Qantas passenger's ‘horrific’ business lounge meal disgusts Aussies

While airline meals served at 30,000 feet are often lacking – many travellers expect much more back on the ground. But one Qantas frequent flyer has criticised the airline this week for an airport lounge meal likened to ‘dog bones’.

An image of the dish in question was shared online and was said to have been served in the Qantas Business Lounge at Sydney Domestic Airport on Friday 15th March.

The passenger explained that they were waiting in the queue for food when the dish was brought out five minutes before the photo was taken. “This was served up for paying customers. I watched it and even tried it. Was horrific,” the passenger shared online. “This airline has truly gone to the dogs.”

The passenger told Yahoo News Australia that "everyone avoided it."

"The dish consisted of sinew and gristle with a watery “sauce” and dry rice. Was horrid," the passenger told Yahoo, adding that they felt the airline had been "cost-cutting and focusing on making profit" while airfares are at their most expensive.

"The economy meals are served out of cardboard boxes and the overall customer satisfaction and experience for what you pay for is at an all-time low.

"Some lounges only open 1 hour before the flight and then close straight after! I have flown with them for a long time and I’ll be finishing my time with them when my status expires and giving Virgin a go," they said.

Qantas admits disappointment with meal

In a statement to Yahoo, the airline said the presentation of the meal did not meet it's expectations and it was looking into the matter.

"We are incredibly disappointed with how this meal was presented. We pride ourselves on delivering enjoyable dining experiences and this falls well short of our high standards," a spokesperson said.

Aussies react to ‘disgusting’ meal

Many other Qantas frequent flyers were quick to comment on the dish – saying it looked "disgusting" and like “bone broth without the broth” and adding they “would not even feed that to a dog.”

“What I don't understand is why they let [the airline] just get to such a state of disrepair,” one questioned.

Others were less concerned. “I'm gold and not that precious - it's not the best standards in the world but it's still comfortable and does the job,” said one traveller.

“At the end of the day, I'm in transit and not in a space I'm spending egregious amounts of time in.”

Qantas was contacted for comment on the dish.

Last month, another passenger said they were served an “inedible” breakfast and left sitting near a leaking air conditioning vent while travelling from Sydney to Brisbane and Darwin to Adelaide for work.

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Qantas refunds passengers 'sitting in urine'

Earlier this year, the airline told Yahoo it was offering a $3,827 refund to a couple who claimed they sat in urine during a nine-hour Qantas flight from Bangkok to Sydney.

“All our international aircraft are cleaned between each flight, including vacuuming seats and disinfecting surfaces. We are looking into what has occurred and have raised the issue with our cleaning supplier in Bangkok, which cleaned the aircraft prior to departure,” a spokesperson said at the time.

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