Effective today 15 April 2015, the domestic product and service disparity between Virgin Australia and its rival QANTAS will greatly narrow. Virgin Australia will now include food, checked baggage and entertainment on all domestic Australian services.
Previously, Virgin Australia still offer “low cost carrier” attributes on domestic services such as additional charges for check luggage and the exclusion of any food on flights. The complimentary food offering will be contingent on the length of the flight. Virgin will classifty the food type as follows; flights under 1h 20m will receive a “bite” service, 1h 21m to 2h 45m will receive a “snack” and select services 1h 21m to 3h will have “cafe” and finally services over 3 hours such as the “Coast to Coast” will have “cafe plus”. The “buy on board” product will still be retained on select services where passengers can purchase additional items.
In terms of beverage services, the airlines will complimentary coffee, tea and juice. On weekday Monday to Friday services between 17:00 and 19:00 passengers will also receive complimentary beer, wine and soft drink.
A total of six menus will run on a weekly cycle, change on Wednesdays (same cycle for every port) with menus refreshed twice annually. The carrier states “Wherever possible food is sourced locally and packaged sustainably (sic).”
Inflight entertainment is provided via “streaming/wi-fi” service directly to passenger’s smart phones/PCs/tablets on all 737-800 and Embraer 190 aircraft. On the A330-200 operated services each seat is equipped with the carrier’s “Red” on demand audio/video product. These services are offered at no additional charge.
In a press release announcing these service changes, Virgin Australia states “We believe in adding the human touch that makes flying more special. Every member of our team is here to serve customers with style, warmth and a smile. We also take pride in exceeding expectations with our state-of-the-art aircraft, architecturally designed lounges and refined food and wine.”
Image source: Virgin Australia
