Qatar Airways introduces caviar in Business Class as the quality gap keeps widening

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• Lou says:

  14 Aug14 August 05:57

  This makes me quite sad, especially if you look at how caviar is harvested. I’ll stick to the beluga lentils instead.

  • Amy C says:

    14 Aug14 August 06:26

    Absolutely right. Along with many other exploitive practices, this one makes me ashamed to be human.

    • Dawn says:

      14 Aug14 August 06:35

      I’m glad I’m not the only person who feels this way.

      • MKB says:

        14 Aug14 August 09:37

        +1

        • MPC says:

          14 Aug14 August 10:19

          Yeh just another reason to not fly with an ME3 – Works for me.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      14 Aug14 August 12:46

      Can I understand what the issue is? Or vegan and don’t eat eggs or fish at all?

      • Amy C says:

        14 Aug14 August 14:28

        Google is your friend.

        • TGLoyalty says:

          14 Aug14 August 16:08

          I mean if it’s about the poor farming techniques some like to employ then that unfortunately can be said for our whole food chain. It’s not just limited to Cavier.

          Plenty of horror Salmon, chicken etc farming stories out there.

      • Cranzle says:

        14 Aug14 August 16:49

        @MPC – I do find it interesting that people are vocal about ‘boycotting’ international businesses but are blind to the shortcomings of things far closer to home.

• Mouse says:

  14 Aug14 August 06:24

  Did they announce a launch date?

  • Amy C says:

    14 Aug14 August 06:27

    The article says tomorrow.

    • Mouse says:

      14 Aug14 August 08:31

      Ah yes, good point.

• F says:

  14 Aug14 August 06:36

  Recently they have been packing away the table cloth after the main with no offer of the cheese board which used to be standard.

  • NorthernLass says:

    14 Aug14 August 09:16

    I’ve noticed lately that BA cabin crew seem to regard cheese as a dessert choice instead of a separate course and get a bit miffed if you ask for both!

• Thywillbedone says:

  14 Aug14 August 06:37

  On the subject of onboard catering: I flew BA short haul yesterday in Y and the snacks handed out were miserly 10g bags of pretzels. Is the sole purpose of this paltry portion simply the calculated amount of salty snack that might tip a person into paying for a drink to go with it? Seems like an utter waste of packaging all in the name of being able to claim premium status as an airline offering a level of free catering in economy.

  Continuing my rant, no airline which uses bus gates to save money should be allowed to call themselves anything other than a low cost carrier. There’s no excuse for using a bus gate at smaller international airports in high summer where the transfer experience is particularly miserable. Again, I’m looking at you BA!

  • John says:

    14 Aug14 August 06:49

    BA use bus gates at DUB. Maybe that’ll change if/when they move to T2. Last time I flew LHR-DUB we also had a bus gate from T5… which I did not know existed.

    • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

      14 Aug14 August 06:59

      BA moved to T2 at DUB a couple of months ago and at certain times of day has to use bus gates. As do other carriers.

      The last time I used DUB we used steps and them walked to the terminal entrance.

    • john says:

      14 Aug14 August 09:37

      A4 and A10 are bus gates at LHR T5. A4 used for domestics i think.

      • Mark says:

        14 Aug14 August 09:59

        I think A4 has to be used for bused domestic arrivals, but departures are mixed. We were bused from A4 for a flight to Ibiza last year, which was parked at the opposite end of the terminal (we could see the plane from the Galleries Club South window).

  • BJ says:

    14 Aug14 August 06:54

    All airlines use bus gates frome time to time uf nit routinely. Personally I like them as I always enjoy a drive around the airport. However, I agree that generally they’re bad as they’re problematic for the elderly, disabled and families with young children.

    • Thywillbedone says:

      14 Aug14 August 07:04

      Try a packed one in near 40 degree heat / high humidity and no aircon …that will erase any child-like wonder of a trip around the airport

      • John says:

        14 Aug14 August 07:15

        Most transfers at Doha are in the middle of the night

        • BJ says:

          14 Aug14 August 07:24

          Kverpacking the buses is often the biggest issue with bus gates apart from the challenges for mobility-impaired. Not at issue for J passengers at Doha though.

  • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

    14 Aug14 August 06:56

    Stop using bus gates at T5 and you reduce the schedule of available flights to everyone.

    Same at any other airport that uses them to augment air bridge gates.

    Last year I used a bus gate at FRA on an LH flight from LGW so it’s not just BA or LHR that uses them.

  • Numpty says:

    14 Aug14 August 07:33

    Emirates used to use bus gates at Dubai, and then a drive to the terminal that took a very long time.

