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I flew this sector a few times last year and have some historical reports in both Premium Economy and Upper Class, but figured I’d add to it with some commentary and menus from my latest flight. As many of you know, this is a “tag leg” of SYD-HKG-LHR and I believe was inaugurated in late 2004. Virgin is one of three European carriers, besides British Airways and Austrian, flying their own metal into Australia.

I intended to write a brief report, but it came out a little long. If you get bored with detail, you may just want to skip it. ;-)

VS 201, Sydney to Hong Kong, 14:35 – 21:55, A340-600

I did online checkin (“DIY checkin”) which allowed me to make advance seat selections, but not really sure of the point because you have to pick up your boarding pass at the airport. Anyway, checkin and customs formalities were quick and efficient, and soon after I boarded the flight and settled into my suite in 5D.

A choice of pre departure beverages were offered and the massage therapist stopped by to take down names for in flight treatments. Water bottles, amenity kits, and menus were handed out, but the crew forgot to give me a water bottle. There was also a warning for passengers continuing to LHR that they would need to keep their amenity kit for the onward sector – makes sense, but seems sort of tacky.

I had intentionally picked the center section of the 1-1-1 configuration in order to get a window view. Due to the angle the seats face, you have to strain your neck to see out the window if seated on the sides. The downside of the center section is that it’s somewhat less private because you are facing a side section. The load was about 50% up front, and the cabin was too segregated from Y for me to gauge the load.

Following take off, drinks were offered, along with olives or potato chips. The F/A forgot to bring my olives until I asked. While I think the olives are a nice beverage accompaniment, some toothpicks would have made them a bit cleaner to eat because they were fairly oily.

Next, it was on to lunch. Virgin’s “Freedom menu” basically allows you to eat “What you like, when you like, where you like”, but almost everyone opts for the full meal after take off and a light bite prior to arrival. The nice thing about the menu is that you are allowed to order multiple starters, seconds, etc. - within reason, of course. I’ve never had VS run out of my meal choice.

Dinner

Starters

Seasonal leaf salad with chargrilled vegetables, feta cheese, zucchini, eggplant, capsicum, sun-dried tomato and balsamic vinaigrette

Cream of chicken soup served with a choice of warm breads

Seared tuna served with tomato, basil & rocket and balsamic dressing

Main courses

Roast lamb loin served with dauphinoise potatoes, roasted vegetables, garlic & shallots and rosemary gravy

Pumpkin & ricotta cannelloni served with grilled zucchini & yellow capsicum and roasted tomato sauce, garnished with basil

Barramundi with preserved lemon and mint salsa, chat potatoes, broccoli and carrots

Stir-fried Hokkien noodles with chicken, prawns, and Oriental sauce garnished with crispy spring onion and red chilli

Cheese

King Island Yellow Rock Red Leicester

Tasmanian Heritage Camembert

King Island Roaring Forties Blue

Cheeses are offered with assorted crackers, grapes, and apricots

Dessert

Warm wattle seed & white chocolate baked cheesecake served with mixed berry coulis

Grand Mariner parfait with apricot and orange segment sauce

Smaller bites

Chicken & sweetcorn quiche served with fresh tomato relish

Bacon roll served with either tomato ketchup or brown sauce

Oriental mushroom stir-fry with Asian greens

Wines

Champagne Laurent Perrier Brut nv
Prosecco di Valdobbiadene, Trevisiol & Figli nv, Veneto, Italy

Whites

Berrys’ Own Selection Australian Chardonnay 2005, Barossa Valley, Australia
Chapel Down Bacchus 2004, Tenterden, England
Bianco di Custoza 2005, Monte del Fra, Italy

Reds

Chateau du Tasta 2003, Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux, France
Malumbres 2004, Navarra, Spain
Cabardes 2004, Chateau de Pennautier, France


One of my colleagues was on board, so I moved to the “stool” at her seat for the main meal. It wasn’t too uncomfortable and was sort of cool to feel like you are in a restaurant at 35,000 feet.

A tablecloth was set, with bread plates, water glasses, and wine glasses. You can’t really fit two trays on one table, so we were served our courses by the plate. I started with the salad, which was excellent because the accompaniments were generously portioned and flavorful. Probably 8x the size of AA’s domestic F side salad. ;-) The breads were warm and fresh – I had some good garlic bread and wheat bread. My colleague’s tuna and cream of chicken soup didn’t look nearly as appetizing. I enjoyed a few glasses of the Bordeaux and Spanish red – both were excellent and constant top ups were offered.

