2nd Y meal - JFK, EWR, IAD & BOS Flights

For some reason i have visions of the film "Soul Plane" in the back of my head when i read all this!

"1 piece of chicken and a wing then pass the box to the row behind......." [:p]

Perhaps this could be a new dimension to fast food delivery. Order Dominoes Pizza from the seat phone or send SMS (If it's working) They send up a little plane attachs just like a fighter jet refuelling and we have food, no cost or storage problems for Virgin.

Or even just franchise out the refreshments all together.

Originally posted by declansmith
Finally its great to hear your opionions but try it out before you come to a decision.

I hope that VS listen to it's passengers after they experience this "enhancement" I hope that it learned some lessons from the GNS fiasco.

Oh deary deary me.. where are they getting some of their ideas from! I haven't flown Y for ages but VS were really good when you used to get a proper meal before landing into London. Then they changed to the fruit and muffin which no-one eats becaus eit's hardly a meal.

Let's see what happens.... i hope they monitor customer feedback on this!

I think that maybe for PE/Y VS should go for a sponsorship from an outside restaurant - nothing expensive, say, Cheesecake Factory[8D] This way, you get food that's better, you can eat as much or as little as you want and then you won't have to pay for it if you don't want.
However, a better idea would be for VS to offer good quality, well portioned meal(s) included in the price in the first place.

VS.

This new service is not a trial and the 2 flights I have done so far using it has gone down very well with all customers.

[Decker]

That'll be because we all ARE revenue per seat equations! Philanthropy is not the normal basis of an airline.

Still as long as v:port works - panem et circenses.

This new service is not a trial and the 2 flights I have done so far using it has gone down very well with all customers.

Thanks for this and a query... Could you share some of their comments? People do like things they can squirrel away (sporks, salt shakers, sleep suits, blankets, flight mags, tea cups, wine glasses,headsets) but somehow being grateful for a cereal bar and a cardboard mug of tea seems a bit bizarre? How is the grab n go packaged?


RR

Yes, I may be a toff, but I will fight for the rights of the peasantry to at least eat!!!

Indeed GJ, but isn't the offer of a muffin at least appropriate!

When I last flew VS in Y, the hot part of the breakfast [omlette of some kind, I think] was like rubber & was only fit for the bin. I only ate the cold fruit & had a couple of coffees. Am not too sure I'd be happy with just a muffin or cereal bar - I personally found the cold fruit quite refreshing.

People like it because they can sleep longer the service does not long.

Other people have said they like the bigger cups. Which are not VS branded.

Other people have said that the Sandwiches were never nice anyway.

Someone said its more modern and up to date.

Its like a starbucks in the sky someone said to me.

Originally posted by virgin is the best
Its like a starbucks in the sky someone said to me.

Now that woudl be lovely[:w]

Its like a starbucks in the sky someone said to me.

I actually find that a scary thought. [:0]

RR

I'm a CSS for virgin. The reason the 2nd service has changed on east coast flights is that people just don't eat it!! The new meal is loaded to around 110% I believe, which means, with people not eating and also having extra loaded, those passenegers with healthier appetites are more than welcome to have seconds!! Also, with the return flight, the breakfast service takes much less time, leaving more time for passengers to sleep. So for example, on a 6 hour flight from BOS-LHR, previously the 1st service plus duy free would take roughly 2.5 hours, and 1.5 for breakfast, leaving only 2 hours in between for lights out and relaxation. The new service should give passengers an extra hlf hours sleep and also stop the massive amounts of wastage we always see on these short flights. Hope this explains the change for you!

The wastage on these short flights of the second service really was huge... so if passengers really did want the fruit and muffin one wonders why they didn't take it? Though PURELY personally I would prefer it to remain.

The new 2nd service is a 'trial' in as much as passenger satisfaction is being tested to see what reactions we get to the new service.

Yes, I may be a toff, but I will fight for the rights of the peasantry to at least eat!!!


ROTFL 'Let Them Eat Cake!' ha ha ha And that is exactly what we get!
Brilliant
Excellent demonstration of VS cost cutting and trying to be trendy and appealingto the great unwashed!

[Nottingham Nick]

I think there are two separate issues here.

I can see the points raised by staffers about the wastage from breakfasts and have often thought that a change was needed.

