Freedom Menu

Hi

Thanks for all your comments about our new Upper Class meal experience. We’ve noticed there’s been some discussion about the removal of our Freedom menu, so we thought we’d explain our reasons why.

The Freedom menu is a great idea, but in reality, our research and feedback has shown that only a very small proportion of our passengers really ever took advantage of the service, the vast majority of people preferring to dine at the same time as everyone else.

When we set about improving our new Upper Class meal experience, feedback from our passengers and crew was really important to the process, and it was for this reason that we decided to discontinue the Freedom service. Our objective wasn’t to save money, but we felt that our resources were much better spent concentrating on improving our fixed time meal experience. By doing this, we’ve been able to introduce some really great new features like the amuse bouche and the cheese and port trolley, available on most flights.

We recognise that not every passenger will want such a large meal, or might prefer to dine at a different time. With the new Graze menu you can still order what you want when you want. It’s an extension of our former Lite Bites menu, and it’s now available on most flights. You can choose to either Dine or Graze, and if you choose the Graze option, you can order anything from that menu to be served to your seat within 20 minutes. There’s also a selection of snacks available at the bar.

To check which services are available on your flight, we’ve created a guide by flight number, which you’ll find at virginatlantic.com in the Upper Class section.

Regards,
Simon SONI
Head of Inflight Services



Mod note - VS Staff member's name posted with his permission..Nick

Interesting response, thought it does leave me with some burning questions;

1) It's interesting how VS claims the Freedom menu didn't have much take up, possibly because on very nearly every flight I've been on - and I count myself as a very frequent flyer - that no offer was made by the crew to passengers on the existence of this service, and when I had the tumerity to ask for my main meal to be served at a different time this was more than often met with a palpable huff.

In my experience, the meals were all served at the same time to save the crew effort; this is little more than standardising this as the VS SOP.

2) I honestly don't believe that any passenger in thier right mind would actively suggest the development of the 'cheese trolley' - and having experienced it on my last flight, I can honestly say its one of the worst changes in recent years. Which lunatic decided that the best way forward was to bring in a service that completely blocks the aisle? Great on the A346 I was on; I was sat in 2A and had to walk the whole length of the cabin to get back to my seat once the service had started.

This is another example of VS swallowing its own PR - or to put it another way - If you create bulls**t, it's inadvisable to then eat it yourself.

But as the Graze option isn't available on all flight, what happens to pax that want to have a proper meal after the regular meal service is over?

I'll be flying UC in May for the first time therefore I won't have anything to compare it to. But I do think having a "freedom" dining option is one thing that should set apart the service level across the different cabins. Obviously depending on your departure airport, but we'll be spending a good amount of time in the CH at LHR and enjoying some food there. That would have been fine under the previous service to think "well I can eat later on the flight if we're not that hungry". But now you're subject to a set dining time - just like PE and E passengers.

Thanks Geoff, interesting to hear.

Though I agree with others, the introduction of the Cheese and Afternoon tea aren't the best of ideas. They really do get in the way. Seems like a step backwards to have to walk around the other side of the cabin to get to your seat, if blocked. v(

With the PDF you mention, what is the difference between a flight that has Dine and Graze ticked, and Graze ticked, to one that has Dine and Graze ticked but not Graze? Doesn't seem very logical to me. ?|

[preiffer]

How on EARTH did you get to the logic that removing the freedom service enables items like an amuse-bouche? That could have been done regardless?!

Also, the cheese trolley? Hmmm - Not a fan. At all....


Net result as a passenger : Cheeses I like on a plate, after a long wait, with a trolley in the way if I wish to move about the cabin.

Previous service? Cheeses I like on a plate, efficiently.


Good luck to AA - who have started their big marketing campaign LAUNCHING their "eat whatever, whenever, you want" service. Some would call that an innovation... http://www.theindividualflyer.co.uk/din ... quest.html

Great move...

1) It's interesting how VS claims the Freedom menu didn't have much take up, possibly because on very nearly every flight I've been on - and I count myself as a very frequent flyer - that no offer was made by the crew to passengers on the existence of this service, and when I had the tumerity to ask for my main meal to be served at a different time this was more than often met with a palpable huff.

In my experience, the meals were all served at the same time to save the crew effort; this is little more than standardising this as the VS SOP.

100% agree here - I remember the days when crew used to ANNOUNCE the fact that customers were free to have their meal when they liked - and were proud of the uniqueness of the service. In the past 4-5 years, I don't remember seeing it written anywhere or mentioned by any crew at all.

