Qantas invests millions to upgrade inflight and lounge dining

Qantas announced that it will roll out significant enhancements to its inflight dining and airport lounge dining experience in March 2023.

In what the Australian flag carrier has referred to as a “multi-million dollar investment”, the improvements will introduce new dishes and larger portions across all cabins, using high-quality ingredients from premium Australian producers.

In its announcement, Qantas said that this is the single biggest investment that the airline has made in its inflight and lounge dining in 10 years, coming as the company returns to profit.

In September 2022, Qantas received backlash from customers after removing vegetarian meal options on certain flights. The airline reinstated the vegetarian options and overhauled its domestic economy menu in October 2022.

“Premium food and wine is one of the top three reasons our customers choose to fly with Qantas, so this significant boost means we will be able to further our efforts to deliver a world-class experience in the sky,” Qantas group chief customer officer Markus Svensson said in a statement.

“We are proud to work with established and emerging Australian food and wine producers to offer the best possible dining experience to our customers,” Svensson added.

Additional investment in premium produce with new dishes on First class, including Calvisius Caviar on Buckwheat Blinis with Pepe Saya Crème Fraiche, and Queensland Spanner Crab

More substantial second meal on long flights between Australia and Asia in Business and Economy. Business dishes include a Crumbed Snapper Roll with Pickled Cabbage and Tartare sauce, and Stir-fried Noodles with Wombok, Cucumber, Sesame and Chilli Oil.

New dishes in Premium Economy such as Salmon with Tomato Fennel Sauce, Red Quinoa and Brown Rice, and Braised Lamb Shank with Red Wine Mushroom Sauce and Potato Puree.

New dishes in Economy with premium quality ingredients including Cajun Prawns with Spiced Rice, Korean Chilli and Garlic Chicken with Kimchi and Black Pepper Beef with Oyster Mushrooms.

The new menus have already rolled out on Qantas domestic flights and will launch on international services from March 29, 2023.