A very common question these days: Qantas vs Virgin Australia Business Class food on domestic routes within Australia – is there a difference? With domestic travel around Australia now roaring back to life, and many people with large numbers of frequent flyer points stashed away due to covid, business class is a sought after ticket. But which business class ticket should you buy? Between Australia’s main two domestic airlines, is there much of a difference in terms of the food they serve in business class?
Now this is an important question as the foods served is one of the main differences between fare classes when flying and it can be the deciding factor as to why people purchase a premium seat (of course and along side other factors such as type of seat and space).
While Qantas had dominated the domestic business class market for many years in Australia, it now has the new Virgin Australia snapping at its heals. In June 2022 Virgin announced its new winter business class menu and since then people seem to have reacted positively to it, with some even saying it is better than Qantas. So is there a difference or are the business class food offerings similar?
To help answer this I have flown both to try and settle the Qantas vs Virgin Australia Business Class food debate. Let’s see below what’s similar and what’s different between the two business classes on Australian domestic routes.
Overview of Qantas vs Virgin Australia Business Class food
A quick comparison of Qantas vs Virgin Australia Business Class food:
- The hot meal option of tarts/quiches are similar – a tart served on Virgin and a quiche served on Qantas. Both tart and quiche were soggy and about the same size
- The sides served with meals were different – slice of bread with butter on Qantas, while Virgin served cheese and crackers.
- On the same route (MEL-CBR) Virgin offered choice of cold meals, while Qantas offered one hot meal (no choice).
- Both meals came with a bite-sized piece of chocolate.
- Virgin offers refreshments pre-takeoff (non-alcoholic and alcoholic) whereas Qantas offers nothing.
What is similar?
So it just happens that on my last two flights on both Qantas and Virgin Australia, I was served two very similar meals (it was almost like I was meant to review these lol). Both meals were the ‘hot’ option for the flight and were both tarts/quiches; on Virgin Australia it was a roasted vegetable tart and on Qantas it was a leek quiche. And they were so very similar. Both were basically the same size, served with a small side (potatoes on Virgin and peas on Qantas), and were pretty awful. Unfortunately the pastry on both was really soggy and once you cut into them the filling was disappointing (see videos below).
The half a roast cherry tomato on the Virgin meal was delicious, but only getting half a tiny tomato was pretty ridiculous (obviously a garnish). Virgin please next time make it a handful.
Both meals also came with a small chocolate.
I’ve also had other types of meals recently on both airlines with example pictures below.
Nutrition comment
The pastry on tarts and quiches is high in kilojoules/calories (energy). And so to have the pastry not even nice (really soggy) makes it really questionable as to whether it is worth eating. Because of the way these foods are reheated on planes, the pastry is most likely never going to have the lovely firm and crisp texture that you would get if it was pulled straight out of an oven. So for me it is not worth wasting the calories (energy) for something that isn’t good quality.
The fillings for both were also disappointing. While the tart in Virgin Australia did have some roasted vegetables in it, there wasn’t much else other than what I think was a small amount of egg. Again it just seemed like a soggy mess. Similarly the Qantas quiche just seemed really soggy and cheesy. Check out inside the tart and quiche below.
What’s different?
One of the first things people notice is the welcome drinks served on Virgin Australia – bubbles are back on the menu! While you don’t have to have an alcoholic drink prior to takeoff (water is also on offer), it is interesting to note that Virgin Australia offers pre0take off drinks while Qantas doesn’t. it feels like Virgin Australia care about the business class experience a little bit more. (Note: I am not recommending alcohol but just highlighting the difference in drinks on offer prior to takeoff).
One main difference between the meals served on Qantas vs Virgin Australia Business Class is the side dish. On Virgin Australia a small packet of cheese and crackers is served, while on Qantas it is a serve of bread. Interestingly, flying between Melbourne and Canberra Virgin Australia offered a side of cheese and crackers whereas Qantas offered no side.
On the Canberra – Melbourne route the meals were different; Virgin Australia offered the choice of two cold meals at lunch time whereas Qantas didn’t offer a choice, they only had 1 hot meal available on a dinner flight. On Melbourne>Canberra flight Virgin Australia offered the choice between a cous cous and cauliflower salad or a Reuben sandwich. On the Canberra> Melbourne flight, Qantas did not offer a choice of meals – they only had one hot dish available which was a steak and mushroom sauce.
Nutrition comment
Cheese and crackers is a more nutritious side than the bread alone. Cheese is a source of protein and micronutrients such as calcium, vitamin A, vitamin B2 and more. The slice of bread served with the Qantas meal comes with butter, and is usually some type of white bread. White bread is not very nutritious and when served on the side of meals which contain other low fibre carbohydrates such as white rice, it is a double up of refined carbohydrate which is not very healthy. Sometimes sourdough or wholegrain breads are served on Qantas which are both healthier choices than plain white bread.
But what I would really like to see from both airlines is a small bowl of colourful vegetables – either a fresh salad or some lightly cooked vegetables.
It was good to see the cous cous salad from Virgin had many elements of a balanced meal, however it would have been good to have the roasted vegetables larger pieces rather than tiny pieces. This would have added more flavour along with more nutrients. As is the dish was mainly plain cous cous with rocket on top and a few pieces of cauliflower.
Final thoughts on Qantas vs Virgin Australia Business Class Food
As someone who predominantly flies Qantas domestically in Australia (as they are part of the airline alliance I stick with currently), I was quite surprised at how similar Virgin Australia’s Business Class food offerings were to Qantas. There is not a lot of difference in the food quality or the amount of food served. From a nutrition perspective I did like the cheese and crackers served as a side from Virgin Australia, rather than a slide of bread with butter from Qantas. So from a food perspective is it worth paying the extra money to fly Qantas (usually Qantas is more expensive) – not from what I have seen. But I will continue to update this review when I fly both Qantas and Virgin Australia domestically more, and I will let you know if anything changes.
And for the full review of business class food check out my food and nutrition lounge reviews of the Qantas Business Lounge Domestic (Sydney) and Virgin Australia Lounge (Brisbane). Hopefully these will help you understand the difference between Qantas vs Virgin Australia Business Class food and then a more informed decision of who you will book with.
