Can airline food be tasty?

[seanpodge]

A number of the asia based carriers have reasonable Y meals, more so the asian rather than the western option.

Asiana were serving a quite nice BeBim Bap for a while, but I haven't flown with them recently to know what their current Y meals are like.

They're still good. Had bulgogi ssambap in February. Very good for Y food.

 

[bsb]

Have ben lucky to be upgraded to J on QF LHR/MEL. Food was great (as it should be) but best food ever was on QATAR J BKK/DOH

 

[Sonny1933]

I have been a member of the Qantas Chairmans Lounge for well over 30 years and have never had a problem with that airline in First or Business and its Premium Economy is excellent - recently I found myself on a BA PE - and thought there had been an error and I was in economy - I was not - it was just that the service and food was typical BA, and Bloody Awful as well. Virgin is OK in its Upper Class and Thai, Cathay and Malaysian s well as Singapore remain well above average.

 

[Musongman]

QF meals in J Internationally, are mostly good, their Lamb Rack is superb! The Barramundi, however was dry and tasteless.
Recently, AKL/SYD with Emirates A380 in cattle, the "food" was tasteless, and the beverages arrived 30 minutes later, even the aeroplane looked a bit worn!

 

[GPMoore]

All in all, I can say that meals in J & PE on QF & VA have slipped in quality of late. I do prefer to eat in the lounge prior to departure, ESP on long haul night flights but this for reasons of rest and to stave off jet lag.

One bad experience with QF PE on A380 MEL-LAX where food grade plastic was discovered in the sauce and this was brought to the attention of cabin crew & CSM took the matter seriously. Same can't be said for ground staff who promised a voucher for restaurant meal in Brisbane...... Despite several attempts, promised voucher still remains elusive. I no longer fly QF.

 

[Robmn]

Most meals or snacks, for me are just to fill in time.

Different time of day different type of meal and I always look over to see what the other person has ordered and think should have ordered that.

QANTAS have been fairly consistant domestically. Longhaul with refuel stops or country of departure (Aust good) taking on different catering and there are some meals that are not so good. I'm not a fan of asian curry chicken or beef.

You may not think of this but the bottle water quality varies considerably. (I like my water) Maybe Ill have one glass of wine on flight with the meal. (yep cheap shout).

Don't be suckered in by the web site to view the meal presentation or any of the hype - its never true.

Best meal or providor who knows! They all have to reach a standard.

r

BTW whats the QANTAS business lounge like in HKG?

 

[JohnK]

I have been a member of the Qantas Chairmans Lounge for well over 30 years and have never had a problem with that airline in First or Business and its Premium Economy is excellent....

And in that time how often have you tried Qantas economy?

How about a 14 hour flight in economy with the only reward muesli after they ran out of eggs after 10 or so meals in economy. And yes it is supposed to be 90% eggs and 10% muelsi on these flights.

Good to see Qantas rewarding their premium customers. Doesw anyone actually fly economy?

 

[mannej]

And in that time how often have you tried Qantas economy?

How about a 14 hour flight in economy with the only reward muesli after they ran out of eggs after 10 or so meals in economy. And yes it is supposed to be 90% eggs and 10% muelsi on these flights.

Good to see Qantas rewarding their premium customers. Doesw anyone actually fly economy?

I would rather the Muesli. Eggs on a plane just don't work for me.

I found the Groper with a Salsa Verde to be nice last time around.

Flying MH, I have found the food to be slipping considerably. Was good around 5 years ago, but when the breakfast doesn't change in donkey's, you get sick of it.

As for the J Lounge in HKG, pretty dungeony, but the food wasn't bad, and there seemed to be enough beverage for the array of QF flights all leaving around the same time.

 

[Turbo-g]

Can someone pleae identify the 'thing' wrapped like a pie and served on the Qantaslink flights out of the Pilbara in WA. I think it is descibed as a savoury sausage roll not filled with meat but some other substance. Its like every pm flight gets the same, ive been exploring the other optional menus with gusto to avoid the 'thing' landing on my tray. Muslim has my vote, usually chicken breast on a bed of garden vegetable, sometimes salmon, sometimes sandwiches-all much better than the other option. What amazes me is the regulars who devour it time after time?

 

[mannej]

Each to their own hey Turbo

 

[Turbo-g]

i'm sure it is like a Blumenthal creation, tastes totally different to what it looks like

 

[Sandrajc]

Don't really expect great meals on planes especially economy so am sometimes pleasantly surprised. Have had some great curries on Malaysian Airways (Y), a tasty meatball and pasta meal on Turkish Airlines (Y) and Chicken Tikka on Qatar (J). I love the peppermint tea offered on Qantas in Economy. I consider it a plus when I find good food under the foil on any flight and just leave it if it is not appetising. I know I am not going to starve in the air.

 

[mannej]

As a semi-related question, where is the inflight bar (J) in the 330-300?
You really don't go looking for these things when you should be sleeping.

