Qatar Airways has launched its new “Quisine” dining service for economy class passengers flying on its China flights.
“Quisine” is the airline’s upgrade of its in-flight economy dining experience, which was rolled out in phases starting earlier this year. The new economy dining experience features larger meal portions and a wider range of mid-flight snacks.
The “Quisine” economy class dining service is now available on flights from all its seven destinations in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Chongqing and Hong Kong, to Doha.
The airline said the meals have now increased portion sizes by 20 per cent for appetisers, 25 per cent for main courses and 50 per cent for desserts.
In addition to the international selections, Qatar Airways has also introduced a localised menu featuring Chinese dishes as main courses, such as Wuxi chicken with egg fried rice, wok-fried noodles with sweet and sour tofu, stir-fried herfan noodles with beef, and fried chicken with ginger garlic sauce.
Particularly, the airline’s flights from and to Chengdu and Chongqing, which are known for their spicy cuisine, now additionally include traditional Sichuan specialties like mapo tofu.
Individually-wrapped “artisanal warm infused bread” and individual bottles of water are also served along with the dishes.
The airline said during the flight passengers get a wider selection of mid-flight movie snacks as well, including artisanal cheese and crackers, chocolate bars, potato crisps and gourmet popcorn.
Select items that are served only in business class and first class are now extended to the “Quisine” economy class service, such as Godiva chocolate, sparkling wine and a number of cocktail choices.
During boarding, passengers get redesigned menu cards that detail meal times on long-haul and ultra-long-haul flights. Pre-meal drinks, sparkling wine and cocktail snacks are also served before the main meals.
As for the kids’ meals, the airline offers a menu of dishes which were selected based on a study group involving children from 15 nationalities. Children will get healthy juices, snacks and fruits packaged in a box, as well as a toy.
The airline said “Quisine” also focused on reducing the use of single-use plastics, with an 80 per cent increase in recyclable and biodegradable products.
So far, “Quisine” has been rolled out in phases across the airline’s global network of over 160 destinations over the past two months.
“Qatar Airways is thrilled to introduce a whole new on-board dining experience that will push the boundaries of economy travel for our esteemed passengers,” said Joshua Law, Qatar Airways’ North Asia vice president.
“Qatar Airways is collaborating closely with local farms and suppliers to produce products for our specific needs, promoting a ‘farm-to-table’ approach. Our in-flight dining menus are designed to align with the four seasons, better incorporating the use of locally-grown produce and tapping into authentic foods of local provenance delivering the very highest international standards. This in addition to the pre-dinner drinks and our larger portion sizes ensure we continue providing passengers a premium dining experience in Economy Class,” he added.
Delta has also started to revamp their economy class dining service recently, while some other airlines have introduced new economy class menus this year, including Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines (on its Greater China flights).
In other news, Qatar Airways and China Southern Airlines have announced plans for a codeshare partnership that will begin next month.