Sounds about as plausible/logical as the removal of the onboard beauty therapists because they were "too popular" and "disappointing passengers who didn't get a treatment".
Option 1: expand the hugely popular service with extra therapists.
Option 2 (as taken): axe the service altogether and claim it's down to "passenger feedback".

(Oh, and the Graze options are TINY - two triangular sandwiches that were less than 3" on the longest side are not a substitute for a meal/light bite)


The freedom menu was scrapped as a result of listening to passenger feedback???
What UTTER ________.

How on EARTH did you get to the logic

This IS VS we're talking about.....when has logic ever played a part in thier decisions recently?

It really is a shame with VS - and I mean that honestly. The airline used to be genuinely innovative, and one that I would extoll the virtues of to all and sundry....but now?...it seems to be becoming more retrograde with each passing edict and over-egged announcement. I would actually have more respect for them if instead of saying 'We've got some fantastic new services were really excited about, and we're sure you'll love' that they just said 'Look, we've run out of ideas and have just cobbled this together on the back of a fag packet. Like it or lump it'

It's actually a sad day when I look at one of the US legacy carriers and think 'Thats what VS used to be like....' with a genuine sense of loss.

The freedom menu was scrapped as a result of listening to passenger feedback?! What UTTER ________.

y) y) y)

I do like cheese (and port!) but I don't require it to be served from a trolley. I did have it served once from a trolley (as was the whole servive) but that was on LH in F with only 8 seats in the cabin and very nice it was too but we could have managed without. What if I want a break between the meal and the cheese am I then out of luck and so remain cheese (and more importantly) port less?

UC is *supposed* to be VS premium experience yet with the new serviceit's almost like the economy servive - eat when we tell you, drink when we tell you etc - all served from a trolley too (even if it is a nicer one than used in economy)

And, with all due respect to Geoff*, it sums the whole of VS at the moment all PR puff and fluff and over promising and under delivery.

And reading of some of the serious complaints on FB about VS e.g. how VS treat those pax who have paid for tickets and then the flight is cancelled- 'like it or lump it and no we won't pay for hotels or flight changes' I am rapidly loosing any entheusiasm for flying VS because of how both in-flight and on-ground issues and how poorlt they are dealt with.

I personally have not had any issues but it seems to me that my experience is the exception rather than the rule. In recent years I have flown DL andLX in J and to be very honest they were excellent flights (and cheaper than VS too) so I am not 100% wedded to VS. Maybe once I cash in my current stack of miles it will be time to look more closely as to which airline (and credit card) gets my business.



[* not sure why Nick removed Geoff's name. That's Geoff who posted his OWN name not only on this thread but on others he has made. Surely if a member of VS staff posts on here and posts their name then it should not be removed. It is not the same as naming someone in a TR where permission is not explicit.]

Hi

Thanks for all your comments about our new Upper Class meal experience. We’ve noticed there’s been some discussion about the removal of our Freedom menu, so we thought we’d explain our reasons why.

The Freedom menu is a great idea, but in reality, our research and feedback has shown that only a very small proportion of our passengers really ever took advantage of the service, the vast majority of people preferring to dine at the same time as everyone else.

When we set about improving our new Upper Class meal experience, feedback from our passengers and crew was really important to the process, and it was for this reason that we decided to discontinue the Freedom service. Our objective wasn’t to save money, but we felt that our resources were much better spent concentrating on improving our fixed time meal experience. By doing this, we’ve been able to introduce some really great new features like the amuse bouche and the cheese and port trolley, available on most flights.

We recognise that not every passenger will want such a large meal, or might prefer to dine at a different time. With the new Graze menu you can still order what you want when you want. It’s an extension of our former Lite Bites menu, and it’s now available on most flights. You can choose to either Dine or Graze, and if you choose the Graze option, you can order anything from that menu to be served to your seat within 20 minutes. There’s also a selection of snacks available at the bar.

To check which services are available on your flight, we’ve created a guide by flight number, which you’ll find at virginatlantic.com in the Upper Class section.

Regards,
Simon SONI
Head of Inflight Services



Mod note - VS Staff member's name posted with his permission..Nick

Simon,

I can only assume you are not a regular reader of these boards, otherwise why would you bother posting such ludicrous marketing spin, and thereby presenting an open goal for the derision of the members here? And I say that knowing full well that this is a pretty moderate and friendly forum. But this truly is a red rag to a bull.

I think the key points have already been made - low take up of freedom menu due to it being passively/actively discouraged, cheese trolley logistics (ok, if you get a dozen stong blues on it, I will forgive anything, but doubt that will happen), the cherry tomato amuse bouche...

