Virgin Australia Business Class: What's Included, Menu, Seats & Is It Worth It?

Thinking about upgrading to Virgin Australia Business Class? In this article you’ll find out everything you need to know about the Virgin Australia Business Class experience across domestic and international routes, including the in-flight menu, seat layout, lounge details, how to book for less and whether the upgrade is actually worth the price.

What’s Included With Virgin Australia Business Class?

Virgin Australia Business Class is the airline's premium cabin, available on most domestic routes and select international short-haul services. It’s an all-inclusive product, which means buying a business class ticket covers everything for your journey, including lounge access, priority services on the ground, meals, drinks, extra baggage, and Wi-Fi in the air when available. 

Here is a quick snapshot of what is included:

Across its network, Virgin Australia flies Boeing 737-800s and the newer class of plane, the 737 MAX 8s. Business Class on both aircraft types is a recliner product rather than a lie-flat, which is the standard for domestic flights within Australia and short-haul flights to nearby international destinations. 

Virgin Australia Business Class Routes & Prices

Domestic Routes

You’ll be able to purchase Virgin Australia Business Class tickets on most domestic routes across Australia. Below is a rough guide to one-way Business Class fares on popular domestic routes (prices subject to change): 

International Short-Haul Routes

Virgin Australia operates short-haul international services to destinations including Bali, Fiji, Queenstown, and Vanuatu. Business Class is available on all of these. 

Bali is by far the most popular international route for Australian leisure travellers; below you’ll find a sample of return Business Class fares to Bali for September of 2026; as always, prices are indicative only and subject to change: 

Long-Haul (Doha)

You’ll also be able to book Virgin Australia Business Class tickets on long-haul flights to the Hamad International Airport in Doha, operated by Qatar Airways. The Business Class product on these flights is a proper lie-flat seat rather than a recliner. 

Virgin Australia Business Class Seats

The seats you’ll get with a Virgin Australia Business Class ticket are leather recliners, arranged in a 2-2 configuration across two rows, giving you a total of eight seats per aircraft. 

The pitch is 38 inches (96.5 cm), which is far more generous than what you get flying Economy or Economy X. 

What The Seat Includes

The newest 737 cabins have added a leg and footrest, which makes a real difference on longer domestic flights like Perth to Sydney (around five hours). All Business Class cabins include a power outlet and USB port to keep your devices charged and a dedicated overhead baggage compartment reserved for Business Class passengers only. 

On Virgin Australia, there’s no seatback entertainment screen. Instead, there’s a streaming entertainment system that you can access using the Virgin Australia Entertainment app on your phone, tablet or laptop. 

Image from Virgin Australia.

Virgin Australia Business Class Menu

The Virgin Australia Business Class menu is one of the better domestic airline meal offerings in Australia. And remember, all the food and drinks are included in the ticket price. The menu rotates seasonally. 

What Is On The Menu

The menus are designed in collaboration with gategroup (formerly gate gourmet), with a heavy focus on Aussie-grown product and flavours drawn from modern Australian cafe culture. Typically, there’s a choice of two to three different mains across breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A plated meal is offered on most flights longer than 55 minutes.

Drinks

A full range of premium drinks is included with the Business Class ticket. You can choose from Australian beer (including a handful of craft options), Australian red and white wines, spirits, soft drinks and hot beverages. Unlike in Economy Class, everything is complimentary. 

Meal Service By Flight Length

Of course, whether you’ll get the full treatment of meals and drinks depends on where you’re flying. Shorter domestic routes (under 55 minutes) will have a lighter service. Longer routes and international flights means you’ll get the full plated meal experience. 

Image from Virgin Australia.

