Intro
Virgin Australia charges one-third of Qantas’ prices for business class while claiming comparable service quality.
Their new summer menu promises 12 new economy items and 28 business dishes.
After testing both cabins on Melbourne to Sydney, here’s whether their “different kind of airline” promise actually deliver.
Economy Class
Virgin no longer offers free meals in economy – just free water, coffee, or tea. Everything else comes from their buy-on-board menu.
The summer refresh added 12 new items, so I sampled several to get the full picture.
The crew recommended the Salted Grapefruit Margarita (AUD 13), and they weren’t overselling it.
This had genuine citrus brightness with salt that enhanced rather than overwhelmed the grapefruit flavours.
Most cocktails taste like sugar water with alcohol. This actually tasted like a cocktail.
The waffle (AUD 8) arrived warm with rich chocolate filling and proper texture – crispy exterior, tender interior.
They’ve clearly figured out reheating techniques that preserve quality rather than just achieving serving temperature.
Not fancy, but genuinely satisfying comfort food done right.
The chips and salsa (AUD 5) offered solid value – quality corn chips with salsa that had actual tomato flavour.
The ham and cheese toastie from The Handmade Food Co deserves recognition.
Served piping hot with crunchy bread and quality filling, it ranked among the better toasties I’ve had at altitude.
The Reality Check
Here’s where Virgin Australia’s economy dining gets complicated: my sampling cost AUD 38.
That’s significant money for airline snacks, though airport alternatives aren’t much cheaper.
Still, the value proposition becomes questionable when a basic meal costs what you’d pay for a meal in a restaurant.
What struck me most was the absence of fresh options, no pre-order salads, sandwiches made to order, or fruit selections.
Compare this to European carriers like Lufthansa or Swiss, where pre-ordering fresh meals (even at an additional cost) provides options for passengers wanting something beyond processed snacks.
It’s a missed opportunity for differentiation.
Melbourne Lounge
Virgin’s Melbourne Lounge was decent, spacious, well-designed, not overcrowded.
The food selection was adequate, though I saved my appetite for the main event.
Business Class
The welcome juice service set standard expectations, but what followed was better than expected.
Breakfast was offered as either spinach frittata or waffles. I went with the frittata.
The meal arrived beautifully plated and served hot, a substantial portion for a short domestic hop.
But the tray presentation felt minimal.
Traditional breakfast accompaniments, such as bread, yogurt, fresh fruit, butter, or jam, were missing.
While the frittata was spot on, these elements would have made it feel like a complete breakfast rather than just a good airline meal.
Still, the service attention stood out.
When I mentioned wanting to see the waffle option, Joshua helped me get a quick photo of another passenger’s dish, and both options looked equally impressive with the same careful plating.
Conclusion
Virgin’s business class costs roughly one-third of Qantas’ pricing while delivering comparable service quality.
The spinach frittata wasn’t just adequate, it was genuinely good food served with professional attention.
Virgin shows that airline food quality depends more on execution than budget.
While their economy offerings are expensive, they demonstrate attention to flavour and presentation that many carriers ignore.
The business class experience delivers solid value through professional service and food preparation.
The missing fresh options in economy are a real limitation, but Virgin succeeds where it matters: making airline food taste like food rather than airline sustenance.
Worth it? The business class upgrade deserves serious consideration. And if you’re in economy, that grapefruit margarita is as good as advertised.
