[April Bradford]

Vegetarian frequent flyer left hungry — and angry — after Qantas meal refusal​

As Australia’s ‘most popular airline’, Qantas is usually pretty good at accommodating the needs of all their passengers – which one would assume also applies when it comes to dietary requirements.

So you can imagine the frustration and hunger one man felt when he was left with no vegetarian meal options on a recent domestic flight.

Jon Dee, PlanetArk founder and businessman, told NCA NewsWire that he was flying economy from Adelaide to Sydney after giving a speech on Sunday evening.

As a gold frequent flyer member, he said he had never had any issues with getting a vegetarian option before – it was automatically included on his profile for all past flights.

Jon Dee’s tweet started it all. Credit: Twitter​

But much to his dismay, Mr Dee was informed by airline staff upon asking that there were no vegetarian meals available on the flight, as he was allegedly told ‘chicken pie or chicken pie’ were his only options.

‘What kind of airline stops offering vegetarian food to its passengers? It was chicken pie or nothing tonight,’ he asked.

'The reason I have flown so much with Qantas is because the vegetarian food is always extremely good,' Mr Dee said.

He added: 'The meals always tasted great. Now I’m told on Sunday “sorry, we have nothing for you”.’

'I’ve been a vegetarian since 1984 – and a Qantas Gold Frequent Flyer since 1987 – and this is the first time I’ve had this experience on Qantas. Will never be flying Qantas again.'

Dee certainly took Qantas to task. Credit: Facebook​

To add to Dee’s frustrations, every food outlet at the airport was closed upon his late evening arrival and ahead of a two-hour-long drive home.

Rival airline Virgin Australia also took time to capitalise on its opponent’s mistake after Dee asked them via Twitter if they offered veggie options and hinted at changing airline allegiances.

Without missing a beat, Virgin Australia replied: ‘Hi Jon Dee, we can confirm we do have vegetarian options for our Business and Economy Guests. If you would like more information, please reach out!’

Qantas said in a statement to NCA NewsWire that the airline was 'sorry' for the inconvenience caused.

'Jon Dee is a valued customer and we’re sorry for the inconvenience caused,' a Qantas spokesperson said.

'Our team is following up with him to apologise and offer a gesture of goodwill.'

The spokesperson said the decision to remove the vegetarian option from Mr Dee's meal booking was an 'error'.

'We know how important meal choices are to our customers and we’re sorry for the error,' they said.

According to reports, the airline has since doubled down on its decision to take a ‘one size fits all’ approach to serving in-flight meals after public backlash.

Days after the issue exploded, Dee also took to Twitter to announce Qantas reached him and confirmed they would be bringing back vegetarian food to flights.

Nothing a bit of good old outrage can’t solve, right?

Kidding aside, what would you have done in Jon’s place if you were told ‘chicken pie or chicken pie’ were your options as a vegetarian?

Should airlines cater to ALL dietary considerations of passengers?

Share your thoughts and opinions below!

 

[JustPat]

As a insulin dependent diabetic I would hope so.

 

[Pommyoz]

There are plenty of vegtarian options that can be served cold, and if spares are left, freeze them. surely that's not hard to do?

 

[Simplelife]

I think all airlines have gone downhill with meals over the past few years. On domestic where you used to get a meal we have often been given a roll of some description. Also my husband is not a vegetarian but has a poultry protein allergy and cannot each poultry or eggs so he would have been out of luck too.

 

[Peter Crawshaw]

Seems like you do so much flying, that your vegetarianism is cancelled out by your global warming!

 

[Aussie all the Way]

And there lies the problem for the Airlines, there have been sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo many different dietary requirements nowadays the poor buggers can't win. I kinda think a meat dish and a no meat dish your choice to fly or not.

 

[MotherGoose]

Never mind vegetarian, good luck trying to get a diabetic meal on most airlines.

 

[Macarj]

I can't believe they didn't have a vegetarian meal
I own Qantas shares.
Alan Joyce should be sacked

 

[Wendy]

I've had the Qantas vegetarian meals, they were horrible. We don't fly Qantas any more.

 

[chezna]

Never mind vegetarian, good luck trying to get a diabetic meal on most airlines.