Virgin Australia Lounge Access

Another perk of flying Business Class with Virgin Australia is getting access to the airlines domestic lounges. Virgin Australia currently has seven lounges across Australia: 

• Brisbane Airport (BNE)
• Gold Coast Airport (OOL)
• Kingsford Smith Airport Sydney (SYD)
• Melbourne Airport (MEL)
• Adelaide Airport (ADL)
• Perth Airport (PER)
• Canberra International Airport (CBR) 

Lounges open one hour before the first Virgin Australian departure for the day, and stay open until the last flight is called for boarding. Inside, you can get coffee made by expert baristas, a spread of food and drinks, high-speed Wi-Fi, power plugs and a generally quieter environment than the regular terminal. 

If you don’t have a Business Class ticket but still fancy access to the lounge, they do sell single-entry passes for around $65 AUD. Velocity Gold and Platinum members also get lounge access regardless of their ticket class.

International Lounges

Virgin Australia doesn’t currently operate any international lounges by themselves, and has no third-party lounge agreements for its own short-haul international departures. There is an exception at Adelaide, Canberra, and the Gold Coast, where you can use the domestic lounges since domestic and international departures share the same terminal at those airport.

If you’re flying internationally on a flight through Virgin but operated through one of their partner airlines, you might be eligibly for lounge access. Make sure to check with the flight provider. 

Virgin Australia Business Class Wi-Fi & Entertainment

With a Business Class ticket, you’re also eligible for free Wi-Fi on all equipped aircraft, as long as it has it. Where available, Business Class passengers will receive complimentary access.

Entertainment

Virgin Australia’s 737s don’t have any seatback screens installed, and entertainment is via the Virgin Australia browser-based online portal, streamed through your own phone, tablet, or laptop. The library has movies, TV shows, and music. 

Every seat has an AC power outlet and a USB port, so you’ll be able to keep your gear charged during the flight. Generally, it’s the first thing I’ll do after sitting down; find the charging points and plug in my chargers right away. 

Image from Virgin Australia.

Virgin Australia Business Class Baggage Allowance

Business Class tickets with Virgin Australia also significantly increase your baggage allowance.

Checked Baggage

• Business Class: 2 bags, up to 32 kg each
• Economy Choice/Flex: 1 bag, up to 23 kg
• Economy Lite: No checked bag included

Two bags at 32 kg each gives you a combined 64 kg of checked luggage, which is more than enough for even an extended holiday. No more stress when it comes to packing, and making the tough decisions about what comes and what stays behind for your trip. 

Carry-on Baggage

• Total combined weight: 14 kg
• Configuration options: Two small bags (48 x 34 x 23 cm each), or one standard bag (56 x 36 x 23 cm), or one standard bag plus a garment bag (114 x 60 x 11 cm)
• Plus: 1 small personal item (handbag, laptop bag) that fits under the seat in front

Economy passengers, by comparison, get one 8 kg bag plus a personal item. 

Priority Baggage

With Business Class, your checked bags get priority tags, which means that they get priority handling at your destination airport. A small but appreciated perk. 

Image sourced from Unsplash.

How to Book Virgin Australia Business Class for Less

There are a few ways to get into the Business Class cabin without paying the full fare.

1. UpgradeMe Premium Bid

A bidding system for upgrades on Virgin Australia flights. If you’re booked in Economy Choice, Flex, or Lite, you can bid on an upgrade to Business Class for eligible flights. There’s a minimum bid set that you can see, and you can place a bid at any time from booking up until 4 hours before departure. 

One important caveat: a successful UpgradeMe Premium Bid gives you the Business Class seat, meal, lounge access and priority services, but your baggage allowance stays at whatever your original Economy fare included.

2. Velocity Points Upgrade

Another way to score a Business Class seat for less is through the Velocity Frequent Flyer program. You can use your points to upgrade your seat from the time of booking up until a few hours before departure, and this method also includes the full Business Class baggage allowance. 

A caveat though; if you've booked Economy Lite, you won't be eligible to upgrade using your points. Economy Choice and Economy Flex are both eligible.

The Best Hotels in Virgin Australia Destinations