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When it comes to flying, I pack snacks as if I might never eat again. (Seriously, who needs trail mix, apples and granola when your flight is only three hours?! This girl, apparently.)
When Nate and I prepared to fly to Australia, I went into overdrive. Sure, we’d spend 5 1/2 hours on a plane before a 2-hour layover, but that 14-hour jaunt from Los Angeles to Sydney made me suddenly cram popcorn clusters, bags of turkey jerky, KIND Bars, cookies and pretzels into my carry-on, as if I were doomsday prepping. I won’t even get into why I brought a poncho.
Thankfully, we were very pleasantly surprised when we boarded Qantas and received menus. My brain started calculating out the costs—How much could they charge for pork curry? $20? How little could we get away with spending during our daylong plane trip?—only to learn that it was all included with the cost of the ticket, down to the wine and beer options.
You may be thinking, “well, duh, it was a long flight! Of course they did that,” but after spending 9 hours on a flight to Hawaii for our honeymoon, where the airline in question refused to hand out even pretzels or peanuts without a $5-per-bag surcharge, I questioned everything.
Studies have shown that our tastebuds are dulled when we’re 30,000+ feet in the air, and I’ve heard countless warnings about sodium-packed, mushy airline food, so I was stunned by Qantas’ selection. (We flew economy, in the cheapest seats possible, which is why this really surprised me.)
Here’s a sampling of the meals we had:
Late Lunch/Early Dinner:
Osso Buco (AKA braised veal), served with green beans, peas, roasted potatoes, a buttered roll and chocolate mousse
Pork Curry with Jasmine Rice and Peas: Okay, so the lump of curried pork may not look too appetizing, but it was loaded with spice and flavor, and it easily became one of the best meals on our flight (and trust me, we ate a LOT).
Late Night Snack:
On each of the 14-hour hauls, they served a “late night snack,” which was a tomato flatbread on the way to Sydney and two mini hot dogs or a Mango ice cream bar on the way back.
Breakfast (AKA “Brekkie”):
Eggs can easily get rubbery and disgusting when microwaved, but these were light and fluffy — and didn’t make the plane stink like eggs (sadly, we couldn’t say the same for the fish dishes, which left a lingering odor for quiiiiite a while).
This breakfast was deemed more ‘traditional,’ since it came with mushrooms and a roasted tomato wedge. Coffee, a yogurt cup and a small muffin came with the meal, so you really got your fill.