Virgin Australia Tickles Tastebuds On Boeing 737s With New Menus

Australia’s domestic market is dominated by Boeing 737s, the aircraft of choice for Qantas, Virgin Australia and Rex, so product differentiation often comes down to the inflight food and beverages served onboard. Today, Virgin Australia unveiled new menus that marked its biggest investment in onboard food and beverage menus in five years.

Pay with your phone

On Tuesday, Virgin Australia unveiled a new business class menu and 12 new additions to the economy class buy onboard menu while introducing digital wallets, including Apple Pay and Google Pay, allowing customers to pay on their mobile device. Virgin Australia (VA) flight attendants and some of the airline’s most traveled frequent flyers curated and taste-tested the new business class menu, which was launched on flights today.

VA Chief Customer and Digital Officer Paul Jones said customers will have more choices next time they fly as the menu evolves and that today’s announcement is a testament to the airline’s focus on making the Virgin Australia travel journey wonderful.

“We have also made it easier than ever for guests to pay for their inflight food and beverage when seated in economy thanks to the introduction of digital wallets and Apple Pay, which aligns to the world’s changing banking needs and our customer’s preference to pay using smartphone technology.”

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The major changes are up at the pointy end of Virgin’s Boeing 737s, where the business class menu features a range of global favorites, including Japanese, Indian, Mexican, Italian and Western dishes, all made from locally sourced Australian produce. The full menu, which is served on a rotating basis, includes 15 breakfast choices, 19 lunch/dinner options, and three dessert items, including goat cheese with apricot and sumac amuse brioche; mango coconut cake and white chocolate and macadamia cake.

Some delicious choices

Some of the highlights for a business class breakfast include yogurt with apple and cranberry granola; bircher muesli with fruit compote and kiwi fruit; bacon, egg, sausage, tomato with Turkish bread; cheese and chive crumpet with bacon, scrambled egg and beans; corn fritters with crumbled goat cheese and capsicum relish; and chia and coconut pudding with mixed berries, kiwi fruit and rhubarb.

Lunch and dinner choices include cheese tortellini Caeser salad with optional prosciutto; sweet pork belly with rice and vegetables; soba noodle salad with chicken and teriyaki dressing; creamy butter chicken with aged rice and naan bread; and chickpea and vegetable tagine with couscous with optional pulled beef.

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Economy passengers have not been forgotten as VA has unveiled its biggest selection of buy-onboard menu items, including the introduction of artisan mature-age cheese and crackers. Virgin Australia revealed it sells more than 50,000 packets of cheese and crackers each month, making it the airline’s most popular menu item.

Beyond the snacks, economy passengers can choose from ham and cheese sourdough toasties; chicken and sun-dried tomato pesto wraps; and chicken salad sourdough sandwiches. On routes to and from Perth or selected international flights, they can also buy hot dishes, including pesto pasta and Penang chicken curry. For those who don’t want to buy anything, VA will still offer free tea, coffee and water.

Are you bothered about inflight food on short flights? Let us know in the comments.