Seriously, if it's just too much effort, have the decency to say so rather than pretend otherwise, as I really enjoy virgin and want to continue doing so.

RC

Regards,
Simon SONI
Head of Inflight Services



Mod note - VS Staff member's name posted with his permission..Nick

Sorry for calling you Geoff, will be confusing having two people on the same user.

Regards,
Simon SONI
Head of Inflight Services



Mod note - VS Staff member's name posted with his permission..Nick

Sorry for calling you Geoff, will be confusing having two people on the same user.

I too though KIWIBRIT was 'Geoff'!

Surely it goes against all sorts of data governance guidelines to allow two users to have access to the same account and sharing logins and passwords etc,.

[Nottingham Nick]

To clear this up Kiwibrit asked Simon to write a response to postings on here about the UC food offerings. He then posted Simon's letter.

Under normal circumstances we don't allow use of any staff members name without their permission. I added the rider that Simon's name was used with his permission in an attempt to prevent confusion, but I just seemed to have caused confusion. Apologies for that

Nick

I'd be interested to know if any v-flyer at all was asked as part of the 1,200 people VS contacted and replied "ooh I'd love a cheese trolley and please dump the freedom menu"?

As for me, I liked the new meal service, I appreciate (although it's long overdue) the higher quality wines, I like the increased level of interaction. But, the cheese trolley is a disaster, if you're sat in 17k it takes forever to reach you, the cheese isn't even a cheese board it's cut up little pieces just like they used to be, and there's nice chutney.

Now this brings me on to the freedom menu, I've been a gbtop or whatever for a few years and believe me, one of the most important things about UC to me has been the freedom menu, you see I'm one of those obviously very odd people who a) work, and often the food comes out to early, and b) try to get on local time zone when flying, so time my meals to suit. Losing freedom to dine is a real negative.

Lastly, don't get me started on VS's stupid no hot drinks after the captain's chat rule. Where is the focus on the customer?

[preiffer]

Where is the focus on the customer?

To me, while I agree with most of slinky's points - this is the summary, conclusion and fundamental question I have towards ALL VS decisions of the last 5 years.

Interesting to note Preiffer that the thread you started on Virgin Facebook on this subject has since been deleted by the powers that be....

Interesting to note Preiffer that the thread you started on Virgin Facebook on this subject has since been deleted by the powers that be....

Was thinking just that!
Of course it could of been Paul himself.

[preiffer]

Looking now...

Makes no odds to me .. in every UC flight taken I was neither informed nor saw any evidence of it's existence even though it was widely publicised on the website

However, quite looking forward to the amuse bouche, whatever it is (I'm from Wales - we have sheep)

[mitchja]

However, quite looking forward to the amuse bouche, whatever it is (I'm from Wales - we have sheep)

I've just Googled it and apparently the term is French and is literally translated to "mouth amuser" :w

Looking now...

Deffo not there.

Now my understanding of FBis that posts can only be deleted by the poster themselves or by the page owner

Looking now...

Deffo not there.

Now my understanding of FBis that posts can only be deleted by the poster themselves or by the page owner

I know the VS Facebook page has steadily transformed into the Ministry of Truth of late, but deleting a thread because it calls into question the quality of a product is a prime example of VS going a little too far.

Looking now...

Deffo not there.

Now my understanding of FBis that posts can only be deleted by the poster themselves or by the page owner

I know the VS Facebook page has steadily transformed into the Ministry of Truth of late, but deleting a thread because it calls into question the quality of a product is a prime example of VS going a little too far.

Looks like they are abolishing freedom on more than just the menu

I note that on the new version of the Virgin website, it still states with regards to the meal service, that 'Everything is a la cartè. Even the timing' - surely VS would have had the forethought to remove this reference to the defunct Freedom Menu before embarking on thier new, more restricted, service?

Oh wait...what am I thinking, it's VS....

I wonder how many of the people complaining about this were posters who were telling the PE users that losing half the bubble was 'a mere inconvenience to be got over '........and now this...which to be honest doesnt affect 90% of the plane, so....................

surely the point is whatever class and whatever 'improvement' (dont make me laugh) VS roll out is one by one proving to be a preverbial own goal. do they not read and listen to real feedback. will this affect me ? No...is it another step to 'ordinaryness' -yes....

Oh wait...what am I thinking, it's VS....

y) y) y)

Yes the same VS that know that the reward flight calender is broken and have done so for at least 6 months yet seem incapable of fixing it !