First* Class with an Asterisk [*Lesser treatment when not WP..]

[TheRealTMA]

..
Think about it, someone has to be the first. I wonder which seats are served first?.

Obviously royalty has priority so Princess Fiona should always be served first.

 

[kermatu]

Given so much of the menu is shared with J it really is poor to run out for F passengers (irrespective of status). Was any attempt made to tailor your meal or check upstairs?

If QF want to persist with effectively J meals and can't guarantee every F passenger will get their choice surely they should offer pre-selection. If they can do it for lower classes why not F.

I don't mind status passengers getting priority but it really shouldn't be necessary.

I'm not an experienced F traveller - do other airlines have such limitations for F pax??

 

[Cynicor]

JAL run out of the Japanese selection occasionally.

 

[esseeeayeenn]

Sure you can't load 10 (or whatever) serves of every meal

Why can't they?

 

[Deleted member]

The QF F experience is great (my wife and I flew MEL - LHR -MEL) - although unfortunately my experience had some disappointments. It is disappointing to be in the F cabin (which is a long time goal for many), but treated as a second class citizen because I wasn't a Platinum member... This was most evident when skipped in meal ordering and our chosen meal was not available (only a couple of meals were available for each selection - despite the cabin being full). The cleanliness was also an issue - not the fault of the cabin crew. In terms of seating - traveling with a partner - QF F is not set up for sharing the experience easily. I actually think any seat next to is very similar, although if you want to be able to walk through to your travel companion easy, don't select the A seats unless you sit behind one another (which is not such a bad option and in fact one I would choose next time).

I need to get this straight.
Are you saying you were told you didn't get your meal choice because you're NOT Platinum ?

Mrs GPH prefers the A seating, mainly so she isn't disturbed for the entire flight.
We find that the other 300 odd days of the year are plenty to have a quiet chat to each other (lol)
My brief association with QF F, was excellent, cleanliness certainly NOT an issue. We didn't have a full cabin all of the way through to LHR though.
You will miss out on meals if you don't order them up front. Mrs GPH discovered that very early on in the peace !

 

[tuapekastar]

Why can't they?

Well, I guess they can (if they have the room for it all), but I also guess that would mean some serious wastage, with the concomitant flow-on effects on ticket prices?

 

[esseeeayeenn]

Well, I guess they can (if they have the room for it all), but I also guess that would mean some serious wastage, with the concomitant flow-on effects on ticket prices?

I don't think the cost of food wastage would make much of a dent in an F fare.

 

[kermatu]

I don't think the cost of food wastage would make much of a dent in an F fare.

But the opportunity to bump up the fares probably would be taken.

Wastage would be minimised by allowing pre-ordering. Seems a no-brainer. Then less fuss if you don't get your preference.

 

[JohnPhelan]

Given so much of the menu is shared with J it really is poor to run out for F passengers (irrespective of status). Was any attempt made to tailor your meal or check upstairs?

It was the tasting menu, so something quite different from the other meals in F and J.

It's a difficult one - I don't think QF should be expected to carry 14 serves of the tasting menu. How many would be enough, generally? But you can bet however many they carry, there'd always be the odd occasion when demand exceeded supply (unless they did carry 14 of them).

 

[vantage03]

So are CL / Plat QF F passemgers given meal preferences over other F passengers? If true, I didn't know this, and don't agree with this policy.....

Totally depends on the crew / CSM.
Trust me, on some flights WP/WP1/CL don't get their meal choice and get shoddy service too. QF's F soft product is just too inconsistent for what they charge, and on average it's getting worse and worse.

 

[cove]

We have been doing one trip a year on QF in First and have not noticed a real problem with meal choices. I do know Mrscove does not want spicy food on a 14 hour long haul.
We do tend to dine before boarding.

 

[Happy Trails]

That said a better approach from the FA would have been to explain that to you and offer to construct a bespoke tasting menu for the both of you from what was available including matching wines.

That's called leftovers where I come from.
But, PF, you're wasted in the medical game, with spin like that you should be in politics.

 

[Steady]

Totally depends on the crew / CSM. QF's F soft product is just too inconsistent for what they charge, and on average it's getting worse and worse.

I feel this is true for QF in all classes.

The variable on QF flights is the crew, when they are good they are very good, when they aren't........

 

[boomy]

You will miss out on meals if you don't order them up front. Mrs GPH discovered that very early on in the peace !

How she order them up front, by calling QF few days prior? It may be good solution but most people will not think about doing that, at least not until they already had a bad experience (my +1 called JAL to reserve a meal but only after she missed out on it once).

 

[cove]

I did enjoy the caviar in those little taster offerings.

 

[cove]

We do about three trips on SQ a year and status makes zero difference. I love the privacy of the SQ Suite and the champagne, vodka/caviar and French reds are more memorable.

 

[drron]

Definitely inconsistent at QF.Only once out of 4 F segments where I felt definite F service.
I compare this to the last time I flew J on AA NRT-DFW.only plat(OWS) but they ran out of the Japanese meal.So the FA went and got me one from F.Now that is service recovery.

 

[Deleted member]

How she order them up front, by calling QF few days prior? It may be good solution but most people will not think about doing that, at least not until they already had a bad experience (my +1 called JAL to reserve a meal but only after she missed out on it once).

My apologies. I meant when first asked onboard.
In her case she had been enjoying the delights of the SYD F lounge. Felt too full to order dinner. A few hours later, was feeling hungry! Pops. No food left. You need to place your order, otherwise you may miss out.

 

[Cheatah]

It was the tasting menu, so something quite different from the other meals in F and J.

It's a difficult one - I don't think QF should be expected to carry 14 serves of the tasting menu. How many would be enough, generally? But you can bet however many they carry, there'd always be the odd occasion when demand exceeded supply (unless they did carry 14 of them).

Isn't the tasting menu just a collection of other items on the F menu? Pretty sure it is. If they cant offer the tasting menu, they must have run out of all or most of the items on the tasting menu. If they just ran out of one option I cant believe they wouldn't offer the tasting menu and substituting one option. Similarly, I think we all know there is a large overlap between the F and J food menus, the main difference being the extra descriptive waffle on the F menu compared to the more direct, non waffling J menu. Food choices mostly the same with maybe an extra option or two on the main or starter.

If they couldn't provide the OP with the tasting menu, it seems to me they ran out of quite a few courses both in F and J.

Personally, I dont think its feasible to carry 14 items of everything - most airlines can quite accurately predict demand. QF obviously stuffed up here.

 

[RooFlyer]

Isn't the tasting menu just a collection of other items on the F menu? Pretty sure it is.<snip>.

Yes it is. here is the lunch menu and the tasting menu from 2 days ago:






And here is the tasting as served (first 2 items on the menu are served with drinks after take-off).



Other than a stuff-up I can't think of any excuse for not having all items available to all F pax. Any un-used meals, like in J, become crew meals, I thought.