New menu

Probably the same as the August ones when I flew LHR-BOS a couple of weeks back (sorry I didn't take a photo).

With VS in Upper you end up picking the Main you dislike the least (pan Fried Cod for me), I didn't fancy any of the starters or desserts (only a couple of choices for each if memory serves) so had a bread roll with it.

Look out for Boots or Pret in LHR T3 or take a Pot Noodle and ask one of the cabin crew to add hot water to it.

I flew LHR-BOS a couple of weeks back and it was as per normal...just pick the Main you dislike the least and forget about starters or desert.

Boots or Pret.

Any insight on when the next menu cycle kicks in? I know it’s usually a 6 month rotation for spring/summer and autumn/winter - last year it was early October i think.

You might want to contain your excitement...it'll be the usual UC fare, a few chicken dishes and lots of vegetarian treats.

Nobody fly's Virgin Atlantic for the food.

But you'll get to soak up the 'anti-carnivore' virtue signalling, as atonement for the 'planet destroyer' guilt of your Dreamliner chugging out a tonne of CO2 emissions per flight...so not all bad?

Haha! Shai has posted about it on Linkedin so probably will be here soon - whether any good or not…

Haha! Shai has posted about it on Linkedin so probably will be here soon - whether any good or not…

We all know it will be rubbish - even in Upper Class. Beardie dropped a right clanger when he decreed "no beef". Ask an American passenger what they like to eat - many will say "beef and potatoes". Where do the vast majority of VS routes go to? Oh yes, America.

[mitchja]

Pre-order menu for my VS7 flight next Thursday (which doesn't look massively different to the previous menus):

Screenshot 2025-10-09 at 13.50.32.png (1.72 MiB) Viewed 69676 times

I’m also travelling next Thursday on VS165 and my pre-order menu is the same as your James except i have an additional option of Chicken Karahi. Odd that my flight has that extra item and yours does not.

[mitchja]

Slightly off topic, but if anyone is flying Delta on a long enough flight to offer a full meal service in Delta One or First Class; here's their pre-order selection for my DL443 LAX>HNL flight.

Delta also enable pre-ordering 7 days in advance for applicable bookings, it shows as a link in the booking via their app:

IMG_3142.png (1.6 MiB) Viewed 41417 times

It does also list the entire food / drink menu that's available on this flight as well.

Delta showing what a balanced menu should look like …… Chicken, Beef, Fish, and a Vegetarian option - When will Virgin start to listen to its customers ……….

The FSM on last nights VS74 said the new UC menu launches "next week", which would fit with the end of the month. When I said words along the lines of "good, I am fed up with this menu" he said the In-Flight Service / Support team at HQ in Crawley has been halved in size since Covid and they can only do six month rotations now. Sounds more to me like cost-cutting / they need a new in-flight service / support team with 3 month menu rotations written into their objectives.

Let us see what delicious food Virgin have in store for us next week. Suspect it will still have to be Pret at the airport for a backup option, as Virgin won't learn.

One observation from the out-going menu last night, the Parma Ham starter in Upper Class is absolutely huge - you can tell it has been prepared in an American catering kitchen due to the portion size.

[buns]

The FSM on last nights VS74 said the new UC menu launches "next week", which would fit with the end of the month. When I said words along the lines of "good, I am fed up with this menu" he said the In-Flight Service / Support team at HQ in Crawley has been halved in size since Covid and they can only do six month rotations now. Sounds more to me like cost-cutting / they need a new in-flight service / support team with 3 month menu rotations written into their objectives.

Let us see what delicious food Virgin have in store for us next week. Suspect it will still have to be Pret at the airport for a backup option, as Virgin won't learn.

One observation from the out-going menu last night, the Parma Ham starter in Upper Class is absolutely huge - you can tell it has been prepared in an American catering kitchen due to the portion size.

Kraken

Thank you very much for this update

I do share your view that whether Virgin is convinced to actually listen to customer feedback is debatable, but we liv win hope

We travel in a few weeks time, so hopefully the new menu will be offered and if so, rest assured i will share

Buns

[buns]

Well, our pre order menu has arrived for our UC flight next week (LHR - MCO):


Chicken Two Ways
Baked Cod
Ras El Haut Roasted Aubergine
Chicken Rogan Josh
Cauliflower Sweet Potato and Chickenpea Curry


Express
Butternut and Ginger Soup

Exclusives
Vegan Poke Bowl with Red Quinoa
Roast Duck Breast with Config Leg
Buttermilk Chicken Burger in a Brioche Bun
Spinach and Ricotta Tortellini



Well, looks like another Pret Sandwich for me Why on earth is there no plain food??


Buns

Well, our pre order menu has arrived for our UC flight next week (LHR - MCO):


Chicken Two Ways
Baked Cod
Ras El Haut Roasted Aubergine
Chicken Rogan Josh
Cauliflower Sweet Potato and Chickenpea Curry


Express
Butternut and Ginger Soup

Exclusives
Vegan Poke Bowl with Red Quinoa
Roast Duck Breast with Config Leg
Buttermilk Chicken Burger in a Brioche Bun
Spinach and Ricotta Tortellini



Well, looks like another Pret Sandwich for me Why on earth is there no plain food??


