Frequent flyer questions if Qantas meals are worth the price—what do you think?

Airline lounges are often seen as a haven for frequent flyers—a place to relax and enjoy a quality meal before takeoff.

But when a traveller recently stepped into a Qantas Club lounge, what he found left him stunned.

What should have been a simple breakfast turned into a moment of disbelief, with the passenger questioning whether the airline’s standards had hit a new low.


A Qantas frequent flyer has slammed the airline after being served what he described as an ‘embarrassing’ meal in the Qantas Club lounge at Perth Airport.

The traveller, who holds gold status due to years of flying across Australia and internationally for work, visited the lounge earlier this month before a flight to Melbourne.

Expecting a decent breakfast, he was shocked to find tinned spaghetti among the offerings.


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Frequent flyer outraged over Qantas lounge meal. Image source: Yahoo! News


‘It’s literally the cheapest thing you could possibly find. And there’s no effort in creating that. They’ve clearly just opened a tin and poured it in, and that's it,’ he said.

The meal was so underwhelming that he felt compelled to take a photo.

‘There's not even much spaghetti—it’s all just sauce.’

Although there were other choices, such as a ‘pretty basic’ toastie station, he believed the spaghetti was a clear sign of the airline’s declining food standards.

He claimed the quality had ‘gradually’ worsened over the past five years.

‘There’s been a few times in the last few years where I’ve gone into a lounge or been on the plane, and what is served up, I’ve taken a photo and thought “what is this? The staff wouldn’t eat this”,’ he said.


The frequent flyer also highlighted the inconsistency of Qantas’ food service, saying that while some meals were ‘absolutely fine’, others left much to be desired.

Among the worst was a pasta dish he received on a flight from Sydney to Perth in August last year, which he described as an ‘ungodly horror’.

A photo showed the meal packed into a crumpled cardboard box, leaving him questioning what he was even eating.

‘Sometimes it's fine, but then sometimes you get something like that, and you look at it and go, “I just don’t want to eat this. I don’t even know what it is, let alone want to eat it”.’
Another time, he was surprised to find the ‘main meal’ in a Qantas lounge consisted of nothing but roasted potatoes.

‘So I’ve seen some pretty shabby things…and I just can’t believe they’re putting it out there,’ he said, adding that given the airline’s high ticket prices, the service was unacceptable.


Qantas lounges offer a self-serve buffet with multiple options, and the airline believes spaghetti is a popular choice, particularly among younger passengers.

Other breakfast selections at the Perth lounge included muesli, muffins, frittatas, and a sandwich bar.

When approached for comment, Qantas declined to respond.

In a previous story, another airline passenger shared a far more distressing experience mid-flight.

A couple was left shaken when their seatmate unexpectedly passed away, turning their journey into a traumatic ordeal.

Read more about their chilling account here.

Key Takeaways
  • A Qantas frequent flyer criticised the airline after being served tinned spaghetti in the Perth Qantas Club lounge.
  • He claimed food quality had declined over five years and shared photos of disappointing meals, including a poorly presented pasta dish.
  • He described the service as inconsistent, with some meals being fine while others were ‘shabby’ and unappetising.
  • Qantas offers a buffet with various options but declined to comment on the criticism.

With airline lounges meant to offer a premium experience, should passengers expect more than a basic meal? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
 

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Pretty poor - Qantas food is disappointing to say the least compared to other airlines. On a flight to Los Angeles with Qantas once, our meal was a meat pie - nothing else! It was inedible!!!! Passengers were astounded and left hungry.
 
It's the same when you're in the air. We were in business class, a rare treat. But the food on offer was awful, 7 choices, 5 of which were vegetarian. Plus chicken or salmon salad. I had the chicken and it was like eating leather. I've had much better food in economy with other airlines.
 
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Many, many year ago an acquaintance of mine was the head chef at Qantas. He travelled the world on aircraft checking meals in all classes. No one knew him, he just boarded the plane like any other passenger. I believe he sorted the meals out in short order. He had his own first class restaurant in Sydney before Qantas.
 
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Pretty poor - Qantas food is disappointing to say the least compared to other airlines. On a flight to Los Angeles with Qantas once, our meal was a meat pie - nothing else! It was inedible!!!! Passengers were astounded and left hungry.
I was coming home from Spain with Qantas,I was very nauseated and couldn't even look at the menu of questionable choices.
My hubby asked our flying kangaroo staff if possible ,could I have some dry crackers or nuts as my wife is feeling really nauseated.Answer
NO WE ONLY HAVE THE EXACT NUMBER OF THINGS WE NEED FOR A FLIGHT ON BOARD,NO EXTRA PEANUTS,CRACJERS NOTHING.
I lied there feeling like death warmed up,my hubby tried to eat from his terrible choice and then an hour later a young male air Steward that had apparently heard the conversation came over with a tin of Bundeberg ginger beer,some crackers and cheese and a bag of mixed nuts.He quietly told us he had pinched them from first class.Boy was In thankful to him,it settled me right away.
Yes only ever went Qantas our whole lives,but the service and food has really gone downhill too.
 
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Many, many year ago an acquaintance of mine was the head chef at Qantas. He travelled the world on aircraft checking meals in all classes. No one knew him, he just boarded the plane like any other passenger. I believe he sorted the meals out in short order. He had his own first class restaurant in Sydney before Qantas.
In which case they need to pay him to come back.
 
I’ve flown every now and again (in Economy), for the past 53 years with various airlines. I’ve never had a problem with airline food. Just lucky??
We haven't flown since 2013 food was good back then if I got any of what I just saw I would complain
 
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My Son is a Chef and many years ago Supervised a Family owned small Pasta producing Company. Out of the Blue, the Qantas meal Contractor contacted the Company and requested they supply a “ Boutique and Classy” meal too test. My Son created a Crayfish with Cheese and Pepper Ravioli. The result was a huge response of “ Magnificent “ from Travellers and a future order the Family Company simply could not meet. Pity.
 

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