This is surely not the case for the westbound sandwiches, though?

Okay, they were never the best snacks I have ever had [}:)];), but I don't recall too many of them being left uneaten.

As previous posters have said.. the watchword, after consistency, must be choice.

Nick

[HighFlyer]

Thanks to all our Staffers for chipping in on this, certainly good to see views from all sides.

Originally posted by Nottingham Nick
I can see the points raised by staffers about the wastage from breakfasts and have often thought that a change was needed.

Good point, but i am in the camp of people who would rarely eat the breakfast when flying W/Y, not because i wasnt hungry but because for the large part it was inedible. I love a nice warm breakfast after a red-eye but the previous offerings i have encountered (like that soggy egg and cheese omelette type thing) just did not bode well. I tended to refuse breakfast due to its inedibility.

I wonder how much direct customer input VS took on making these decisions. Passengers not eating the breakfast does not equate to passengers not wanting the breakfast. Though having said that - as a Fc Au, i now generally choose to have a proper breakfast in Revivals rather than onboard which may also be reflective in many other passengers.

And as for the removal of the sandwiches ... that makes no sense to me. As Nick says, i have always seen the majority of passengers take these, especially on the afternoon arriving East Coast flights.

Thanks,
Sarah

From my experience the customers seem to love the hot breakfast we serve on flights to HKG/NRT/PVG/JNB/CPT/VS17.

when the trays are collected the breakfast has all gone, so the egg cant be that rubbery!!!

Everyone complained about the Goodnight flights and now look at the success of it on east coast flights.

Customers are changing.

I like a savory snack on a day flight - i'm never so fussed about the breakfast though on the redeye!!

[preiffer]

Originally posted by declansmith
Everyone complained about the Goodnight flights and now look at the success of it on east coast flights.

Customers are changing.

Sorry Declan, although this is based on only one flight last month, I can't disagree more. Ask the crew on the VS12 last month that I was on. Over half of the cabin weren't aware it was a GNF (apparently, check in hadn't made quite a few of them aware), and pretty much all of those were NOT happy with it.

Originally posted by declansmith
From my experience the customers seem to love the hot breakfast we serve on flights to HKG/NRT/PVG/JNB/CPT/VS17.

when the trays are collected the breakfast has all gone, so the egg cant be that rubbery!!!

Everyone complained about the Goodnight flights and now look at the success of it on east coast flights.

Customers are changing.

Yes Club Houses and availability of meals (ex BOS, ex MIA ex LAX as originally suggested) may mean GNF is becoming more acceptable. Maybe newer customers never knew the better service of old. But for me, it's still about choice, that's what I banged on about to start with. Please Virgin, don't impose reduced service on all but offer choice, i.e. if UC pax want a meal offer it, don't rush it, if they want a tray, offer it. Similarly there's a thread here about the reduced Y second meal, again what is wrong with choice? Why just give everyone a tray of the same food then moan about the wastage? What's wrong with an offer of fruit, cereal, or omelette? I abhor waste, but taking options away from those that want it will inevitably result in people talking about cuts, service reduction and comparisons with the LCCs.

Ooops, rant over! [ii]

One small point - most cereal bars are heavily loaded with sugar; I am a type 2 Diabetic, and need to watch my sugar consumption (but don't need to follow a low sugar diet).

So a cereal bar for brekkie would be a very bad idea for me! Even the brownie isn't usually too healthy.

(As an aside, now that I look at food labels, most things that are labelled "low fat" are often very high in sugars.

As has been said, it's a shame that cost-cutting is getting down to this level. I'm sure an edible hot breakfast would be many people's choice.

[ChuckC]

Declan, Tombull, Jetstreamer ...
Thank you fellows very much for your comments. You can see that the frequent flyers here are pretty much of one mind on the question of what to serve for breakfast -- something good.

Allow me to suggest an alternative: Hot Pockets!. This product is prepackaged, heats easily and could be run out with the tea and coffee quite quickly, I suspect. Another plus is that this is something hot and fills the tummy.

Thanks again, guys, for participating in this discussion.

Chuck-

If VS had electrical outlets I would definitely bring a George Foreman grill on board...then again maybe they should just invent portable microwaves.