Tale of 2 brekkies [or Qantas "Cafe" Breakfast Sucks!]

[drron]

Here's the 'Cafe Breakfast' as served on QF52 in premium economy.

Just the standard tray with a sultana pastry with a croissant.
View attachment 19821

What a feast.I was given the choice between fruit salad and the toasted sandwich.

 

[jetlagger]

Here's the 'Cafe Breakfast' as served on QF52 in premium economy.

Just the standard tray with a sultana pastry with a croissant.
View attachment 19821

:shock:..
Thanks for the 'expanded pictorial..".. Still looks minimal..
Was there an option?
I had a better offering on a recent JQ int...
Lovely Frittata with succulent potatoes & pesto sauce presented in a crockery dish.
Sorry no comparative photo as yet.

 

[JohnPhelan]

I will have QF12 (J) returning in a few weeks and will find out if they offer "cafe" breakfast or not.

Thanks

You will get a full breakfast on QF12. The ridiculous "café breakfast" only applies to the short overnight flights into Australia from Asia.

Mind you, I'd still prefer the café breakfast to SQ's even more ridiculous offer - supper OR breakfast, but not both! Equally stupid cost-cutting that just aggravates passengers.

 

[kamchatsky]

You will get a full breakfast on QF12. The ridiculous "café breakfast" only applies to the short overnight flights into Australia from Asia.

Mind you, I'd still prefer the café breakfast to SQ's even more ridiculous offer - supper OR breakfast, but not both! Equally stupid cost-cutting that just aggravates passengers.

I actually like SQ's option, especially in J/F for their overnight flights to Australia. The reason is that you would probably eat a lot at the SilverKris lounge or The Private Room, and both have great food options. Then you boarded on plane and I sleep straight away and then wake up for breakfast.

Below is the breakfast for my recent flight for SQ231 F/R SIN-SYD:



Yes I had Boston Lobster Thermidor for breakfast. Definitely much better than the cafe breakfast that QF serves!!!!



This is an area where I really see SQ Book The Cook comes up trumps as you can order your meal knowing that for overnight flights like that you can definitely get the meal you want, even though SQ meals are excellent in general anyway.

 

[vitagen]

Ek Y meals beats the cafe cough.

Hope I get a decent feed on QF10 in J.

 

[Daver6]

The QF Y cooked breakfast beats that cough! Tell you what, next time I'll just request they bring me a Y cooked meal.

 

[wenglock.mok]

The QF Y cooked breakfast beats that cough! Tell you what, next time I'll just request they bring me a Y cooked meal.

There is no cooked breakfast in Y on the Asia-Australia overnights. It is the continental option -- one piece of raisin bun with yoghurt and a juice.

 

[kamchatsky]

There is no cooked breakfast in Y on the Asia-Australia overnights. It is the continental option -- one piece of raisin bun with yoghurt and a juice.

It is time that QF load up tons of instant cup noodles to satisfy the Asians (and anyone else) if they are going to continue having these "continental cafe breakfast" option for Asia-Oz flights. At least instant cup noodles are much more tastier. CX and SQ Y definitely provides this at request when I flown in Y in the past. Never tried to order instant noodles whilst in J or F though

 

[jetlagger]

It is time that QF load up tons of instant cup noodles to satisfy the Asians (and anyone else) if they are going to continue having these "continental cafe breakfast" option for Asia-Oz flights. At least instant cup noodles are much more tastier. CX and SQ Y definitely provides this at request when I flown in Y in the past. Never tried to order instant noodles whilst in J or F though

IME CX & SQ J/F have much better meal/snack options whenever you desire on any short or long haul flight.
This is always much obliged by the crew, even for your asking of an obscure menu/off menu order at any time.
On a personal note, I've had a FA on SQ ask me repeatedly to be tantalised in his/her Cappuccino making abilities.. even before the ordering of the extensive main course offerings .. with a consistent smile.
Now.. tempt that MO on QF.. :shock:
The very best research would be of QF product & service development team to sample competitors offerings on each appropriate competition sector on a regular basis.
But I guess that the 'blindfolding" of QF line staff training & distorted execution relative to reduction in catering offerings is more attuned to the sad & prevalent cost cutting methodology in premium cabins rather than improving the actual realistic passenger/s (at random times) desired experience.
Just my thoughts & constructive criticisms..

 

[wenglock.mok]

It is time that QF load up tons of instant cup noodles to satisfy the Asians (and anyone else) if they are going to continue having these "continental cafe breakfast" option for Asia-Oz flights. At least instant cup noodles are much more tastier. CX and SQ Y definitely provides this at request when I flown in Y in the past. Never tried to order instant noodles whilst in J or F though

It's quite possible that the reason breakfast has become a continental option is because very few passengers will be able to have a full cooked breakfast barely 2 or so hours after they had dinner (or supper). This problem is exacerbated on the south-bound flights into Australia as time is effectively compressed given that we are moving ahead timezone-wise.

