Bigger serves on Qantas for hungry passengers
 

Mon "Melbourne Age"

Bigger serves on Qantas for hungry passengers
By Darren Goodsir, Anthony Dennis
April 1 2002

Qantas has been forced to end an experiment with snack-sized gourmet meals in a box.

Sydney celebrity chef Neil Perry, the airline's consulting chef, introduced the boxed meals but passengers complained about the small portions.

Qantas executive general manager, sales and marketing, John Borghetti, said months of passenger grumbling about the size of meals meant that there was little alternative but to make changes to Perry's boxed meals, launched last July.

Perry is the cook behind Sydney's acclaimed Rockpool restaurant at the Rocks.

Qantas' decision to ban eating choices for their business-class customers has also been overturned, only two months after it was introduced.

Although the Perry boxes will remain - proving popular with passengers who do not like waiting for full-tray servings to be removed - Qantas has returned to more substantial portions.

The changes reflect the difficulties airlines experience in providing meals to passengers. It's a dilemma for cash-strapped airlines because passengers consistently rate inflight food as highly as airport service, general cabin service and punctuality.

During the past week, Qantas has been phasing in a new meal regime. Business-class customers will have a choice of meals on flights that last longer than 90 minutes, a change on the one-meal-suits-all menu that awaited the most coveted of patrons.

The airline has also bulked up its servings and added choices to its morning and afternoon snack boxes. Tea and coffee, previously available only on request on some flights, will be on all flights. On some sectors, after 4pm, they will still be on request.

I was excited when I read this but then checked the date!!??

Flew QF last week BNE/SYD on a very early morning flight, Y class. Boxed breakfast was a Banana muffin (pity I'm alergic to bananas), a juice and a VERY small fruit salad, for a premium price. It was crap. Bring back the rubber eggs. And got a paper cut on the designer box which the FA was not interested in, so much for OH & S.:mad:
Enjoyed quite a nice lunch of beef casserole in Y on PER/MEL B743 the week before, but quantity could have been bigger. (what happened to the ice cream at the end of the movie. I know that was an AN initiative, they've gone, so have the ice creams?) Bring on United Silk for a bit of full service competition.

"A footlong for lunch is just right"