Choosing which airline to fly can be tricky – so many factors to consider including price, stopovers, flight times and of course, the food! Living in Australia most flights I take internationally are long, quite long. When travelling to Europe from Australia it is nearly 24 hours on a plane and includes a stopover either in Asia, the Middle East, or the West coast of Australia (if coming from the East coast of Australia). Many people question which airline is the best to fly? So I thought I would try and help answer this question by summarising what the plane food is like on airlines travelling via Asia.
Here I take a look at my recent trips travelling to and from Asia while transiting through to Europe so you can see the foods served on the plane in business class. Hopefully having all the airlines and examples of their food in one section can help make comparisons easier so you can use this information to choose the flights which best suit you, your tastes and dietary needs.
So who has the best business class food flying between Australia and Asia? For me so far it is a close tie between Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines, even though they all scored fairly similar from a nutrition perspective.
Cathay Pacific business class food
I took a morning flight from Melbourne to Hong Kong which is approx. 9 hours. The first meal served just after takeoff was breakfast. There were 5 breakfast meals to choose from ranging from lighter options to full hot breakfasts, including Chinese and Western style breakfasts. Breakfast is not my favourite meal to eat on the plane – I find many airlines offer uninspiring and non-innovative meals, so I was delighted to find out the main meal was not the first meal served on board (breakfast). The main meal was the second meal which was served in the middle of the flight and a four-course lunch. I thought all the food was delicious and the food was fairly good quality.
See review and more pictures of food on Cathay Pacific Melbourne – Hong Kong
Nutrition rating: 7/10
Japan Airlines business class food
Another morning flight from our of Sydney, Australia to Tokyo (9am) which was approx. 10 hour flight. The first meal served was the main meal and it was a three-course lunch with amuse-bouche chosen from a Japanese or Western menu. The second meal could be had at any time through out the flight and there were a variety of meals to choose from including sandwiches, pasta, cheeses, salad, Ramen noodles, miso chicken and rice etc. I really liked the ability to order a range of dishes and have these served any time throughout the flight. I was travelling with my 7 month old and husband and so this made it a lot easier to eat. Also with people napping/watching movies at different times throughout the flight (since it was a day time flight) people could eat to their appetites more. it was also really great the foods ranged from light options to larger hot meals – I feel there was something for everyone.
See review for more pictures of food on Japan Airlines Sydney – Haneda Tokyo.
Nutrition rating: 6.5/10
Thai Airways business class food
Flying from Bangkok, Thailand to Melbourne, Australia is approx. 9 hours and I was on a morning flight (leaving Thailand at 8am). The first meal was served just after take-off and was breakfast, with three choices of breakfast dishes served with breads, fresh fruit and yogurt. This was not the main meal service though, with the second meal service a three-course meal with amuse bouche. Again I really enjoyed having a smaller breakfast meal and then the main meal being the second meal on the flight. The second meal was served just over 2-2.5 hours before landing though and so I felt it was all a little bit rushed. I like to enjoy the different courses slowly and so I didn’t like that I felt like I was eating to the clock to make sure I finished before seatbelt sign went on.
See review and more pictures of food on Thai Airways Bangkok to Melbourne, Australia.
Nutrition rating: 7/10
When I next fly Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Thai Airways I will update this page and my reviews.
But I have a few more airlines to try and I will be flying Singapore Airlines and Qantas in first few months of 2024 so watch this space – I might change my mind!
Singapore Airlines business class food
I had an evening flight leaving Melbourne, Australia to Singapore (departing at 7.25pm). On this flight we were served dinner and a supper just before landing into Singapore at midnight. You could ‘Book the Cook’ on this flight however the menu only had 8 options, so not very extensive compared to the menu out of Singapore. I did not choose a ‘book the cook’ meal on this flight, but chose from the onboard instead.
Qantas business class food
Coming soon – April 2024
