Qantas Business Class meals & menus

AKL-OOL, Business on 737-800:
I was lucky that for the long weekend in NZ, the direct flights to the Gold Coast didn’t get cancelled. I’m driving up the Brissy anyway and only booked this route due to the good J class fares on offer and because I was excited to fly Qantas AKL-OOL direct, for whatever nerdy reason :D

After an uneventful time in the as per usual uneventful AirNZ lounge, I was offered a 10am welcome champagne upon boarding. Unfortunately I had to drive upon arrival so couldn’t ask for a 10:05am top up which was a shame.

Flight left on time and headed straight out towards Queensland. About half an hour after the end of climb, food was served. To my utter delight, we weren’t served yet another breakfast (had really bad scrambled eggs in the lounge already so zero need for a frittata or similar…) but rather “proper” lunch. By “proper” I mean Domestic, not proper proper trans-Tasman printed menu and all. Still no NP micro-salad, such a shame!

Choice was “Beef cheeks with veggies” or “Garlic chicken, also with veggies”. The way our flight attendant shouted this at everyone, she might have as well yelled “Chicken or beef?” like in good old cattle class. Otherwise the crew was fine- friendly and attentive, neither particularly bad nor particularly memorable. I chose the beef and was not amused when I saw what kind of veggies it was- it might be seasonal but still not to my liking: Two slices of bright orange Pumpkin like the evil Helloween pumpkins straight from hell and, no less scary, a big bulb of fennel. Just a smother of beetroot relish and a pile of rocket on top and it could seriously be featured in my worst veggie nightmares.

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Now- with fennel I’m actually quite inexperienced and link the taste to something akin to toothpaste and it reminds me a little bit of being sick as a child as “fennel tea” alongside “chamomile tea” had been my mum’s favourite torture devices when I wasn’t well back then. Luckily, the fennel here was totally overcooked and hence derived of most its flavour which, in the case of fennel, is probably a good thing. I actually managed to eat some of it and the beef cheeks itself were excellent. I was a bit afraid that they are full of glibbery fat as bad beef cheeks often are but alas, they were actually really good- just the right amount of juiciness abc therefore really suitable for an airplane meal. Biggest surprise was the yellow “stuff” on the side which I couldn’t quite identify to be honest, other than that it was more yummie than it looked- first I thought it was some kind of super sloppy polenta, then maybe a grainy potato mash, then I settled on polenta again. Not sure but it had some sort of flavour to it, cheese maybe or garlic, I wasn’t quite sure. Went very well alongside the beef cheeks sauce and had another cheeky glass of champers with it- I figured one glass per hour should still have me in Coolangatta under the driving limit.

Unfortunately, everyone else also had the beef so I did’t get the chance to see the chicken. Maybe it would have been the better choice if there were proper veggies with it (you know, “normal” veggies, like carrot and peas or broccoli maybe…) but I was quite happy with my meal anyway. Had I not have been driving- the crew was very proactive in keeping everyone “hydrated” throughout the flight.
 
QF926 - SYD-CNS
STD: 1130
I believe this was lunch but felt more like a refreshment service.
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There was a choice between chicken and leek pie or healthy brunch bowl (grain salad as usual). The pie was pretty good and the sourdough was same as ever.
 
QF926 - SYD-CNS
STD: 1130
I believe this was lunch but felt more like a refreshment service.
View attachment 249759
There was a choice between chicken and leek pie or healthy brunch bowl (grain salad as usual). The pie was pretty good and the sourdough was same as ever.
That's a pretty poor meal for a 3 hour flight and the cost of that ticket. Great seat though!
 
That's a pretty poor meal for a 3 hour flight and the cost of that ticket. Great seat though!
Been doing the DRW-SYD commute every other week and have to say the economy meal is more filling. Only booked this flight yesterday. Had the weekend in Sydney and decided to go up to CNS for a birthday party tonight and was only about $50 more then flex so worth the additional.
 
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Been doing the DRW-SYD commute every other week and have to say the economy meal is more filling. Only booked this flight yesterday. Had the weekend in Sydney and decided to go up to CNS for a birthday party tonight and was only about $50 more then flex so worth the additional.
The uninitiated would have straight up booked economy without even looking at the price difference to business.
 