 

[rdb]

Yes.
What I call bad airline food is when they dish up scones or the equivalent which feel as if they have been sitting in the sun for a week.
If it is not laced with spicy stuff (and my tolerance for such is fairly low) it may well be OK.

I think the problem with airline food is not always the quality so much as the quantity. If I arrive at an airport on a flight at say 1pm I don't want to have to go and find a meal, for example and the quantity when a meal is served is probably half what one would have elsewhere. People get hungry on planes as much as anywhere else. One sandwich does not constitute a meal either.

In my opinion airlines (ie full service airlines) should serve meals on flights where a normal meal time is anywhere from when the passenger should be on their way to the airpoort to when they are opn their way from the airport after the flight. The quantity should be a reasonable sized serve and they should stick to middle of the road meals, nothing over simple and nothing exotic.
And stay away from mushroms, olives and capsicum/chilli/any of tholse horrors.

 

[kempvet]

In Y, probably no, maybe a fluke if the meal is tasty rather than planned, the airline industry survives on wafer thin margins, guess that food in Y is the first casualty.

 

[Favfern]

Unfortunately, we live in an era where there is so much pretentious clap-trap written about food, that I sometimes feel like going to Hopewood Health Farm at Wallacia and doing a juice fast! If you took all the ludicrous foodie shows off SBS TV, they might have to go back to showing the nudie movies that were their staple fare years ago! It would certainly be an improvement.

If one has ever walked through a real commercial kitchen and then peeked into an aircraft galley, one can see why aircraft food can never be the same as top restaurant food. I was a QF Flight Steward in the Sixties (mainly on the venerable B707) and believe that the meals we served in Economy way back then were tastier than most I have tasted in Y today. Maybe we used real ovens, rather than microwaves --- I don't think microwaves had been invented when I was flying for a living! I have recently flown Business on Etihad to the UK and back, and BA Premium Economy on the same route. The Etihad offering was well presented and tasty --- but of course with a slant to Middle Eastern taste buds, while the BA offering was the same I could have got for less money way down the back of the plane.

The one thing I learnt about food and drink on aircraft, after 3 years as a Flight Steward and another 10 as an international travel advisor and inveterate traveller, was that as long as it was not burnt to a crisp or so undercooked the blood ran out, it was OK! The secret to successful international travel is to eat and drink sparingly. To do otherwise, leaves you more susceptible to jet lag and a hangover. If you want flash food, go to a restaurant --- don't expect it at 40,000 feet! You paid your airfare to get from point A to Point B quickly, and in safety and relative comfort. Don't expect "cordon bleu" as well. If you prefer to travel slowly, as I do these days, try a premium cruise ship. You then can really enjoy some good tucker without worrying about jet lag!

 

[Sonny1933]

I must confess I tend to have quite a few champagnes in the lounge and on the plane when we first take off - that enables one to eat the food no matter what - I find, nonetheless that Qantas food from PE up is good - as is Virgin - BA remains Bloody Awful - and it is some years since I have flown Gulf - First Class was quite good - and they has senior fares which made it a joy to travel with them- they no longer fly out of Australia - years ago I worked in Hong Kong part time and the firm used Cathay and Business and First was reasonable - Thai and Singapore excellent however I have not flown with them for years and have not used the new Middle East airlines although I have heard good report.

 

[Kolo]

I recently flew AKL-LAX return with NZ in J and had the best meals I've ever had on an airline. Not only was dinner outstanding but the breakfast selection was also the best I've seen, not just eggs and cereal but pancakes and waffles, all perfectly presented. Gulf Air F a few years ago was also terrific, with the chef on board, my partner still raves about the lobster thermidore. He also raves about the Japanese options served on JAL J. Shame the events in Bahrain mean we no longer choose to fly Gulf. QF J in A380 served a memorable fish. Finnair J very good, UA J just passable, BA J could be worse, could be better. Had a lovely chicken salad in AA domestic F recently. Have enjoyed most of my QF whY meals, exception being QF whY out of Shanghai. Once flew ICN-PVG with Asiana and had the worst meal of sinewy beef. Otherwise I generally enjoy airline meals.

 

[suey]

As a vegetarian who mostly travels Y, plane food is one of my biggest gripes, I often joke with my travel companions about whether I will score the eggplant mousakka or the chickpea chermoula (both as vile as they sound and come with an appetising frozen bread rock, 3 x lettuce leaves and a green banana), because special meals just never seem to change...

The only airline I have ever had memorable good food on, was Turkish Airways, I don't know how they did it, but it was actually really tasty!

 

[Foreigner]

The only airline I have ever had memorable good food on, was Turkish Airways, I don't know how they did it, but it was actually really tasty!

A recent survey found Turkish to have the best meals. QF was in top 10.

http://www.skyscanner.net/news/arti...kish-airline-provides-best-inflight-food.html