Each of us had the roast lamb loin for our main, while it was a bit dried out and the sauce didn’t look too appetizing, the dauphinoise potatoes (basically scalloped potatoes) were really tasty. Thoroughly stuffed, we sampled the cheeses, and a basket of crackers was thoughtfully placed in the middle of our table. After enjoying the Grand Mariner Parfait (seemed like ice cream), we finished off the meal with chamomile tea (served with an accompanying fruit tart).

Overall an excellent meal, much better than my last Upper Class flight when I had to swap my main. While this is open for debate, I think the quality of food and presentation in United Business is a step above, but still enjoyed the meal.

I then returned to my seat and watched a few movies, read, listened to some music, etc. As I am sure you all know, there is full video on demand. Ice cream (double chocolate) was passed out mid flight, and chocolates and fruit were available at the bar area. I then had my massage treatment (back, shoulder, and head) – this therapist wasn’t as talkative as some of them that I had, but she did a decent job. (Given some really bad massages I’ve had in China, I have a fairly low bar for what a good massage is..)

The last part of the flight was bumpy as we crossed the Philippines, due to the tropical typhoon activity. Then I decided I just had to try the bed, even though it was a day flight and I wasn’t tired. It was also too warm for the duvet, but my 20 minutes of “slumber” made me excited for enjoying a real bed on the night flight back!

The flight went by like a flash and 90 minutes out of Hong Kong, it was time for the second service. The light bites menu didn’t look very interesting, so I asked for the cannelloni main dish. The F/A told me they might not have any, but sure enough there was one left over. The dish was really tasty and moist.

After a pleasant flight, we landed in HKG. While customs was a bit slow, at least it meant that bags were waiting on the carousel.

VS 201, Hong Kong to Sydney, 19:20 – 06:05+1, A340-600

I checked in at the Kowloon Express station – I really enjoy the convenience of not having to lug bags through the airport. After quickly clearing customs and taking the train to the satellite gates, I spent some time at the Virgin Clubhouse, which is located near the RCC and overlooks the gates.

Upon arriving, I was immediately greeted with a lounge menu and offered my choice of beverage. The menu was really uninspiring, but I enjoyed a greek salad and an apple tart. Nonetheless, I think it’s a good idea to have food in the lounge for those who need to work on arrival and want to get straight to sleep on the plane.

Tonight, some of our crew was having a little bit of fun wearing colored wigs (i.e. blue, bright yellow). I thought it was sort of funny. For tonight’s flight, I was seated in 10K, on the side section and after settling in, I was offered some champagne. Amenity kits were distributed by the massage therapist, carefully referring to the manifest to ensure that passengers originating in LHR didn’t get another one. (They are fairly nice Ozwald Boateng kits – a nice portfolio with all sorts of goodies – including a gift, which was a keychain on the outbound, and cufflinks on the return – inside)

Sleep suits were also handed out, and I changed into mine immediately because it was cold in the cabin. There were no sleep suits on the outbound since it was a day flight. Thus this marked my first time wearing an airline sleep suit.

After take off, drinks were offered along with a nut/rice cracker mix or chips. Here is the menu transcript:

Starters

Seasonal leaf salad with buffalo mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, basil and balsamic vinaigrette

Asparagus soup with bacon dumplings served with a choice of warm breads

Prawn and mango spring rolls served with Thai sweet chilli sauce

Mains

Open puff pastry pie filled with Australian beef tenderloin, sautéed new potatoes, roasted vegetables and rosemary gravy

Seared Scottish salmon served with preserved lemon & basil risotto, asparagus, cherry tomatoes and saffron broth

Five spice spare ribs with honey chilli sauce served with steamed rice, choi sum and carrot flowers

Soya bean rolls with bean curd & egg-fried noodles, ....ake mushrooms, sugar snap peas and vegetarian oyster sauce

Cheese

Kapti-aged Cheddar
Camembert
Cambozola

Dessert

Warm raspberry & chocolate brownie served with raspberry coulis

Macadamia nut ice cream on its own or spinkled with cookie crumbles


Breakfast

Selection of cereals – Cornflakes, Rice Krispies, Coco Pops, Muesli

Apple Danish pastry and raspberry muffin

Butter croissants served with Vegemite or a selection of preserves

Seasonal fresh fruit served on its own or with natural yoghurt and strawberry coulis

Bacon roll served with either tomato ketchup or brown sauce

Ham and spinach omelette served with breakfast sausage, bacon, sautéed potatoes, and tomato & bacon concasse

Wine selection was equivalent to the outbound.