QF926 - SYD-CNS
STD: 1130
I believe this was lunch but felt more like a refreshment service.

There was a choice between chicken and leek pie or healthy brunch bowl (grain salad as usual). The pie was pretty good and the sourdough was same as ever.

This is very similar to what I got yesterday MEL-BNE - flight left at 1420, so I guess I should just be happy with getting what was touted as "hot meal" because the stress of getting ready to leave to go into quarantine up here made me nauseous and meant I only had a few mouthfuls of food all day.

Anyway it was a Cornish pastie with what I think was Mrs Ball's chutney and warm seeded sourdough bread and a Lindor ball. I didn't hear the first choice so I went with the pastie! 🤪 I was also given some Grant Burge when I asked the FA for a strong drink because I have also just left my husband. The FAs were friendly and attentive, there were 4 in J and 27 in Y. Not sure what they got down the back because we were coming out of MEL.
 
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QF926 - SYD-CNS
STD: 1130
I believe this was lunch but felt more like a refreshment service.
View attachment 249759
There was a choice between chicken and leek pie or healthy brunch bowl (grain salad as usual). The pie was pretty good and the sourdough was same as ever.

I took the almost similar flight Thurs (QF922 which left at 940 I think it was).

The only difference was I had 5A instead of 2 or4A. And my seat wouldn't recline😡. Oh and the chutney was on the side.

The breakfast on the ADL SYD 737 flight was the omlette and snags as previously photographed up thread.

For a $1900 fare (ex Adelaide via Sydney) to say it was underwhelming would be an understatement. The breakfast was probably as you'd expect, but as a lunch meal it was pretty damn pathetic. No thing on the side, nothing available as a snack, and one top up of wine.

I'd imagine if it were a 737 SYD CNS leg it would have been the same meal.

(Note - original fare was $1600 but had to change to via SYD as didn't want to go via MEL which shifted from a Saver to full J. As a point of reference, my return with VA from Townsville to ADL was less than half the price at full fare. Will be interesting to compare the offerings).

Edit, photo added - A Tale of Two Pies.

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ASP - MEL
14:40 Departure

was a beef brisket with corn cakes. It was okay but not amazing. I think a salad and dessert for a 2.5 hour plus flight is not a huge ask.


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Not sure what the relevance of showing TK meals pre-covid is. but I digress.

re SYD-CNS getting a pie. Ridiculous.

I've flown MEL/SYD-CNS v.v. quite a number of times over the years and used to be you got a full meal in J *AND* an ice cream (maggie beer) pre-covid Given they are 3+ hour flights it's very sad indeed.

imo it's lazy (cheap? you decide) catering by QF I wonder if they look at the departure time and decide "refreshment" and stage length is almost irrelevant? I don't know.

Just so happens I moved some CNS flights from this weekend (thanks Lockdown) to July(I live in hope! :) ) and noticed the meal description just reads "hot meal" so technically the pie is hot.. and... a... meal?

but it's a bit rubbish. Now sure nobody will starve in those 3-3.5 hours and it's a bit of a first world problem but gee it's a depressing sign of the times....

imo

(on a positive note not too relevant to this thread but hey presto was able to change flights involving vouchers online without having to call or any manual nonsense.. that bug seems to have finally been fixed?!! Praise Be!)
 
3+hour scheduled flight (although, the only service distinction at Qantas these days, seems to be PER/NZ has a dessert & linen lined tray, everyone other flight just gets the Lindt ball).
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Vegetarian Lasagna - tasted like one of the less fancy branded versions you might find in the frozen meals section in a supermarket: extremely bland. (Still no spirits available on the "spirit of Australia".)
 
OOL-AKL, business class on 737-800:
Rather chaotic boarding due to two pax with severe disabilities. I felt sorry for them but also for the crew who had to handle the situation. Once we were finally on board, everything went the usual way. The airplane was actually quite full for a trans Tasman: Due to the long weekend in New Zealand and the quickly deteriorating weather over here I seem to not have been the only one in need for those last rays of warm Queensland sun- and what a glorious weekend it was indeed!

We were welcomed with a choice of water or champagne- needless to say I went for the latter. Small bottles of water and NZ immigration cards were already waiting at the seat. This crew was very quick and it didn't take too long after take off until "dinner" was served. It sounded odd at that point because it was just around 1:30pm in Queensland and still bright and sunny outside. However, the flight was extremely fast at just over 2 and a half hours and given the time change, we very quickly ended up in the dark.

