Dear Alex,
I am a gold card holder of Qatar Airways’ loyalty scheme and recently flew economy class from Abu Dhabi via Doha to Kuala Lumpur with my family. As it was a surprise destination and we are fond of trying out various cuisines, I placed a special meal request. I asked Qatar that a Malay meal be provided but these particular meals never appeared on the flight.
Cabin staff said they hadn’t a clue where the meals were and this was despite me showing them copies of the written confirmation. So we had no option but to settle for the regular food which, by the time it was served, was cold.
I contacted Qatar about this matter upon our return but the airline has brushed off my complaint with platitudes. How do I get a better deal for this inconvenience?
Melwyn Rodrigues, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Alex replies: As I have mentioned before in this column, airlines are not obliged to provide passengers with any catering, on any flight, in any class. That is why, during the Gate Gourmet catering strike at Heathrow a few years ago, British Airways dispatched flights worldwide with little or no catering, even in first and business class. Conventional airlines will provide special meals to passengers provided these are requested in advance, but these are limited to those passengers with dietary needs or who cannot eat certain foods for religious reasons.
I see from your correspondence that you were asking Qatar to prepare items like nasi lemak (coconut rice), sambal udang (spicy prawns) and ayam masak merah (chicken cooked in a spicy tomato base). I must inform you now that Qatar Airways would consider such a “special meal” out of the ordinary.
In common with the others, Qatar will only provide regular dietary or religious meals, and this information is posted on its website. I dare say the airline might rustle up a cake to celebrate a birthday or an anniversary, provided a request is made in advance, but that’s about as far as it would go.
The closest thing to à la carte catering would be Singapore Airlines’ “Book the Cook” service, where your meal is prepared on board, but it’s limited to passengers in first and business class, and you are tied to a list of set menus. You might feel that airlines are inflexible, but with scheduled flights, like the one you are taking, it’s the logistics of the operation rather than the cost of the food itself which dictates their attitude.
Having toured numerous airport catering centres in my time, I can tell you that these are not five-star restaurants preparing à la carte meals, they are frantically busy factories churning out thousands of meals an hour from a limited range of ingredients.
Food must be prepared within a strict timescale, then kept in a cool room before a “just in time” delivery to the plane. The system provides no flexibility in organising one-off meals for regular flights.
The notes on Qatar’s internal memos say that staff “will try their best” to meet your needs. This is not the same as saying they have confirmed your Malay meal. In conclusion, I feel that Qatar’s staff overly raised your expectations. It would have been better, both for you and the airline, had they been more honest with you and explained the limits of airline catering.
