Just looked up: AED 186M translates to AUD 80M or thereabouts. Now of course QF is not as big as EK, and certainly far fewer F flights to cater (and doesn't look like it'll be getting much bigger), so one would think a modest cellar is sufficient to cater for F needs. That said, who knows how much QF spends on catering / wines.
It's been said that even young Australian wines have a very comparable standing to many wines (even those of older vintage) from other parts of the world, especially on a cost basis.
The way I see QF is that, rather similar to a handful of other airlines around the world, there is more blurring of the line between F and J, and food is one of the blurriest lines. I also think that a number of QF F passengers (the ones that probably aren't burning awards and paying for it) aren't simply being discerning enough to make the company put more effort into its product. When you're a company that exists to appease shareholders, you do what you can get away with, not what necessarily impresses.
Shareholders don't care about what you do, who you kill, whatever laws get broken, how the employees or customers feel - they only care about money. And that's a shame - it means public companies rarely exist to create value or pride.
...and in any case, despite the standards going down, who the hell is continuing to fill these cabins, both paid and award seats. Notice how QF F award seats aren't any easier to redeem for, even for QFF members?
