Qantas Business Class meals & menus

[chooms]

21 Feb MEL-BNE J

Dinner flight

Choice of still or sparkling water:



Roasted chicken breast:



The cake (not a huge fan of these):



And it's always good to walk off the plane with more hand luggage than when you boarded...

 

[chooms]

27 Feb MEL-PER J

QF9 afternoon flight

PDB: choice of sparkling wine or still water... why not both!



Menu:



Zucchini and basil soup. Quite nice.



Salmon salad:



Cheese plate (plus sticky):



G+Ts':

 

[chooms]

2 MAR PER-BNE J

Lunch flight

PDB: sparkling water or apple/guava sparkling juice

I got the juice, but didn't get a pic.

Drink service: sparkling water and almonds



Menu:



Starter: Mozzarella (delicious)



Main: I was so annoyed... despite sitting in 2A, my first choice of the beef salad was all out. I got the pie (aka, pithivier). Pastry was soggy. Meat was dry. So bad.



Dessert: apologies for the photo quality...

 

[sudoer]

View attachment 156076

Have to laugh at Neil's description of the pea and ham soup main compared to the entree.

 

[kermatu]

QF30 HKG-MEL last week, I didn't take a copy of the menu, just was surprised when they offered "canapé" with the apéritif. It was an arancini ball. No nuts provided, but it was a nice change.

QF occasionally do this on redeye flights in my experience - I've had it on flights from PER to the east coast and MEL-AKL.

 

[kermatu]

Have to laugh at Neil's description of the pea and ham soup main compared to the entree.

Many reasons to laugh (cry) about NP menus and food.

Crystal clear from my own experience and confirmed through this thread that catering is declining badly on Qantas. Little variety, small serves, terrible preparation, more toasted sandwiches and tasteless salads. With ridiculous menu entries to describe basic food, and spin like the P1 Briefing saying the steak sandwich is the favourite item of F passengers (based solely on quantum when it's the only thing available every flight, any time) to try and fool us.

Haven't flown QF for several weeks and won't be again until I have to (because of scheduling) in April - and a big reason is the very unfortunate decline in food.

 

[Pleb Status]

Looking at some of the recent posts in this thread, I wonder how long it will be before even the Qcult parishioners get a little restless. Some of the meal 'attempts' are just plain embarrassing.

I have made better toasties in the lounge (and that is where they should stay) and they have 'enhanced' meat and three veg down to something that possibly resembles meat and one veg.

If this 'food' was served up in J on any other airline there would be outrage here (particularly at the cost). Neil Perry better be careful as Pete and Manu will send him to 'elimination' the next time they meet him.

Keep posting the photos though, as this thread is a favourite of mine and a good source of entertainment. Even when I thought QF could not get any worse, more and more evidence appears which proves me wrong. Hopefully someone will get served a meat like substance with no veg....

 

[Berlin]

I think some Qantas-haters here get taken away a bit. There’s a lot to complain about and flying so frequently as I do, the food greatly lacks variety. But bar the occasional disaster (which I bet the competition also has no shortage of), for the most of it, the meals have been quite good recently. And with one sole exception, service has always been friendly and forthcoming.

 

[Berlin]

Brissy-Sydney, Friday 1st March, “Refreshment” flight on 737-800:

I had come from Auckland already where the meal was the same as one of my previous ones so I didn’t bother to take pictures again. Boarding in Brissy was nice and easy, in stark contrast to Auckland or Sydney.

The flight was considered a “refreshment” flight but I’ve noticed that Qantas has become more generous with these recently for which I fully applaud them. We ended up with two proper options, one salad and one hot meal (and according to a cabin announcement, it was the same in the back of the plane). All the haters can hate as they want, but being served a full hot meal on a one hour flight with a departure just before 10pm is pretty much the very best you’ll get anywhere in the world and often you’d get far less (BA for instance would offer you a choice of musli bar or tiny bag of chips- if you’re lucky!).

Even happier I was to find out that the choices up in J tonight would be some sort of chicken salad (which actually also sounded fairly nice for a chicken salad) or- I could not believe my ears- a proper rump steak. I clearly chose the latter and it came with some disgusting spinach on the side and some nicely grilled poatoes. As ever so often with things I don’t like, every up in a while I give it a go, just to see whether my taste might have changed and I can actually enjoy it. Well- that bite of spinach came back with a very loud and clear “No!” do the rest ended up on the side plate. Unfortunately, the spinach had already sipped its gross green duck poo coloured liquid over the entire plate which was the only real negative I had with this meal.


