A Virgin Australia passenger has criticised the business class meal selection on domestic flights, claiming one element of the meal in particular is “disappointing”.
The frequent flyer revealed they usually fly with Qantas, but after taking three separate Virgin Australia business class flights in the past few months, decided to rank the meals provided.
They claimed the side dishes served up alongside the main meals were not up to scratch in comparison with the equivalent offerings on a Qantas flight.
On the first flight, Virgin Australia dished up pesto pasta, with the option to add on chicken, and this was ranked a mediocre three out of five.
The passenger was far more impressed with the second flight’s dish of massaman chicken with rice, ranking the meal an impressive four out of five.
However, a Christmas special meal of turkey with vegetables only managed to score a disappointing two out of five.
All three meals were pictured, on Reddit, with a side of cheese and crackers while the turkey meal also included what appeared to be a small piece of chocolate.
“As someone who usually flies with Qantas on domestic trips, I was a little bit disappointed with the dining on Virgin Australia,” the frustrated passenger wrote alongside the pictures.
“At least with Qantas when you get a bad meal (not uncommon) you can rely on a nice piece of bread and some Pepe Saya butter.
“Plain old cheese and crackers really isn’t much of a side in my opinion.”
Despite the criticism and preference for Qantas’ mealtime side options, the passenger did praise Virgin Australia for it’s selection of “pre-departure beverages”.
“All three of my flights started with the choice of water or sparkling wine which isn’t something I’ve seen on Qantas domestic business class for years,” they said.
The passenger also noted the three flights provided an “overall good experience” and they didn’t want to “complain too much” because the equivalent flights on Qantas would have cost significantly more.
Commentors disagreed with the business class passenger’s initial assessment and argued Virgin Australia provided a better service compared with Qantas.
“I have flown VA business a handful of times and Qantas business once, and the Qantas food was a lot worse,” one wrote.
“Better than Qantas slop,” another agreed.
“VA business meals are a million times better since they changed caterer. Haven’t had a bad one in twelve months,” a third added.
SkyNews.com.au has contacted a representative for Virgin Australia for comment.