Qantas Economy Food and Nutrition Review – Melbourne, Australia to Sydney, Australia (return) (updated 2024)

Nutrition Rating: Snack rating 6/10, Dinner rating 1/10

Qantas Economy Food and Nutrition Review – Melbourne, Australia to Sydney, Australia (return) (updated 2024)

(Updated August 2024)

I can’t even count how many times I have flown the Melbourne- Sydney route on Qantas in economy I’ve flown it that often. I am from NSW, but have lived in Melbourne for over 10 years so I am always on this route for work or visiting family/friends. So I thought it was about time I did a Qantas Economy Food and Nutrition Review. And what better time than travelling during the holiday season when I was flying home (and back) for Christmas in 2023.

I continue to add examples of foods on I have had throughout 2024 – both snacks and foods served during ‘main meal’ times. Scroll through to see some of the Qantas economy food served Melbourne-Sydney/Sydney-Melbourne flights.

Snack meal – 4pm flight Melbourne to Sydney (Dec 2023)

On this afternoon flight a light refreshment (snack) was served which was rice crackers and guacamole. There was no choice of snack – this was just handed out to everyone. There were a range of cold beverages offered but no hot beverages. Now I don’t like spicy foods so I was a bit worried when I saw this was a spicy guacamole however it didn’t seem spicy to me at all (I didn’t detect much heat). The dip tasted ok but it was very smooth, not quite the same as a freshly prepared mashed guacamole (but this is to be expected).

Qantas economy food crackers and guacamole
Qantas economy food served as a snack
Qantas Economy Food and Nutrition Review - Melbourne, Australia to Sydney, Australia (return) (updated 2024) - Qantas economy food
Guacamole and dip
Nutrition comment

It was good to see the rice crackers were a seed/grain variety and not white. The ingredient list states they have linseeds in them which are a source of omega 3 fats and fibre. The ingredients also mention the crackers are made from wholegrain rice which suggests they are more nutrient dense than a standard white rice cracker. I love guacamole however I was a little curious about this dip as the ingredient list stated the dip was 42% avocado but that the second ingredient was potato. There was also some vegetables such as green onions, green capsicums, red onions and herbs/spices which did help impart flavour.

Dinner meal – 6.30pm flight Sydney-Melbourne (Dec 2023)

I remember the days that Qantas economy food served a decent meal on a short dinner flight (such as a 6.30pm flight Syd-Mel) – a hot dish with a side salad and little sweet treat. But those days are long gone. Here is what Qantas served to eat on a 6.30pm flight – 3 sausage rolls. Hardly what I would call dinner (more of a snack yet still high in calories/kilojoules). And worst of all – no sauce which made them pretty dry.

Qantas economy food
Qantas Economy Food and Nutrition Review - Melbourne, Australia to Sydney, Australia (return) (updated 2024) - Qantas economy food
Qantas economy food on a 6.30pm domestic flight
Qantas Economy Food and Nutrition Review - Melbourne, Australia to Sydney, Australia (return) (updated 2024) - Qantas economy food
Nutrition comment

The sausage rolls were fairly high in calories (kilojoules) with the snack box of three sausage rolls containing 2200kj which is nearly as much as two McDonalds cheeseburgers (1 cheeseburger is 1260kj). The ingredient list showed only 15% of the sausage rolls were beef. There was also a bone warning which I must admit I hadn’t seen before on similar products – it said “Great care has been taken to remove all bones and bone fragments, however some bones may remain”. It made me wonder about the way these sausage rolls are made and what type of meat was used.

Snack meal – 5.30pm flight Melbourne-Sydney (March 2024)

Staff described the meal being served on this 5.30pm flight as a ‘hot snack’. The snack was vegetables fritters – such a fabulous concept but unfortunately pretty terrible execution. There were four fritters in a cardboard box and they were incredibly soggy and mushy. When I opened the cardboard box there was a thick layer of condensation on the inside of the cardboard box.

Nutrition comment

As I said I loved the concept of vegetables fritters, and I got pretty excited to see they were 79% vegetables (on the ingredient list). Definitely a tick for the amount of vegetables – I love the innovation! However unfortunately they were very mushy/sticky/stodgy, without much flavour. I suspect this was because they were gluten free and egg free and so the rice and corn flour may have been contributing to this texture. While great to see foods inclusive for people with allergies, unfortunately the final product wasn’t great. Perhaps choosing a style of food that is more conducive to being heated up in a cardboard box would be better as the fritters would have been nice to have a bit of crunch on their outside etc.

Qantas economy food vegetable fritters
Qantas economy food – vegetables fritters
Qantas economy food domestic flight vegetable fritters
Qantas economy food on 5.30pm domestic flight
Qantas Economy Food and Nutrition Review - Melbourne, Australia to Sydney, Australia (return) (updated 2024) - Qantas economy food

Snack meal – 3pm flight Sydney-Melbourne (June 2024)

Cheese, salami and crackers were provided on a 3pm flight from Sydney to Melbourne with no other choice of snack offered. Unfortunately I didn’t find this very tasty.