Other than that, the meat was a decent cut (if not the most perfectly tender steak ever but okay) and I enjoyed the very authentic Argentinian-style chimcurri on top. Oh and the Nebbiolo as a red choice went perfectly with the dish, very fine drop of wine! All in all, a rather nice meal on such a short hop. Well done Qantas, I would like to see more of this!

 

[Pleb Status]

I think some Qantas-haters here get taken away a bit. There’s a lot to complain about and flying so frequently as I do, the food greatly lacks variety. But bar the occasional disaster (which I bet the competition also has no shortage of), for the most of it, the meals have been quite good recently. And with one sole exception, service has always been friendly and forthcoming.

... sounds like I was incorrect when I wondered if the Qcult parishioners were getting restless. With this sort of feedback, no wonder QF are happy to serve this 'stuff' up and will probably cut even further in the future.

I would have to say, with possibly one or two exceptions, I would be disappointed if I received (on another airline) the J meals that you have posted here. Of course every airline has its good and bad J meals, but the bad should not outnumber the good.

A toastie as the dinner main on an international flight? A dry lump of beef with a small cowpat of mash on another? A Four and Twenty with (approximately) five peas and four beans? These are generally not international (or quality domestic) standard J meals on most airlines and certainly not on those airlines that charge 'premium' fares. At least the (Bunnings inspired) sausage sizzle has not made a reappearance in QF J of late.

Being mostly out of the QF loop now, I suppose I can just sit back and laugh. The decline does become a bit more of an issue however when I am forced to fly on QF in the future when no other OW option is available to complete my OW RTW award fare...

 

[Berlin]

Gosh, some people seem to have issues

Or they just hold too many shares in that crippled Etihad-controlled airline. The one that still only has two or three international destinations...

 

[Pleb Status]

Gosh, some people seem to have issues

No issues here. Just observations based on experience flying in J/F on other airlines and from photographic evidence provided by others. An interested onlooker only as I am not paying over the top for this...

Or they just hold too many shares in that crippled Etihad-controlled airline. The one that still only has two or three international destinations...

No airline shareholdings either. The quality of the current QF J 'meals' would appear to be poor no matter what airline you wish to compare them against...

 

[jase05]

Gosh, some people seem to have issues

Or they just hold too many shares in that crippled Etihad-controlled airline. The one that still only has two or three international destinations...

I’m definitely not a QF hater but domestically VA suits us better. In the end we switched as the prices just didn’t match the service they provided. We travel ADL-MEL a fair bit for the football and even though it’s a short flight we try to fly J and QF was constantly far more expensive and I was continually let down by their service. I wouldn’t say it was poor but I expect a little bit more for the price and I reckon VA get most things right but there is always the exception. We sat down a few weeks back and booked a few return trips and QF wanted $771 OW in J ADL-MEL and VA was under $900 return. For that I know 8-9 times out of 10 we will get a decent meal, friendly staff, PB enforced and my wife will say most importantly a PD bubbly or two.
I still can’t fathom how QF customers let QF get away with dishing up water as a PDB on a J flight!

 

[kermatu]

I still can’t fathom how QF customers let QF get away with dishing up water as a PDB on a J flight!

QF seems to have a lot more regular corporate clients and certainly gets the lion's share of government travel. The domestic J cabins are also often full of upgraded CLs, staff or passengers connecting with an international J (or F) flight. In other words, people who haven't paid the full (outrageous) J fare. I wonder if this helps them get away with the poorer offerings?

QF was constantly far more expensive

This is definitely a factor as well in me flying QF less. It's not just the food!

I find QF's hard product to be superior domestically and trans-Tasman, and more reliable (A330s a bit more certain on QF). Soft product VA is winning.

Not sure if priority boarding and exclusivity of J cabin / bathroom are considered soft or hard? That might change the equation again.

 

[I love to travel]

A previous (long) thread came to the conclusion that QF expects you to eat in lounge and the food on the flight is a snack. Whether or not you agree with it, the strategy works for them. FWIW, I no longer use points to upgrade on domestic J flights, food can be better in Y

 

[Pleb Status]

A previous (long) thread came to the conclusion that QF expects you to eat in lounge and the food on the flight is a snack. Whether or not you agree with it, the strategy works for them. FWIW, I no longer use points to upgrade on domestic J flights, food can be better in Y

An interesting comment (and conclusion).

One of the biggest excuses that some here use not to fly on the domestic alternative (in Y for the purposes of this discussion) is that the QF Y meal/snack is 'far more substantial' (sometimes by only ~10-20g in the case of a snack) and eating in the lounge beforehand is not a suitable alternative (too busy etc), even for a 90 minute flight...