Buns

We're out on 91 next Wednesday - have to agree, the new menu is quite underwhelming and i'd have preferred the options from the summer menu to be honest

Why on earth is there no plain food??

I would have thought chicken, cod, duck & burger is the very definition of plain. What sort of food items would make your menu? (Caveat, I haven't seen these actual dishes)

[buns]

Why on earth is there no plain food??

I would have thought chicken, cod, duck & burger is the very definition of plain. What sort of food items would make your menu? (Caveat, I haven't seen these actual dishes)

I take your point - in short Mrs Buns and I are adverse to highly spiced foods (such as curries) and VS offerings in the past cycles have predominately featured curry and other spiced alternatives.

This current cycle is no different and the descriptions of the latest offerings are little different.

Crawly Towers are deaf to any suggestions they are not reading their customers. The offerings of BA have a wider apeal

Buns

[buns]

We're out on 91 next Wednesday - have to agree, the new menu is quite underwhelming and i'd have preferred the options from the summer menu to be honest

Hope you have made your choice - may well see you in the Clubhouse or on the flight

Buns

We're out on 91 next Wednesday - have to agree, the new menu is quite underwhelming and i'd have preferred the options from the summer menu to be honest

Hope you have made your choice - may well see you in the Clubhouse or on the flight

Buns

Well the choices have been made - whether they are the right ones only time will tell!

This is our first UC flight away from the 'coffin' suites so we are looking forward to that new experience and, yes, may see you in the Clubhouse or onboard

Does V always do the turkey Christmas dinner as a option in December? Im traveling again first week of December and last year on the same week they did the turkey option which was edible.

I had the same question! The turkey option was available when I flew with VS in mid-December of last year; it wasn't horrible at all and was actually rather festive for airline fare. It would be good if they continued that custom this year as well.

Here are the full on board menus to and from the USA in Upper:

https://virginatlanticmenus.osc-it.com/ ... s/VS91.pdf
https://virginatlanticmenus.osc-it.com/ ... s/VS92.pdf

There does seem to be a reduction in the offering too this time on the shorter USA to UK routes now with no choices of warm starters or desserts - with cereal and fruit plates missing and no full breakfasts (one below is from JFK) - which may mean quicker services on those routes so perhaps not a bad thing at all. Florida and flights and any longer than that getting the full offer still though.

https://virginatlanticmenus.osc-it.com/ ... s/VS46.pdf

(You can change the flight number and/or cabin class around to suit on those links too)

[mitchja]

There's a very noticeable difference now in the on-board breakfast offerings with smaller portions.

Here's my last 3 on-board similar breakfasts since June 2025.

October 2025 - VS106:

October 2025 - VS106
October 2025.JPG (664.22 KiB) Viewed 29902 times

July 2025 - VS148:

July 2025 - VS148
July 2025.JPG (686.58 KiB) Viewed 29902 times

June 2025 - VS130:

June 2025 - VS130
June2025.JPG (699.56 KiB) Viewed 29902 times

June 2025 - VS130 (2)
June 2025 2.JPG (678.61 KiB) Viewed 29895 times

Why on earth is there no plain food??

I would have thought chicken, cod, duck & burger is the very definition of plain. What sort of food items would make your menu? (Caveat, I haven't seen these actual dishes)

I take your point - in short Mrs Buns and I are adverse to highly spiced foods (such as curries) and VS offerings in the past cycles have predominately featured curry and other spiced alternatives.

This current cycle is no different and the descriptions of the latest offerings are little different.

Crawly Towers are deaf to any suggestions they are not reading their customers. The offerings of BA have a wider apeal

Buns

I had the opposite issue on a recent Upper Class flight from Toronto where pre-order was not available and the meat/fish options all seemed bland. The chicken in tarragon sauce just tasted of plain chicken really and was a huge chicken breast, the fish might have been a little better but was with butter sauce, the only spicy option was the vegetarian and I regret not having it.

I'm hoping for some pre-order options for our flight from Orlando later this month as at present the chicken and fish both sound bland (chicken with jus and cod with tomato sauce) and the only curry option is the vegetarian one.

I never found breakfast speed of service an issue even on the short eastbound routes as people tended to wake up in a staggered fashion with the crew bringing the food out accordingly

Flying VS46 in a couple of weeks…not looking forward to the cream cheese and tomato bagel…reminds me of an offering in econ on BA a few years back!

As they actively discourage the main meal service on those flights breakfast is the chance to shine!

[mitchja]

Here's another pretty useful link for anyone flying Delta on a flight long enough to offer a full meal service. They list all the standard current on-board menus. Just enter date, departure airport and flight number.

https://menu.delta.com/