Qantas launched a new Economy Class menu in November 2014, with 50% larger servings and better quality food. Devina Divecha finds out what has changed and how the airline is catering for its 5 million Economy passengers every year
In November 2014, Australian airline Qantas launched its new Economy Class menu. Not only does the menu now feature larger servings, new in-flight services have also been implemented to speed up delivery and clearing of food.
Qantas head of customer experience Kylie Morris confirms the airline had been reviewing the Economy dining proposition for 12 months prior to launch. She says: “We found, particularly when we looked across all airlines in the market, that everyone was doing the same thing. At Qantas, we want to be pioneering in what we offer.
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“So we came up with a programme that would reinvent our total Economy experience, not just from a food perspective, but from a service perspective.”
She continues: “We’ve been able to increase the size of our customers’ meals by 50% as well as, at the same time, increasing the amount of service interactions with our cabin crew and reducing the amount of service time. This means you are left with your finished meal in front of you for a lot less [time], and it also means the carts are out of the aisle much, much faster — around 30 minutes faster than previous timing.”
The launch of the new menu occurred in November 2014, and by March 1, 2015, Qantas plans to have a complete global roll-out of the experience. Morris says: “We’ve got a really expedited roll-out and that means our customers will be able to get access to these amazing meals a lot faster.”
Preparation
To begin with, the team invested heavily in customer research. Morris reveals some very specific findings came to light about key menu design items customers were looking for.
“They’re after always a comfort choice, things that feel easy and comfortable, like we have a ragout or a spaghetti Bolognese, or we have a chicken pie.
“We’re always going to have a healthy option. And then we’ve got a menu item based on your destination, so it’s regionally inspired. So for example, on Dubai [routes], we’re offering tahini barramundi with preserved lemon couscous and chickpeas,” she notes.
Catering on a large scale involves layers of complexity already, without adding challenges no doubt faced mid-flight. Not only does the staff have to deal with a large number of customers, there are space concerns that need to be considered as well.
Morris agrees, and explains further: “There is always a lot of complexity when we’re dealing with an airline. We have to think around, ‘how do we cater for 300 economy customers in a really small kitchen space?’”
She says points to be noted include the meal size, tray dimensions, and ensuring all the food can be fit into the ovens and carts.
Morris says: “Everything that we have designed has limitations and challenges. That’s why we worked really hard with our chefs and all of our global caterers, as well as our cabin crew, to find that optimal solution that would mean we actually could hit all of our aspirations — which were increasing the quality and size of our food, at the same time, not increasing the cost.
“We were really focused to make sure any investment that we have goes directly to our customers’ dining experience.” Qantas chairman Alan Joyce also said at the new menu launch that the catering team at QCatering has streamlined the organisation’s backend processes allowing it to invest 40% more into the meals.
When it came to the regular challenges faced in-flight, from a food perspective, the team has to ensure sensitive items such as meat and proteins are thought about carefully — they need to stay moist, rather than dry out.
There is also the size aspect. Morris laughs, and says: “Think about it: it’s like we’re catering for a wedding on a plane. We’re doing it out of a kitchen that’s the size of two metres by three metres. We have to work with all these carts and galleys, and it really is such a team collaboration.”
Packing of items such as salt and pepper, cutlery and serving plates needs to be planned carefully. Oven space needs to be sufficient so meals can be cooked quickly. And then there’s weight. “We need to take all our packaging and our plastic with us — managing that end-to-end cycle is so important. There’s so many complexities whenever you’re catering for an airline, and with our team of experts, we are able to overcome these,” she explains.
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