The New Qantas Economy Service Review

Intro

Four weeks after Qantas announced their economy class upgrade with much fanfare about “30% bigger meal trays” and “expanded menu options,” I found myself on QF79 from Melbourne to Hong Kong, genuinely curious whether this was a meaningful change or clever marketing.

The answer, as it turns out, is both.

An airline meal on a tray includes a foil-covered main dish, bread, dessert cup, cutlery pack, and a red cup with a beverage, set on an airplane seat tray table.

What Changed

The redesigned meal tray is immediately noticeable—it’s larger and has a textured, non-slip surface that should theoretically prevent your dinner from sliding into your neighbour’s lap.

The theory works better than the practice on the A330’s slightly angled tray tables, where my meal still shifted around despite the grippy bottom..

A hand holding a closed grey Qantas meal tray on an airplane with a seat and tray table visible in the background.

A closed black airplane tray table with a piece of bread on a napkin resting on the side.

More interesting was watching the crew navigate the new service routine. Depending on which flight attendant served, some passengers received their trays horizontally, others vertically.

The promised additions are modest: a packet of cheese and crackers now accompanies every meal, and longer flights get a pre-packaged salad.

The main meal portions remain the same size, which is generous enough that you won’t leave hungry.

Meal Service Timeline

Here’s where things get interesting, and not necessarily in a good way:

Water service started 15 minutes after takeoff
Aperitifs and snacks at 30 minutes
Main meal service began 2 hours and 35 minutes in
Coffee and tea reached my row at 3 hours and 20 minutes

That’s right—the entire first service took over three hours from start to finish.

For context, most Asian and Middle Eastern carriers complete similar services in under two hours.

The crew was professional and friendly, but they were clearly working harder, not smarter.

Constant trips back to the galley for forgotten items, running out of service pieces, and the general chaos suggested the new system needs refinement.

A clear plastic bottle of still mineral water with a blue label sits on a tray table inside a vehicle.

An airline tray table with a napkin, a packet of rice crackers, a red paper cup, and a can of Coca-Cola Zero Sugar.

Main Meal Service

Let’s be clear: the actual food hasn’t changed. It’s the same suppliers, preparation methods, and reheated at altitude reality.

I chose the stir-fried noodles from three options (the others being kung pao chicken and a beef dish).

Airline meal on a tray with mashed potatoes, beef stew with vegetables, a bread roll, packaged cheese rice crackers, and a cutlery pack.

An airplane meal with noodles and vegetables in sauce, a piece of bread, a packet of crackers, cutlery wrapped in a napkin, and a napkin on a tray table.

Wooden fork and knife on a napkin with two condiment packets, next to a cutlery wrapper and part of a meal tray on an airplane seat tray table.

The noodles came in a generous portion with mixed vegetables in a glossy sauce that tasted exactly like what you’d expect from airline Asian fusion—inoffensive, slightly sweet, with vegetables that reasonably held their texture.

A Murray St Ice Creamery chocolate salted caramel slice ice cream bar rests on a dark tray table, with a seat-back pocket visible in the background.

The cheese and crackers addition felt like an afterthought—a small packet of crackers and processed cheese that added bulk but not much else.

A pre-packaged Murray St Ice Creamery chocolate salted caramel slice was perfectly adequate for dessert.

Despite press releases mentioning fresh items and side salads, these were notably absent from the meal trays I observed.

Airplane meal tray with rice and curry, cucumber salad, chocolate cake, bread roll, orange juice, cheese, and butter on a fold-down table in front of an airline seat—perfect for an in-flight Edelweiss review.

For perspective, consider Swiss International’s recent economy overhaul.

Their meal service includes a proper starter, fresh cucumber salad alongside the main course, a slice of actual cake for dessert, and cheese.

One detail Qantas does get right: they serve tea and coffee in proper Bodum carafes, which elevates even instant coffee into something that feels intentional rather than functional.

It’s exactly the kind of small touch that shows they understand presentation matters.

View of an airplane cabin with passengers seated, a flight attendant serving from a beverage cart, and in-flight entertainment screens visible on seat backs.

A single wrapped Tim Tam Original chocolate biscuit rests on a gray tray table.

Second Meal Service

The pre-landing meal offered spinach and ricotta ravioli or beef. The ravioli may not have presented well, but tasted better than it appeared.

The ricotta filling was creamy and the portion was substantial enough to satisfy.

Again, the dessert was another pre-packaged item that felt like a missed opportunity.

Airplane meal on a tray table with pasta, bread, apple crumble dessert, a cup of juice, and cutlery in a wrapper.

Crew Service

Qantas cabin crew are professional, genuinely friendly, and skilled at gracefully managing difficult situations.

However, the new service design doesn’t match their strengths. Instead of meaningful passenger interaction, they rush through complex logistics, manage inventory shortages, and troubleshoot a system designed by committee rather than experienced flight attendants.

This isn’t the crew’s fault. It’s a service design issue that hopefully will improve as procedures are refined.

Passengers seated on an airplane interact with a flight attendant handing out items; trays are down with drinks, snacks, headphones, and charging cables visible.

View of an airplane cabin showing seatback screens, passengers seated, food trays, drinks, and electronic devices plugged into USB ports.

Conclusion

Qantas deserves credit for investing in economy improvements when many airlines cut costs.

The larger trays and generous portions show good intentions, and touches like pre-meal aperitifs and mid-flight snacks demonstrate understanding of passenger psychology.

But calling this a significant upgrade oversells what’s essentially an incremental change.

The extended service times, operational complexity, and lack of fresh components suggest this is more about marketing positioning than fundamental improvement.

I have a history with Qantas—I worked for them over 20 years ago—so I want them to succeed.

But when your major upgrade is bigger trays and cheese crackers, while competitors are reimagining the entire economy experience, you’re not exactly setting ambitious goals.

The food is filling, the crew is excellent, and you’ll arrive fed and reasonably satisfied.

Whether that constitutes a “new” experience is another question entirely.