I started with the salad and spring rolls. The salad was excellent – lots of tomatoes and cheese – and went well with the warm bread (taro rolls it seemed like). The spring rolls were good quality, with discernable prawns. I went with the salmon for my main dish and while it was tasty and flavorful, it came out a little bit dry. Following the cheese course (nice selection of dried fruit – prunes and apricots), I ended with the macadamia nut ice cream. It tasted more like vanilla and I didn’t notice any nuts in it, but the cookie crumbs were tasty.

Having enjoyed the Spanish wine with my main and port with my cheese, I resisted the urge for brandy or Baileys on my ice cream. Finally, I ordered a chamomile tea, which was thoughtfully accompanied by a chocolate strawberry.

Overall an excellent meal – and the herbal tea selection on board with a sweet accompaniment is certainly an edge Virgin has! After dinner, I set up my bed and got ready for some slumber, but as I was settling in, I was invited to my massage treatment (they give you the option of being woken for a massage or for breakfast). I did the “hot hands” treatment, which was excellent, and this therapist was really friendly and subtly conversational. In spite of the disclaimer that the therapist can’t get to everyone, I’m batting 3 of 3 for my Upper class massages!

I managed to squeeze in a few hours of sleep, but the cabin got really warm which made it a bit uncomfortable at times to have the duvet on. About 1.5 hrs out of Sydney, breakfast was served, starting with hot towels and orange juice. It’s worth noting that Virgin serves shelf stable OJ in Upper Class which is really pathetic, given that UA serves refrigerated from concentrate OJ in Economy.

I ordered the fruit, yogurt, and omelet, which was quickly delivered (although no tablecloth). The fruit was decent but fairly average quality, and my omelet came out cold. I asked them to warm up the omlet (which I’d picked at), and they brought me another one, which was a bit warmer. Unfortunately, plating hot food onto cold plates probably isn’t the best idea.

While I appreciate having a hot breakfast option on short flights, the quality of this one wasn’t too good. While I liked the spinach stuffing in the omelet, the overall presentation wasn’t great and the potatoes seemed greasy and not crispy, and the bacon looked inedible. They also ran out of chamomile tea. We approached Sydney right at the 6am curfew (in parallel with a bunch of other flights I am sure), so we circled around the ocean for 10 minutes before touching down. Given we weren’t the first flight in, I was surprised that customs and immigration was lightning fast.

Overall a great flight, my first long haul flight in a flat bed! Virgin’s seat, massage offering, and “freedom” to order multiple dishes make up for its fairly casual service and haphazard food quality.

I hope you enjoyed this report. Later this week, I’m off on a Star Alliance biz class Circle Pacific with sectors on SQ, NH, and UA (and even a side trip on WN!), so look for another report soon. ;-)

Cheers.

sobore

Very Nice Report! Looking forward to the Star Alliance biz class Circle Pacific report! ^

Carfield

Thanks for a wonderful report!

Virgin's Upper Class is a good product and I like the duvet and the seats, and it is good to know that I can order multiple starters because I never know about that.

I agree that checking the passenger manifest to make sure the LHR to SYD folks do not get an extra amenity kit is rather cheap. Do they do the same with the sleeper suit? I hope not... I guess if you travel from LHR to HKG, you have to pack up your sleep suit, so you will have one for HKG to SYD.

Anyway the food looks good and thanks for a wonderful report and the menu transcript!

Carfield

Fliar

Thanks, very interesting!

RTW4

I recently took VS Upper from LHR-LAX. I loved the seats...food was pretty bad. I was quite shocked that the food had gone downhill so much since my last trip on VS. Menu almost like yours. Thanks for the wonderful report...

Buster CT1K

Thanks for the report. In response to Carfield, the flight originates the previous day in LHR, so there is a sleeper suit given out at LHR, I think.