QF22 NRT-SYD J catering downgrade - permanent? (vs JQ)
 

It appears that Qantas has stopped serving dinner on QF22 from NRT to SYD.

The flight is at dinner time (1950 departure), and other operators on similar routes and time serve a full dinner, so why have Qantas decided that a very small bowl of soup noodles with not much else is enough in J? (It's not even a hearty bowl of noodles - it was more like a pretty plain soup with token amount of noodles.)

What baffles me in particular is that JQ "Business" catering is now far, far superior from NRT than on QF. You get a proper dinner, including an option for a steak etc.

I suppose QF won't be cannibalised by JQ in J due to lack of beds on JQ "Business", as I myself have avoided overnight JQ flights. But the difference in catering is stark. Despite not flying JQ overnight, I know the JQ catering as the return flight menu is printed on the same menu for the day flight to Tokyo, which I sometimes use.

JL used to do a mildly irritating thing called the "bistro menu" in J on this route where they served a relatively basic dinner with the entree and the main delivered on a tray at the same time, meaning by the time you have your main course it's no longer hot. However, they have had a big turnaround in catering on the route and they now do a "full dinner" (including a pretty fancy Japanese food), so to speak.

Although I have some issues with JL such as hot cabin at times, it is tempting me more towards flying JL than QF because I do not really feel like paying through the nose only to be given a small of bowl of noodles, and both beds are as uncomfortable as the other (sadly).

I'm sorry Qantas, I'm not on a diet, and I do not want to be forced onto a calorie-restricted diet. I would like an option to have a proper dinner on board if I am flying at a proper dinner time. Not a tiny little snack. Even European short haul carriers serve a hot meal on a longer flight in the evening. This is a long haul flight for which Qantas charge pretty handsomely.

It's one thing if they then served a hearty breakfast but it was just a very light "continental" type of breakfast.

Anyway, is Qantas running a trial with reduced catering on this route, or is is permanent?

Crazy stuff. I flew a red eye out Tokyo on SQ last week in business and they managed to serve a very hearty full meal and have it cleared within the hour of take off still allowing plenty of sleep time. Same on TG out of MEL the other day on the 11:30pm departure.

Oh they also offer a full breakfast if you wish but I turned down to continue sleeping, much better than any 'cafe' breakfast/

Do you have the actual menu.

Even on the much later departing SIN services (eg QF6 which departs at 2300) there are usually some more substantive options offered in the Snack section.

While myself (and I suspect most) would eat at the airport/ in the lounge (noting that 8.30pm at NRT is 9.30pm in SYD) and then sleep most of the flight,

QF certainly do need to provide for those who are operating in different time zones or say transiting to South America and may want to stay awake and eat.

I hope not as I'm flying SYD-NRT later in the year (PE but hoping to upgrade to J on points)!

This wasn't the experience I had 6 months ago.
I would be quite upset if it is now the case.

The QF NRT lounge can get overcrowded with QF + JQ pax. I would use JL lounge next visit.

This was not the experience I had 6 months ago either, hence "Is this permanent?" reaction. Even in PE they were serving decent food about 6 months ago, let alone in J.

I forgot to bring the menu back so I cannot post the precise details, but it certainly was a rather nasty surprise.

I remember thinking they were starters and they were "AND" gate rather than "OR" gate (common on Asia routes to get multiple small dishes on various carriers) because they seemed so surprisingly like a snack.

By the way, I am not sure if the menu had been downgraded SYD-NRT or if it is just NRT-SYD.

I sincerely hope it was a temporary thing, but since the menu was properly printed rather than being temporary looking, I fear it might be permanent.

They don't make it obvious but you can order more than one 'plate'.

Did you try the Q-Eats pre-oder?

Part of AJ's Jetstar master plan... J travellers will stay away from QF due to the "enhancements", AJ will say the route isn't fit for QFi as a full service carrier due to lack of premium customers, and they'll switch the remaining flight over to Jetstar :)

Hey LTN Phobia, was there any other choices on the menu? Surely the noodles wasn't the only big plate available?

serfty - I find the FAs push back when I try to get more than one plate, saying "there isn't enough to go around", or "I'll see what's leftover at the end" and then never seeing them again. I don't know if the catering is lightly loaded or if they'd prefer to keep some meals for themselves.

I suspect the latter - but happy to be proved wrong. I have seen things in the J galley that have never made it into the cabin - be it dinner or breakfast - eg trays of sliced fresh fruit.

To be fair, those items might have been specifically staff meals.

Possibly, but the menu identified sliced fresh fruit - but it wasn't offered.

It was not even a big plate. It was very small, and there was hardly anything in it other than noodles.

My seat neighbour ordered something else and it was equally small and plain, although I cannot remember what it was. Basically, all selections were just small snacks. That is what surprised me - there was basically nothing substantial to eat. Those who had not had dinner (since the flight departed at 1950, you would expect to be served dinner) will have had a nasty surprise. Luckily I had a bit to eat at the JL lounge, so I was not left very hungry, mainly just intrigued.

As someone mentioned above - it's all part of Joyce's master plan to downsize QFi as much as possible (possibly even out of existence) and force all on to JQ. He is an LCC guru after all and doesn't care a fig about QF.