The Lev

Empty in the cabin but likely full with cargo down below... with no interest in fine dining.

StuckInYYZ

I'm not sure about mapo tofu served on other airlines, but that seems extremely dry and the gailan looks like the life (and any nutritional value) was boiled out of it (rather than a simple blanch). But considering how AC treats their food, I'm not surprised. I keep seeing all these photos where it looks like the FA either shoved the plate into a microwave (and it had explody bits) or they let it sit under a broiler and let it dry out (or deconstruct itself).

songsc

It seems like Mapo tofu has its sauce missing. They just need to pack the sauce separately. Maybe the people who cooked and reheated this meal have no idea what Mapo tofu should look like.

capedreamer

That AC calls that dish mapo tofu is bordering on a war crime.

StuckInYYZ

Personally, I think it's a bad dish to use on an airplane... The sauce is a starch-based sauce so left alone for a little time and it will break down into a thinner liquid. Sure, you could probably reconstitute it somehow, but not sure if I'd want to eat it at that point.

Jasper2009

I flew YYC-FRA last weekend in J and my experience was rather mixed, albeit much better than a few months ago.

On the bright side: Bedding and headphones are back, and drink service is almost as good as pre-covid (except for no PDB).

However, I was far from impressed by the catering:

dinner:

- tuna appetizer was tasty
- bread was rather chewy and tasteless, rather nasty
- choice of only two main courses (beef and vegetarian falafel)
- beef was more like a dry hockey puck, served with some mashed potatoes and what may've been an asparagus in a previous life
- dessert essentially was a cheap jam tart, unexciting (not terrible, but hardly "signature chef" quality as advertised)
- there also were a few pieces of fruit and some pre-plated chesse bits

breakfast:

- no choice, no hot item
- styrofoam "croissant" was distinctly unexciting
- breakfast consisted of some granola with nuts and coconut something with some kind of fruit
- since I'm allergic to nuts, I simply had 6+ shots of espresso, which may've contributed to my having a productive day upon arrival

On the bright side: Service was truly excellent! But how hard can it be to provide some decent catering?!? (I.e. pre-covid meal standards without the trolley service etc.

EdmFlyBoi

I think these are the consistent findings (I have found this on the few transatlantics I have taken):

1. Most soft product is back.
2. Crews have generally been good (they seem to be mostly happy to be flying).
3. Catering is terrible across the board.

Jasper2009

Agreed. I don't necessarily mind some covid precautions (like avoiding plating meals onboard, although the risk arguably is tiny), but how hard would it be to offer some decent catering?!?

3-4 main course options that reheat well, e.g.

- Irish stew
- veal ragout with rice and grilled Mediterranean vegetables
- black cod in a light white wine sauce
- some vegetarian dish such as tortellini in a mushroom cream-tomato sauce, or risotto, or whatever...

...along with a semi-decent dessert such as cake, creme brulee, trifle, tiramisu, pavlova bits with fresh berries etc.

Like, this REALLY shouldn't be that hard. While some people may disagree with me, I thought AC's catering pre-covid was actually pretty good...it really shouldn't be that hard to re-introduce most of it.

King Chung Huang

I'm with you. I enjoyed the pre-COVID catering. My recent flight reminds me of the sad state of AC catering from like 10 years ago.

King Chung Huang

You're starting to make me wonder if the sauce was packed separately, and they just forgot to add it? The dish I was served was dry and crunchy. Really didn't resemble any mapo tofu that I know!

StuckInYYZ

If made based on as little touch as possible, it wouldn't be. But the white rice component might have absorbed it if there was any. The wild rice would not. The meat in the photo had the look of being exposed to air for quite some time. And that gailan looked like it had been overboiled...

bcnfish

There is no reason why the quality has to be so poor. I can understand maybe some service changes for less passenger contact but not serving Y quality meals in J. I've flown a few other airlines during COVID and they had the same quality catering as before, just a different service concept (one wasn't doing dine on demand, one did single tray service).

If AC wants to retain the improved business class image they've been building up over the last few years they should reconsider this cheap cost cutting.

EdmFlyBoi

It would be interesting to know if they follow any of these blogs and notice these comments. Do the mods (or anyone else) know if they do? Also wondering if it is worthwhile writing in to let them know how disappointing the catering has been (not that that generally helps). I was going to give them another shot in a few weeks when I am heading back to Europe.

StuckInYYZ

There used to be active participation from them before but that was put to an end by a few (unfortunate) users. I would assume there are lurkers still here. That said, changes to menus can take time to change. Sure they can investigate issues like above, but the meals are usually planned out several months in advance. Hopefully they do take our comments to heart and choose better items.

capedreamer

I'm fairly confident AC is well aware that their current offering is inferior to the pre-pandemic offering, and that they are 'getting away with it' because (a) people who are traveling now either have no choice but to or are highly motivated to and (b) competition is limited. I suspect AC will aim to prolong the substandard offering for as long as they can until they notice a decline in bookings and share of wallet as more discretionary travel resumes and routes become more competitive.