Planning in-flight meals is complex process, in which airlines have to ensure that frequent flyers don't end up with the same meal twice.
Airline Qantas has revealed that at any one time, they have 220 meal options available on their domestic network and in the business class cabin, there are six variations of menus for each of the four different times of day with three choices available for each main meal, News.com.au reported.
The planning schedule is managed centrally so that the menus are moved around the network every week, making sure to avoid directly switching them between ports on common commuter routes.
Helen Gray, Qantas Head of National Product and Service Delivery, said that on some morning flights between Perth and the east coast their cabin crew can even make freshly scrambled eggs in the business cabin.
The in-flight menus are then redesigned every six months with new recipes, ingredients and flavours.
She noted that every dish has been designed, tasted or influenced by Neil Perry's Rockpool consulting team at the industrial kitchen in Qantas' Mascot headquarters.
Over 12 months, Qantas serves up on its domestic flights around 8000kg of smoked almonds, almost 140,000 tubs of Maggie Beer Ice Cream, four million milk chocolate Lindt balls, or 50,000kg per year, which is close to 1000kg of Lindt chocolates every week, around 2.5 million breakfast boxes, around 3.5 million cookies, more than 2.5 million ice creams and more than 8.5 million 250ml cans of soft drink.
You’ve reached your limit of {{free_limit}} free articles this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
Already subscribed? Log in
Subscribe to read the full story →
Smart Quarterly
₹900
3 Months
₹300/Month
Smart Essential
₹2,700
1 Year
₹225/Month
Super Saver
₹3,900
2 Years
₹162/Month
Renews automatically, cancel anytime
Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans
Exclusive premium stories online
Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors


Complimentary Access to The New York Times
News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic
Business Standard Epaper
Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share


Curated Newsletters
Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox
Market Analysis & Investment Insights
In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor


Archives
Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997
Ad-free Reading
Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements


Seamless Access Across All Devices
Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app
