At the start of the pandemic in 2020, the airline cut its economy class meal offerings on all domestic flights under 3.5 hours, offering only one meal option, often containing meat.
Earlier this week, former TV and radio host John Dee caused a stir by slamming Qantas on Twitter after he was told there was only chicken pie on the menu during a recent flight from Adelaide to Sydney.
“They said it’s one size fits all now – it’s this or nothing for any flight under three and a half hours,” Dee said.
“For decades I’ve been able to have a vegetarian meal and all of a sudden that’s also collapsed overnight – and there is no reason it should have.”
Qantas confirmed that it was offering only one meal option on most domestic flights, meaning some flights would only serve chicken pie.
In response to customer feedback over the past few days, Qantas said this morning it would rollout vegetarian meals on all domestic flights under 3.5 hours, with the example of a zucchini and corn fritter on offer alongside its chicken and leek pie.
The airline also promised to reintroduce fresh fruit on board, which was paused during the pandemic and due to high levels of wastage.
Qantas noted it is still the only domestic airline to offer complimentary food and beverages, baggage, and onboard WiFi on its domestic Boeing 737s and Airbus A330s, on all economy fares.
“We’ve heard the message loud and clear about having vegetarian offerings on all of our flights and so we’re making that change as a priority,” said Phil Capps, Qantas’ executive manager of product and service.
“We had to make a lot of alterations to our service during COVID and we’re still in the process of bringing things back and updating others.
“We’re in the middle of a broader menu refresh for our domestic network that will roll out from October, which includes new vegetarian options.
“There’s a lot of work happening to get Qantas back to its best and that includes listening to the feedback from our customers as we keep investing in our product and service.”