Unfortunately, the dinner choices was the same pork dish that I had just a few weeks ago, a vegetable Korma (which seems to be a word that the flight attendant seemed to think no one knows so she always added "That's a curry, kind of" to it) or the usual boring as cold salad with boiled egg on top. It did strike me as odd that out of three choices, two were vegetarian. And if that is the case, then surely one of those two could at least be proper Vegan to be accessible for those passengers as well, no? But alas, both were vegetarian but including cream, eggs etc. so only an option appealing to true vegetarians. I found that a really odd choice of options and needless to say, everyone had the pork up until they had run out of it in row 3 which just sucks if you sit there- those pax didn't have happy faces, believe me that! As I had the pork already last time, I asked what veggies are in the Korma hoping for a mix of the usual carrots, peas and cauliflower but unfortunately, she started with "So, there is pumpkin and..." I politely interrupted at this point and ordered the pork again as I already had to encounter Qantas' bizarre love for, yikes, pumpkin on the way out. And as someone who's born in German, who could say no to a pork dish with red cabbage at the side?

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As last time, the dish was very tasty and the cut of meat even quite good for an airplane dish. There was a choice of seeded or sourdough bread and an extremely rich chocolate cake with chocolate filing and more chocolate on top in the little box. Just in case, you didn't get enough chocolate, there was also the usually Lind ball to finish off your chocolate feast. To my delight, the red wine happened to be NOT a Shiraz but rather a Cabernet Sauvignon and by Dandelion even which is one of the better Aussie wine brands featured on Qantas. As expected, it was very yummy and given that this way I had organised for my better half to come pick me up from the airport, I could happily enjoy several top ups.

A bit later I asked to go back to champagne but to my disappointment, they had run out after just one more glass. I was offered more wine and given I was now back on the white, I decided to give the Chardonnay a try. I unfortunately don't remember the brand now but it was one of those very typical Chardonnays that you would never mistake for a different grape variety. My partner hates those, probably because he grew up in country Australia and was raised on some not so good examples of these wines so I don't get to drink these very often. Given he was not around, I even more enjoyed finishing off that bottle just before the crew got ready for landing.

All in all a nice experience, quite intimate given the small 737 which is sometimes a good thing with this plane. To my surprise, the crew on this plane was actually Kiwi Jetconnect staff so good to see that some of them are also back in the air again. No one was happy to arrive back in Auckland in pouring rain and about half the degrees from what we had on departure at Coolangatta.
 
BNE-PER 1pm departure. Currently in flight. Choices for lunch were Braised Pork with potatoes, Vegetable korma, and some quinoa salad (didn’t get the details because I couldn’t understand the FA due to masks). Very nice choc desert, but check out my wife’s gluten free meal. You get a salad and fruit in addition to a dessert (dessert not pictured)! 5hr 5min flight time, pity it’s not an A330…

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BNE-PER 1pm departure. Currently in flight. Choices for lunch were Braised Pork with potatoes, Vegetable korma, and some quinoa salad (didn’t get the details because I couldn’t understand the FA due to masks). Very nice choc desert, but check out my wife’s gluten free meal. You get a salad and fruit in addition to a dessert (dessert not pictured)! 5hr 5min flight time, pity it’s not an A330…

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The chick pea curry, which is usually pretty nice. I just wish the bread was warmed up! Gluten free bread is like cardboard if not warmed or toasted. I put mine under the hot meal for a bit. At least those of us with coeliac disease receive NP's famous leaves! LOL!
 
The chick pea curry, which is usually pretty nice. I just wish the bread was warmed up! Gluten free bread is like cardboard if not warmed or toasted. I put mine under the hot meal for a bit. At least those of us with coeliac disease receive NP's famous leaves! LOL!
The bread was was warmed up by the head FA! Very proactive. I’ve had this Perth based crew twice in two weeks and they are excellent.
 
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I flew Adelaide Brisbane last week - I wasn't able to update the special meals and when I said I had a fish allergy I was snootily told they couldn't guarantee anything so I got two pieces of bread but they did supply vegemite and honey. Didn't even offer more bread or another chocolate
 
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