 'tasty' cheese and crackers.

And you get this on a domestic economy flight between, say, Sydney and Melbourne? Because that's what this article is about, and what I thought this discussion is about. Or are you looking to compare apples with dried apple slices?

I travelled Qantas economy on a late evening flight and was served a bbef steak on a bed of mashed potatoes. Certainly way better than Cheese & Crackers.

On my morning Qantas economy flights I normally get served a bowl of cereal with a small packet of milk & choice of coffee/tea etc.

On one occaision I got a container of youghurt & a museli bar. Plus choice tea/coffee etc

After breakfast is served, they sually then come around handing out apples in addition to breakfast already served.

Oh & yes the flights I am speaking of were between Sydney & Melbourne which is the orute I normally fly.

Hear, Hear Watson374. Multiple times flying Business on Qantas during designated meal times (and described as lunch or dinner 'to be served' during FA announcement over tannoy) I've been stuck with a choice of soup or cheese box both of which are, at best, entrees or dessert dishes, not main meals! Unless you sit in the first row of a narrow body, any proper meal disappears, and when you've paid for a business seat (not an on-departure upgrade, where catering is not promised) it's a real annoying thing. 

This doesn't happen when I'm on Virgin - I always get a real meal in Business, always during main meal times and practically always during non-main meal times. No sad cheese box or soup here.

There are times on Qantas where those in Economy get better meal choices than those in Business - it's just crazy! And I really wish that Qantas took its practice on international Business flights, to serve meals in Business according to your Frequent Flyer status, and used it in the domestic Business cabin - so that loyalty was at least rewarded when it came to fighting it out for the two or three actual lunches/dinners loaded on board you actually had a chance (instead of having to take 1A - which isn't always a great seat - to increase your chances).

"... and I really wish that Qantas took it's practise on international Business flights to serve meals according to the Frequent Flyer status ..."

Are you kidding me?    If you are just a full fare paying passenger with no FF status with Qantas you somehow get less of a meal...???

If you'd paid attention Alan, I'm suggesting that Qantas take what it already does on International, and apply to Domestic (if it can't/won't cater enough real meals).

So if you're a P1 travelling on a paid J ticket, your order is taken before that of someone on an on-departure upgrade (given catering is not confirmed for these pax) - and yes, even before a bronze (or no status) pax with a paid J ticket. Loyalty by fare paid priority.

Get off your socialist high horse comrade, loyalty status already determines priority over seat allocation for domestic, and as stated this is nothing new on QFi - it's certainly better than punishing anyone for not selecting 1A.

The snacks on qantas are usually a higher quality, bigger and are either listed and refreshment, lunch, breakfast or dinner. 

Al: Absolutely. Since you don't seem to fly QF very much, I'll let you in on my notes. Let's take three random dinners I can recall off the top of my head on Qantas domestic I've had on SYD-MEL were:

• Cantonese lemon chicken with seasonal Asian greens and steamed jasmine rice.
• Braised beef with barley/sago-like boiled grain.
• Chicken, sundried tomato and pasta spirals in white cream sauce.

All meals were served with a small roll, butter and condiments, water, a drink of your choice (soft drink, beer or wine) and a chocolate to finish.

Here, look at the chicken pasta meal. It's on QF 490, the 20:00 flight from Melbourne to Sydney on 02 Dec 2013.

Watson: you're right, I have mostly flown Virgin domestic since a few years ago. The meals above and in the photo look great, but that looks like a business class seat in the photo , not eocnomy?

I was in the bulkhead seat, which is why you see a bulkhead in front, and why my tray table was of the fold-out variety.

Al, you would absolutely not get plastic cutlery in business!

I completely agree, @aklrunway. I love VA and they've been great to me but their policies are confusing and inconsistent (I still don't understand their lounge policy when flying VA intl short-haul and I've been WP for almost a year).

Either do something properly or dont do it at all. If you customers dont understand a policy it is not working.