Qantas has reversed its decision to stop offering vegetarian meals on shorter flights following a backlash this week.
The airline said on Friday morning it “heard the message loud and clear” and would make the change in policy a “priority”.
Earlier this week, it emerged the Flying Kangaroo quietly pared back its food selection during COVID and now offered only a single meal or snack option on flights under three and a half hours.
The furore came to light following pressure from John Dee, the co-founder of environmental organisation Planet Ark.
“In the coming weeks, Qantas will carry vegetarian meals on all domestic flights under 3.5 hours,” the business said.
“As an example, for evening meal service a zucchini and corn fritter could be carried onboard in addition to a Chicken and Leek pie.
“We will also reintroduce fresh fruit on board, which was paused during the pandemic and due to high levels of wastage.
“Qantas will monitor take up of these options and make any further adjustments to make sure we reflect customer preferences.”
Qantas’ executive manager of product and service, Phil Capps, said, “We’ve heard the message loud and clear about having vegetarian offerings on all of our flights and so we’re making that change as a priority.
BEVORDERDE INHOUD
“We had to make a lot of alterations to our service during COVID and we’re still in the process of bringing things back and updating others. When we brought back complimentary beer and wine, we extended the times of day it was served by several hours and expanded it across all routes.
“We’re in the middle of a broader menu refresh for our domestic network that will roll out from October, which includes new vegetarian options.”
The furore over veggie meals began last weekend when a Tweet from Dee went viral claiming Qantas only offered him a chicken pie on a short flight.
He went on to claim in The Guardian that the CEO, Alan Joyce, had alienated a “significant percentage” of its passengers.
“Als je voor Qantas betaalt, betaal je voor de volledige service, inclusief een maaltijd en opeens als je geen vlees eet, of als je een speciale maaltijdbehoefte hebt, of als je religie betekent dat je een bepaald soort voedsel niet kunt eten 'Deze beslissing heeft je van je vervreemd', zei Dee.
On Thursday morning, he tweeted Virgin, who confirmed it offered a vegetarian meal on all flights.
In 2022 had Qantas te maken met een reeks problemen, waaronder: enorme vertragingen met Pasen, uur-lange wachttijden voor oproepen, en zelfs een onthulling dat het cabinepersoneel van een Qantas A330 is gemaakt om slapen over stoelen in economy. Vorig jaar oordeelde het federale gerechtshof dat de vliegende kangoeroe verkeerd was om 2,000 grondafhandelingsrollen uitbesteden en verwierp vervolgens een eerste beroep.