 

[RickyT84]

One of the biggest excuses that some here use not to fly on the domestic alternative (in Y for the purposes of this discussion) is that the QF Y meal/snack is 'far more substantial' (sometimes by only ~10-20g in the case of a snack) and eating in the lounge beforehand is not a suitable alternative (too busy etc), even for a 90 minute flight...

In my view, the refreshment offered by QF is more substantial (and better quality) compared to the VA offering. On QF, the evening refreshment is usually a box containing a (small) pack of savoury snack plus dips and crackers whilst on VA I was offered cheese and crackers for a long time. For drinks, QF offers a choice of beverage for free and on VA you only get tea, coffee, water or OJ.

 

[Berlin]

Is it only me or did this thread suddenly get dragged totally off topic by some Qantas hater who wants to discuss Y class snacks instead of what this thread is about- Qantas Business class meals

Back to topic then!
Monday 4th March, SYD-MEL, 'Refreshmen' flight on 737-800
Priority boarding was the usual Qantas fail, as was the offering of water or water before departure. The crew itself was the usual friendly and professional Qantas staff that I like very much.

It was only marked as a 'refreshment' flight but ever so often in J, was actually quite generous. A choice between Duck Dumplings, Pumpkin soup and salad with Salmon was offered. That one was a clear choice for me and I wasn't disappointed: The dumplings were delicious and the disgusting Asian greens that came with it could be easily ignored. I actually thought that steamed dumplings lend themselves pretty well to those odd airplane steam ovens and am surprised that you don't get this option more often. I also saw the salad on someone else's plate and if you enjoy fish, it looked very nice and fresh and also quite generous in portion.



Finally, two very nice wines were offered and I had several generous re-pours of the Chardonnay. Apologies but I have forgotten the exact brand but it was good.

 

[RichardMEL]

hey Pleb Status I don't know that you need to suggest anyone who feels, in general, the QF catering offerings are in the main OK to thus be part of the "Qcult"(though I do like that word I must admit. gives me a laugh). I mean it's a bit like anyone on here who might seem to defend something QF has done are thus automatically "fanbois" or apologists to some (not you in particular).

One can see it for what it is (I absolutely agree a toastie on trans-tasman is pretty poor, but then again I was given a stuffed bagel and a preytty small omlet on NZ in J just last week on trans-tas so....) and I also agree some of the QF offerings as offered up here have been poorly executed. Absolutely.. but in the main as Berlin noted they usually fit the need, specially in my view, on the short-medium haul domestic sectors (and let's face it, trans tasman is pretty much medium haul domestic these days).

I do agree that QF seems to have the view that you either eat in the lounge or at your destination and these meals, even the ones labeled as "Lunch" or "Dinner" are often times the very same as the refreshment snack (I'd note that in my experience lunches out of OOL have tended to be more substantial but that's just my own anecdotal view). Is this right? Well everyone has a different situation and view. I mean if flying MEL-SYD to connect to an international flight, chances are most won't eat any if much (I know I don't) but if that's the sole sector and one arrives at say 2:30p then it's a while before dinner time, specially if one is headed to an appointment or something. There's no "right" answer imho.

A few months ago (as I posted here) I flew TG J SIN-BKK, a 2hourish flight and the tray was literally groaning with food. It was almost too much imho (and I was connecting to an F flight!).. it was bordering on overkill to my feelings. However to others it would have been perfect, specially if that was their only sector.

I'd also note last week I flew several 2 and 3 hour sectors in the US on UA (and AA) and AA gave me a (pretty nice actually) (non toasted) sandwich on one leg, and on UA for a IAH-LAX "dinner" flight, the offerings were a chicken salad - quite similar in looks to some of the QF offerings on much shorter sectors, and some other chicken dish that again looked similar, maybe a little less, to average QF food.

amd om europe, legacy carriers like AY and BA are hardly setting the world on fire on 2 or 3 hour sectors I've flown in the past 18 months or so.

Obviously everyone's mileage is going to vary and an airline is NEVER going to satisfy everyone with offerings.

I don't know if finding, though, a toasted turkey sanga which nicely hits the spot on a certain time or situation means that one is automatically part of a cult or blinded to the flaws. Let's try and be a little more balanced than just putting people into boxes and labeling them for their views? All opinions are valid because they're just that.. opinions.

 

[sudoer]

Three (!) rashers of bacon and two perfectly poached eggs for breakfast on QF411 SYD-MEL yesterday morning.

It wasn't fancy, but it was very tasty and I'd happily order it again.