My experience on the old SQ220 (SYD-SIN), where a full cooked breakfast and a full lunch service was provided, was that the time between the end of the breakfast service and commencement of the lunch service isn't enough time for your breakfast to fully digest as you're mostly seated anyway. This is probably worse on the overnight flights as most passengers would be sleeping after having a "hearty" supper.

 

[jetlagger]

It's quite possible that the reason breakfast has become a continental option is because very few passengers will be able to have a full cooked breakfast barely 2 or so hours after they had dinner (or supper). This problem is exacerbated on the south-bound flights into Australia as time is effectively compressed given that we are moving ahead timezone-wise.

My experience on the old SQ220 (SYD-SIN), where a full cooked breakfast and a full lunch service was provided, was that the time between the end of the breakfast service and commencement of the lunch service isn't enough time for your breakfast to fully digest as you're mostly seated anyway. This is probably worse on the overnight flights as most passengers would be sleeping after having a "hearty" supper.

Valid points, though what is offered can always simplistically be declined.
Though in a more relative scenario.. Consider as many do, paying rack rate for J/F & being served evidently low grade cafe menus with at times surly service to match a (omitted) fast food outlet?
I still fail to understand the rationale behind this approach contrary to certain 'QF researched" beliefs.

 

[markis10]

Valid points, though what is offered can always simplistically be declined.
Though in a more relative scenario.. Consider as many do, paying rack rate for J/F & being served evidently low grade cafe menus with at times surly service to match a (omitted) fast food outlet?
I still fail to understand the rationale behind this approach contrary to certain 'QF researched" beliefs.

I agree with your points, and given many have eaten in the lounge I would prefer the dinner to be cafe style , which is likely to be more of a cost saving for QF than breakfast, food (or the lack of it) for thought!

 

[RooFlyer]

I agree with your points, and given many have eaten in the lounge I would prefer the dinner to be cafe style , which is likely to be more of a cost saving for QF than breakfast, food (or the lack of it) for thought!

Shhhhh... Don't tell anyone. Agree 100%. Having a full dinner service at something like midnight in the (departure) time zone your stomach is most likely in is usually both a waste of calories and an encumbrance on getting to sleep.

A light / no on board dinner followed by a ' proper' brekkie ( which can still be declined or abbreviated if the pax so wishes) makes more sense to me.

 

[dfcatch]

I'll say it again - the problem with the lack of sleep isn't just the coughpy croissant.

It the stupid "small plates" new vogue dinner serving which means dinner service takes twice as long in the first place.

At least that was my experience and it was uber-frustrating as I was:
1/ Hungry
2/ Tired.

2 was exacerbated by the fact I had to wait so long to get served to solve 1.

And then to wake for breakfast to have some coughpy croissant option or 3 pieces of fruit in a fruit salad.

I almost did ask what the economy option was. Would have preferred the option of some cereal TBH (aka domestic economy breakfast).

It's not just the cafe breakfast which is the issue - it's ALL the new changes to medium-haul J.

 

[EmilyHoward]

Having read through all of this, I imagine Q will be taking a long hard look at the café breakfasts going forward. Fortunately I don't do much short/medium haul international flights.

EH

 

[docjames]

Agree - my preferred "regime" for J on the overnight Asia-Aus would be

- "Supper" (ie. abbreviated meal service) served immediately post departure with provision of reasonable "dinner" options in the lounge prior (all J pax have lounge access)
- Full breakfast served 60-75mins prior to arrival. Single tray is fine.

Maximal time for sleep and less mucking around. I've chronicled (and fed back to QF with assistance from RedRoo) our most recent HKG-MEL J flight (QF30) which was an unmitigated mess. I hope QF realise how big a dis-incentive it is towards us using QF overnight from Asia.

 

[bjm76]

I just flew QF24 from BKK to SYD today in whY (J cabin was full so no points upgrade), and the breakfast in whY is quite disappointing now too - was a warm muffin (same as served sometimes on domestic Y snack services), small tub of yoghurt, orange juice (in a small plastic cup with foil lid) and tea/coffee. I remember a hot cooked breakfast on those flights a few years ago. Lights were turned on about 2 hours prior to landing, and the breakfast service was about 1.5 hours prior to landing. Not sure about the timing of lights on and service in J though.

Plane was absolutely full, so moving the SYD-BKK run to a A330 must be giving QF more profit/yield so that's a good thing, I miss the 744 on that route though.

 

[Pushka]

I think that AFFers are a noisy lot but we hardly constitute a hefty percentage of travellers. Hell, some people have never even heard of AFF.

 

[Archphoto]

After trying to eat the (often) abysmal whY dinner on QF24, the offered "Cafe breakfast" leaves a hell of a lot to be desired. . . . Even if I did eat something in the lounge prior to departure, the rather meager snacks on offer, couldn't tide you over until landing in SYD. I'd prefer cereal over those warmish muffins any day.

 

[Mal]

Saying that, this breakfast wasn't too flash looking or tasting either
View attachment 19814
It's from F DXB-LHR

Wow. If that classes as breakfast in F, I'm glad I got the mediocre breakfast I got in PE!