Qantas has introduced its first new domestic economy menu since inflight catering was simplified due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The carrier said that the new menu had followed “months of development”, adding that it includes a vegetarian option for all meals “following recent customer feedback”.
As reported by Business Traveller, Qantas has recently faced criticism of the lack of vegetarian options on its domestic flights.
Simplified menus introduced in early 2020 had meant a single meat-based meal being offered on some flights.
Qantas said that there would be six variations of the menu for breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and supper, “meaning customers will experience more variety when they fly regularly”.
The carrier highlighted selected dishes including breakfast packs with yoghurt, banana, honey and macadamia bread and sliced apple; ham and egg hollandaise ciabatta; spinach and ricotta wrap; roast chicken and chive on light rye sandwich; courgette and corn fritters; gluten free and plant based chocolate caramel slice; and ear and ginger cake.
Complimentary wine and beer will continue to be offered on selected domestic flights from 1600, and from 0900 on flights over three and a half hours.
The airline also said that a trial of new plant-based “meat” dishes will be available in its Sydney domestic lounges from this week.
Commenting on the news Qantas executive manager of product and service 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.
“We started work on the new menu several months ago and have put a lot of effort into creating variety, drawing on premium ingredients from a wide range of local producers.
“We are proud to promote not just great Australian produce but also some terrific Australian small businesses like The Handmade Food Company based in Caboolture and Springhill Farm from Ballarat.”