You need to order then at least 7 days before flight

 

[Hughesgang]

Vegetarian is a lifestyle choice, not a medical requirement. Airlines should put more importance on providing appropriate meals for those with allergies, such as being a coeliac and requiring a gluten free meal or others with anaphylactic reactions to particular foods.

 

[MotherGoose]

You need to order then at least 7 days before flight

Yes, I know they have to be ordered in advance. But it doesn't help when you have ordered it and they can't find it. Or when they simply refuse to supply an appropriate meal.

 

[Lynjw]

Vegetarian frequent flyer left hungry — and angry — after Qantas meal refusal​

As Australia’s ‘most popular airline’, Qantas is usually pretty good at accommodating the needs of all their passengers – which one would assume also applies when it comes to dietary requirements.

So you can imagine the frustration and hunger one man felt when he was left with no vegetarian meal options on a recent domestic flight.

Jon Dee, PlanetArk founder and businessman, told NCA NewsWire that he was flying economy from Adelaide to Sydney after giving a speech on Sunday evening.

As a gold frequent flyer member, he said he had never had any issues with getting a vegetarian option before – it was automatically included on his profile for all past flights.

Jon Dee’s tweet started it all. Credit: Twitter​

But much to his dismay, Mr Dee was informed by airline staff upon asking that there were no vegetarian meals available on the flight, as he was allegedly told ‘chicken pie or chicken pie’ were his only options.

‘What kind of airline stops offering vegetarian food to its passengers? It was chicken pie or nothing tonight,’ he asked.

'The reason I have flown so much with Qantas is because the vegetarian food is always extremely good,' Mr Dee said.

He added: 'The meals always tasted great. Now I’m told on Sunday “sorry, we have nothing for you”.’

'I’ve been a vegetarian since 1984 – and a Qantas Gold Frequent Flyer since 1987 – and this is the first time I’ve had this experience on Qantas. Will never be flying Qantas again.'

Dee certainly took Qantas to task. Credit: Facebook​

To add to Dee’s frustrations, every food outlet at the airport was closed upon his late evening arrival and ahead of a two-hour-long drive home.

Rival airline Virgin Australia also took time to capitalise on its opponent’s mistake after Dee asked them via Twitter if they offered veggie options and hinted at changing airline allegiances.

Without missing a beat, Virgin Australia replied: ‘Hi Jon Dee, we can confirm we do have vegetarian options for our Business and Economy Guests. If you would like more information, please reach out!’

Qantas said in a statement to NCA NewsWire that the airline was 'sorry' for the inconvenience caused.

'Jon Dee is a valued customer and we’re sorry for the inconvenience caused,' a Qantas spokesperson said.

'Our team is following up with him to apologise and offer a gesture of goodwill.'

The spokesperson said the decision to remove the vegetarian option from Mr Dee's meal booking was an 'error'.

'We know how important meal choices are to our customers and we’re sorry for the error,' they said.

According to reports, the airline has since doubled down on its decision to take a ‘one size fits all’ approach to serving in-flight meals after public backlash.

Days after the issue exploded, Dee also took to Twitter to announce Qantas reached him and confirmed they would be bringing back vegetarian food to flights.

Nothing a bit of good old outrage can’t solve, right?

Kidding aside, what would you have done in Jon’s place if you were told ‘chicken pie or chicken pie’ were your options as a vegetarian?

Should airlines cater to ALL dietary considerations of passengers?

Share your thoughts and opinions below!

Yes there should always be a choice. At least fruit or plain salad.

 

[Rusty-anne]

Vegetarian frequent flyer left hungry — and angry — after Qantas meal refusal​

As Australia’s ‘most popular airline’, Qantas is usually pretty good at accommodating the needs of all their passengers – which one would assume also applies when it comes to dietary requirements.

So you can imagine the frustration and hunger one man felt when he was left with no vegetarian meal options on a recent domestic flight.

Jon Dee, PlanetArk founder and businessman, told NCA NewsWire that he was flying economy from Adelaide to Sydney after giving a speech on Sunday evening.

As a gold frequent flyer member, he said he had never had any issues with getting a vegetarian option before – it was automatically included on his profile for all past flights.

Jon Dee’s tweet started it all. Credit: Twitter​

But much to his dismay, Mr Dee was informed by airline staff upon asking that there were no vegetarian meals available on the flight, as he was allegedly told ‘chicken pie or chicken pie’ were his only options.

