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Qantas has unveiled its first onboard menu since temporarily simplifying its food and drinks service during COVID.
There will now be six variations for its six different service times to increase variety, with menu items including ham and egg hollandaise ciabatta and pear and ginger cake.
It comes a week after Qantas reversed its decision to stop offering vegetarian meals on shorter flights following a backlash.
On Friday, it said its revamped offering would cater to several dietary requirements and tap into local producers such as The Handmade Food Company based in Caboolture.
Complimentary wine and beer will also be served on selected domestic flights from 4pm every day and from 9am on flights over three-and-a-half hours.
The new menu includes:
- Breakfast packs with yoghurt, banana, honey and macadamia bread and sliced apples;
- Ham and egg hollandaise ciabatta;
- Spinach and ricotta wrap;
- Roast chicken and chive on light rye sandwich;
- Zucchini and corn fritters;
- Gluten-free and plant-based chocolate caramel slice;
- Pear and ginger cake.
Qantas executive manager Phil Capps said, “Qantas is continuing to invest in product and service as we work to get back to our best.
“We have been progressively returning normal service levels, and last month we fast-tracked the return of vegetarian options on all flights.”
It follows Capps last week stating the airline had “heard the message loud and clear” after it withdrew vegetarian meals on selected shorter flights.
“We had to make a lot of alterations to our service during COVID, and we’re still in the process of bringing things back and updating others,” he said.
“When we brought back complimentary beer and wine, we extended the times of day it was served by several hours and expanded it across all routes.”
The furore over veggie meals began last month when a tweet from John Dee, the co-founder of environmental organisation Planet Ark, went viral claiming Qantas only offered him a chicken pie on a short flight.
He went on to claim in The Guardian that the business’ CEO, Alan Joyce, had alienated a “significant percentage” of its passengers.
“When you pay for Qantas, you pay for full service, that includes a meal and all of sudden if you don’t eat meat, or you have a special meal need, or your religion means you can’t eat a type of food, this decision has alienated you,” said Dee.
Charlie
says:QANTAS has been rubbish since the Irish CEO took over. It has been progressively going down hill since. The less said about the food the better, even in Business Class the standard of the food is worse than economy 20 years ago. I have been a frequent flyer since 1983 and the current standard is rubbish.