Virgin Atlantic - Reduced Meal Service VS200

[Stephen H]

Hi,

I have just returned from Hong Kong on VS200 travelling Upper Class. Although the seating / flat bed was excellent, the meal service left a lot to be desired.:mad:

The service leaves HKG at 7.20pm, so it is reasonable to assume that you will receive a full meal service before hunking down for a few hours kip. Well, NO, Virgin Atlantic have decided to run a minimal meal service, probably to cut costs & meet the needs of the LON/HKG/SYD passengers. The choices were a shrimp salad for an express meal or for a main meal Curry or Vegetarian Lasagne. Now I don't like curry at any time & I am not a vegetarian, so was faced with having nothing in a Upper Class flight.:(

In the end I was offered a soft bread roll with bacon from the breakfast menu. Well it was food, but hardly what one expects in Business / First class.

The last time we flew this service in January 2007, it was a full 3 course meal, so I was not happy to find that this reduced service had only been introduced 4 days before I flew.

I complained to the purser & requested him to file a formal customer complaint as part of his flight report. I have also written to VS Customer Service, but not had a reply yet.

I can understand a flight departing at 11pm having reduced meal service as most pax want sleep by then, but a flight leaving at 7.30pm should have both express catering for those pax continuing their flight & more substantial service for those joining the flight. Apparently VS have been trialling this reduced service on their Trans-Atlantic flights & now on the Australian service.

Has anyone else encountered this on other airlines?

Thanks,
Stephen

[Anthony T]

A couple of points :

You do not have to be vegetarian to eat a vegetarian meal, it won't kill you. :p

Did you enquire if you could have the Shrimp salad and the lasagne, i'm sure it would have been provided, if you asked. :rolleyes:

How was the breakfast on this flight?

Anthony T

[Andrew P]

My CX flight HKG-SYD left HK at midnight (local) and arrived SYD at 11.45am (local), and I was in Business Class.

Meal after take –off was a salad starter, 3 types of bread, choice of 2 main courses (beef western style or chicken Asian style), cappuccino cheesecake, fresh fruit and cheeses, chocolates etc

A light meal was also offered, which I took, which was the same salad, hot pumpkin and crayfish soup, and cold salmon salad + cheesecake etc.

All meals were served within 55 minutes after take-off and then lights dimmed.

Breakfast started 2 hours out – again a full service, including fruit, cereal, yoghurt, number of bakery items and 2 types of hot dish

Banjo

[Michael Morrison]

I flew VS from HKG-SYD in UPPER in June and we still had a ful meal service offered to us, so must be a very recent change.

[James Smith]

We flew V Oz last Monday from LAX to BRI with a 22:30 departure. In economy we were given a main meal with a choice of three hot dishes with salad, roll and dessert in the first hour and a full breakfast prior to arrival. A much longer flight admittedly but still within the Virgin stable. We thoroughly enjoyed their flights, even though we had to transit Brisbane to Sydney but were on a rock bottom fare.

[Ash W]

V Australia has nothing to do with Virgin Atlantic. The are completely different airlines with different owners, so hardly comparable nor would I say from the same stable either.