Nutrition comment

While cheese and crackers can be a nutritious snack, salami is a processed meat which is not considered nutritious. Processed meats are usually sources of added salt and other additives, and have been linked to negative health outcomes. If you don’t eat processed meats regularly then enjoying a small amount like this on a flight is ok. However if you eat ham, sausages, bacon etc a few times a week then you might like to consider skipping this on a flight.

Qantas Economy Food and Nutrition Review - Melbourne, Australia to Sydney, Australia (return) (updated 2024) - Qantas economy food
Qantas economy food on 3pm domestic flight
Qantas Economy Food and Nutrition Review - Melbourne, Australia to Sydney, Australia (return) (updated 2024) - Qantas economy food

Dinner meal – 6.30pm flight Melbourne-Sydney (August 2024)

Two mini pies were served as ‘dinner’ on a 6.30pm flight from Melbourne to Sydney in August 2024. One pie was chicken and vegetables and one pie was beef. One the front of the box it was highlighted that sauteed vegetables were an ingredient, however in the chicken pie there was only 2 tiny pieces of carrot (you could barely call them pieces).

Qantas Economy Food and Nutrition Review - Melbourne, Australia to Sydney, Australia (return) (updated 2024) - Qantas economy food
Chicken pie on the left and beef pie on the right
Qantas Economy Food and Nutrition Review - Melbourne, Australia to Sydney, Australia (return) (updated 2024) - Qantas economy food
Qantas Economy food – pies served for dinner

Snack – 4.15pm flight Sydney-Melbourne (August 2024)

A snack of carrot sticks, crackers and french onion dip was served on a Sunday afternoon flight.

Qantas Economy Food and Nutrition Review - Melbourne, Australia to Sydney, Australia (return) (updated 2024) - Qantas economy food
Qantas economy food – carrot, dip and crackers
Qantas Economy Food and Nutrition Review - Melbourne, Australia to Sydney, Australia (return) (updated 2024) - Qantas economy food

Lunch – 1pm flight Melbourne-Sydney (December 2024)

An apricot chicken ‘sandwich’ or a cheese ‘sandwich’ was served which was made up of two thirds of a sandwich – that’s right you only get two fingers of a sandwich. There was also minimal filling in both sandwiches – for example with the cheese sandwich the cheese was grated so you only got a few sprinkles and the chilli jam.

Chicken sandwich Qantas economy food
Chicken sandwich Qantas economy food (Dec 2024)
Cheese sandwich Qantas economy food
Cheese sandwich Qantas economy food (Dec 2024)
Cheese sandwich filling Qantas economy class food
Cheese sandwich filling (Dec 2024)
1 of the 2 fingers of sandwich in the packet Qantas economy class food
1 of the 2 fingers of sandwich in the packet (2024)

Final thoughts on Qantas Economy Food, Melbourne to Sydney (return)

I find the Qantas economy food really uninspiring these days. Over the years the food provided has reduced in both foods offered and the quality. As I mentioned, gone are the days of an actual main meal served on a tray for dinner. First it was reduced to a meal in a cardboard box (usually a choice of a salad or hot meal) then covid hit and now it is a hot snack (with no choice and usually quite processed such as sausage rolls, party pies, mini calzones, poor quality sandwiches made mostly of bread etc). The snacks in the afternoon are usually vegetable sticks and dip, cheese and crackers or crackers and dip, however still no choice.

If you are travelling Qantas Melbourne – Sydney in economy but have lounge access then you might be interested in my Qantas airlines lounge reviews: Qantas Business Lounge vs Qantas Club, Qantas Club Melbourne, Qantas Business Lounge Melbourne (domestic), Qantas Business Lounge Sydney (domestic)

NOTE: All pictures of Qantas economy class food are my own and I review the food from the menu I was given and the food I ordered/was given to me on my flight. There may be different options available at other times.

Plane Food Reviews

Plane Food Rating:
Snack rating 6/10, Dinner rating 1/10
Airline:
Qantas
Alliance:
Oneworld
Flight Number:
QF 462, QF483, QF 455, QF 482, QF 465
Domestic / international:
Domestic
When:
20 December 2023, 29 December 2023, 28 March 2024, 16 June 2024, 15 August 2024, 18 August 2023
Flight Duration:
Approx. 1 hour
Class:
Economy
Type(s) of Food Served:
Meal in a box
Ordered On Board / Pre-Ordered:
On-board
Food Allergy, Intolerance or Dietary Requirement Information:

Food allergy information on the sausage rolls

allergy sausage rolls qantas

Food allergy information on the crackers and dip

food allergy crackers and dip qantas

Food and allergy information on the vegetable fritters – note while these claim to be vegetarian, they are not vegan due to the presence of milk

qantas economy food

Meal and Menu information:

No menu provided onboard

Related Plane Food Reviews

Share this Review