Qantas Business Class meals & menus

[Berlin]

QF 94 LAX - MEL

Dinner/Supper - Spicy kaffir lime chicken curry with stir fried green beans, red chilli and jasmine rice

Now- this is genuinely one of the first times in weeks, if not months, where I see one of the Qantas meals on here an am thinking “Yumm, I’d love to try that!” which goes for both the main and breakfast.

Imho- catering ex US is often amongst the best on QF, has been for a very long time. Definitely a little bit different from the same same ex Australia which seems to never ever change.

 

[VHOEJ]

Well this is a first - BNESYD on 321. Afternoon flight. Choice of chicken pie or cheese platter - row 2, they ran out of the cheese platters! Row 1 had a pilot who didnt take the meal, one pax chosen the pie, the other 2 the cheese. I get served first in row 2 hoping for the platter and they ran out. Everyone else in my row declined the pie. Even the crew were confused why the cheese platters were so few for a full cabin.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Well this is a first - BNESYD on 321. Afternoon flight. Choice of chicken pie or cheese platter - row 2, they ran out of the cheese platters! Row 1 had a pilot who didnt take the meal, one pax chosen the pie, the other 2 the cheese. I get served first in row 2 hoping for the platter and they ran out. Everyone else in my row declined the pie. Even the crew were confused why the cheese platters were so few for a full cabin.

And yet a few pages back people were complaining too many cold meals loaded, not enough hot meals, cost cutting, you name it

 

[Fungus]

Well this is a first - BNESYD on 321. Afternoon flight. Choice of chicken pie or cheese platter - row 2, they ran out of the cheese platters! Row 1 had a pilot who didnt take the meal, one pax chosen the pie, the other 2 the cheese. I get served first in row 2 hoping for the platter and they ran out. Everyone else in my row declined the pie. Even the crew were confused why the cheese platters were so few for a full cabin.

My experience was the opposite. Everyone in Row 1 apart from me went for the pie. In my opinion there were far too few crackers with the cheese platter, so I asked for more, but all they had was some water crackers. They did the trick…

 

[MEL_Traveller]

My experience was the opposite. Everyone in Row 1 apart from me went for the pie. In my opinion there were far too few crackers with the cheese platter, so I asked for more, but all they had was some water crackers. They did the trick…

Or bread!

 

[Melburnian1]

My experience was the opposite. Everyone in Row 1 apart from me went for the pie. In my opinion there were far too few crackers with the cheese platter, so I asked for more, but all they had was some water crackers. They did the trick…

Irrespective of airline, I have always found 'cheese plates' to have too few biscuits accompanying.

At home, I place (say) a small amount of cheddar on each biscuit ('cracker') and don't eat the cheese without same, but airline caterers and airline menu designers seem incapable of recognising this.

Is it because airlines want to minimise catering cost? Dry (and many sweet) biscuits are rarely expensive.

If Woolworths or IGA can sell a 225 gram pack of Savoy/Jatz on special (at a retail level) for as low as $2.50 or occasionally less, and a 100 gram pack of specialist water crackers for a good price, the cost to caterers (who pay wholesale, high volume rates) of an extra 10 biscuits would be lucky to be A$0.30.

Or is it the 2026 version of the infamous 1980s USA 'eliminate one olive from a salad to save US$XX,000 annually?'

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Irrespective of airline, I have always found 'cheese plates' to have too few biscuits accompanying.

At home, I place (say) a small amount of cheddar on each biscuit ('cracker') and don't eat the cheese without same, but airline caterers and airline menu designers seem incapable of recognising this.

Is it because airlines want to minimise catering cost? Dry (and many sweet) biscuits are rarely expensive.

If Woolworths or IGA can sell a 225 gram pack of Savoy/Jatz on special (at a retail level) for as low as $2.50 or occasionally less, and a 100 gram pack of specialist water crackers for a good price, the cost to caterers (who pay wholesale, high volume rates) of an extra 10 biscuits would be lucky to be A$0.30.

Or is it the 2026 version of the infamous 1980s USA 'eliminate one olive from a salad to save US$XX,000 annually?'

Cheese and ‘crackers’ is an English and US thing. The rest of Europe eat cheese with bread, and crackers would be considered unusual… perhaps unheard of.

it’s not the cost, it’s a cultural thing. Although QF prolly should be on the ‘cracker’ side

 

[RooFlyer]

it’s not the cost, it’s a cultural thing. Although QF prolly should be on the ‘cracker’ side

Yes they should be. And if they are supplying crackers with their cheese, supply enough of them.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Yes they should be. And if they are supplying crackers with their cheese, supply enough of them.

Then pax can ask for more Or maybe eat ‘plain’? (if it’s a good cheese!)

Prolly little point in a double serving if some pax won’t even eat them, and then they have to be binned

But part of the problem is Australia’s silly ‘serving sizes’ which rarely equate to anything anyone actually consumes. For crackers I suppose the little packets come in whatever ‘serving size’ the manufacturers dictate.

 

[Berlin]

Cheese and ‘crackers’ is an English and US thing. The rest of Europe eat cheese with bread, and crackers would be considered unusual… perhaps unheard of.

That’s precisely why I usually avoid those cheese platters- it needs a nice French baguette or similar! Not that the supermarket quality cheese itself is anything to write home about either usually…

 

[MEL_Traveller]

That’s precisely why I usually avoid those cheese platters- it needs a nice French baguette or similar! Not that the supermarket quality cheese itself is anything to write home about either usually…

I tried Qantas and Cathay’s cheese plates on subsequent days… CX out of HKG was three serves of indistinguishable dairy… even though one was supposed to be a brie and the other a blue!!

Made me appreciate the QF offerings, which are at least tasty!

 

[RooFlyer]

hen pax can ask for more

'Qantas business class' :

 

[MEL_Traveller]

'Qantas business class' :

Hardly a fair comparison.

How many packets of crackers do you want? 2, 3, 4?

They give you one, if you want more then ask. Same as getting a drink top up or anything else.

 

[Melburnian1]

They give you one, if you want more then ask. Same as getting a drink top up or anything else.

But I've occasionally been on airlines where they didn't have more biscuits to distribute.

They weren't loaded onto the plane, so how does one successfully ask for more?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

But I've occasionally been on airlines where they didn't have more biscuits to distribute.

They weren't loaded onto the plane, so how does one successfully ask for more?

Then you pivot

Fine balance between pax needs and waste I suppose. Not much demand for crackers outside the cheese course… not like they can be substituted as a snack.

 

[bdl]

Well this is a first - BNESYD on 321. Afternoon flight. Choice of chicken pie or cheese platter - row 2, they ran out of the cheese platters! Row 1 had a pilot who didnt take the meal, one pax chosen the pie, the other 2 the cheese. I get served first in row 2 hoping for the platter and they ran out. Everyone else in my row declined the pie. Even the crew were confused why the cheese platters were so few for a full cabin.

Sounds like QF cut the cheese

 

[markis10]