‘What kind of airline stops offering vegetarian food to its passengers? It was chicken pie or nothing tonight,’ he asked.

'The reason I have flown so much with Qantas is because the vegetarian food is always extremely good,' Mr Dee said.

He added: 'The meals always tasted great. Now I’m told on Sunday “sorry, we have nothing for you”.’

'I’ve been a vegetarian since 1984 – and a Qantas Gold Frequent Flyer since 1987 – and this is the first time I’ve had this experience on Qantas. Will never be flying Qantas again.'

Dee certainly took Qantas to task. Credit: Facebook​

To add to Dee’s frustrations, every food outlet at the airport was closed upon his late evening arrival and ahead of a two-hour-long drive home.

Rival airline Virgin Australia also took time to capitalise on its opponent’s mistake after Dee asked them via Twitter if they offered veggie options and hinted at changing airline allegiances.

Without missing a beat, Virgin Australia replied: ‘Hi Jon Dee, we can confirm we do have vegetarian options for our Business and Economy Guests. If you would like more information, please reach out!’

Qantas said in a statement to NCA NewsWire that the airline was 'sorry' for the inconvenience caused.

'Jon Dee is a valued customer and we’re sorry for the inconvenience caused,' a Qantas spokesperson said.

'Our team is following up with him to apologise and offer a gesture of goodwill.'

The spokesperson said the decision to remove the vegetarian option from Mr Dee's meal booking was an 'error'.

'We know how important meal choices are to our customers and we’re sorry for the error,' they said.

According to reports, the airline has since doubled down on its decision to take a ‘one size fits all’ approach to serving in-flight meals after public backlash.

Days after the issue exploded, Dee also took to Twitter to announce Qantas reached him and confirmed they would be bringing back vegetarian food to flights.

Nothing a bit of good old outrage can’t solve, right?

Kidding aside, what would you have done in Jon’s place if you were told ‘chicken pie or chicken pie’ were your options as a vegetarian?

Should airlines cater to ALL dietary considerations of passengers?

Share your thoughts and opinions below!

When I moved from Queensland to WA a few years ago, I had 12 hours of flying with absolutely no food offered on 3 different flights, Virgin airways was the culprit..Id booked vegetarian / gluten free with the online app, but apparently that was only options for overseas travel...never flown with that company again, and never will...I managed to grab a small vegan salad at Perth airport, because brisbane and Sydney had nothing I could eat...then I embarked onto my 3rd flight, that nobody informed me that I had to go to another airport for...not travelling again, certainly wont fly...

 

[chezna]

Vegetarian is a lifestyle choice, not a medical requirement. Airlines should put more importance on providing appropriate meals for those with allergies, such as being a coeliac and requiring a gluten free meal or others with anaphylactic reactions to particular foods.

Wrong! It is for some people however, many like me, it’s not a lifestyle choice it’s actually a medical condition. Very few people are diagnosed coeliac, they “think” they are coeliac.. I have always ordered my vegetarian meal 7 days before flying & have always got it..

 

[Elbe]

Personally speaking - and I fly a lot both domestically & internationally (or rather I did before the pandemic) - I would love to see no food or drink on any flight under 4 hours duration. It is transport - not a bloody restaurant! We don't need to be eating & drinking constantly. Even on long flights, I prefer to eat during stop-overs because both food & drink taste better on the ground (which is a proven fact & something airlines know).
Air travel could be a lot cheaper without the provision of food & drinks. It would also definitely be less painful than getting elbows whacked by dang trolleys which barely fit in aisles and which prevent passengers from getting up to go to the loo, stretch legs or even just get something from the overhead locker.

 

[Wendy]

Vegetarian is a lifestyle choice, not a medical requirement. Airlines should put more importance on providing appropriate meals for those with allergies, such as being a coeliac and requiring a gluten free meal or others with anaphylactic reactions to particular foods.

Vegetarian lifestyle is NOT a choice for everyone, for some of us it is a medical requirement. There are some things that make me ill if I eat them, meat being one of them and of late because of medical problems I have almost become vegan. It is NOT my choice to be like this, it IS my choice to be as healthy as I can.