    LH used a bus gate at Frankfurt a few weeks ago too.

    • tony says:

      14 Aug14 August 07:43

      And to bring this back vaguely on topic, Qatar frequently use bus gates. The dedicated buses the have for F are wonderful – exit straight from the lounge into a waiting bus configured with a dozen armchairs.

      • Rob says:

        14 Aug14 August 08:13

        We have reviewed the First Class Bus!

    • Eoc says:

      14 Aug14 August 07:54

      As someone who flies all over , Who is not disabled or has young children, I can honestly say I’ve never even thought that bus transfers were an issue, let alone worth getting all hot and bothered about. First world problem. Still YMMV.

      • Thywillbedone says:

        14 Aug14 August 09:35

        On the bus I was on yesterday, we arrived at the plane and they weren’t ready to take passengers onboard. Within a short minute there was a near riot on the bus with people pounding on the glass to demand the driver open the doors. It was that bloody hot. Not sure how third world conditions = first world problem??

      • BJ says:

        14 Aug14 August 10:08

        Often they work to passenger advantage by substantially cutting waking distance, use of stairs, escalators, lifts etc.

  • Random Punter says:

    14 Aug14 August 07:48

    Many of the southern European airports use bus gates for non-Schenghen flights. I’m guessing that this was somewhere in Italy, or perhaps LIS? It isn’t generally down to BA.

  • Andrew. says:

    14 Aug14 August 08:58

    Would you prefer a mobile lounge like at Washington DC?

    Much as I dislike the bus gates at LHR T5, especially in winter when it’s blowing a gale down there, it doesn’t really make a massive difference, in fact the boarding process does seem quicker and smoother when the buses are dropping 50-60 people at a time.

    Of course, when I arrive at Edinburgh, sitting at the back of the plane, more often than not it’s in the middle of a monsoon and we’re disembarking via the back steps and running to the fire escape doors.

    • Rhys says:

      14 Aug14 August 09:03

      How is boarding quicker or smoother if you have to wait for the bus, wait on the bus, wait for the bus driver to let you off, then walk up the stairs…

      Versus a jet bridge, where you board when called and simply roll down the jetbridge?

      • JDB says:

        14 Aug14 August 09:08

        Because it’s more efficient and faster for the boarding process to deliver people in batches and often enables boarding from front and back doors simultaneously. Qantas is particularly good at this.

      • BJ says:

        14 Aug14 August 10:18

        All depends on distance and organisation, it can fall either way. I think most prefer airbridge though I certainly do but am ok with bus too. Bus provides the old-world romance of air travel climbing up into or down from airplane, the smells, the sounds, the heat, the cold. It’s an experience.

        • TGLoyalty says:

          14 Aug14 August 16:10

          It’s even better when you bypass the jetbridge and walk down some stairs to the side of it and up another set to the plane and wonder what the cost saving really was here.

          But honestly doesn’t bother me.

• BJ says:

  14 Aug14 August 06:46

  Not to mention it tastes absolutely disgusting and many who eat it only pretend to enjoy it for odd reasons.

  If Qatar Airways wants to narrow the quality gap withe the best airlines further Eazt like Singapore Airlines and JAL then they need to work hard on tbeir basic food menu, it is the weakest element if their products and services.

  • Matt says:

    14 Aug14 August 07:24

    Qatar serve really good wines and I think their Arabic dishes are always tasty (mezze followed by the Arabic main). The place setting is nice too. So much better than BA.

    I haven’t flown Singapore or JAL, but what do they do better? I’ve flown BA J & F, Emirates J, Etihad J and to be honest I don’t recall the food which suggests it was unremarkable and forgettable on all of them. Whereas I always look forward to the Arabic mezze when flying Qatar.

    So I disagree with you and don’t think food is Qatar’s weak link. IMO the weak link is the Doha lounges that everyone raves about (I find them cavernous and unappealing, particularly the Garden lounge which is open to the main terminal and is therefore super noisy. Oddly I really like their LHR and SIN outstation lounges though).

    • meta says:

      14 Aug14 August 07:48

      Food is really the weak link in QR. Apart from dine on demand there is nothing that differentiates it from most airlines. Arabic mezze on QR is not great either if you know your Arabic mezze.

    • Occasional Ranter says:

      14 Aug14 August 08:30

      Agreed QR dining is not the weak spot Vs East Asian airlines. Have flown JL and sq recently and SQ particularly was mediocre. And everyone knows what happened to CX dining over the last 10 years or so…

      I wish QR would spend any spare money on providing really thick mattress toppers. In the end what I’m paying for in J is physical comfort and the chance of a better sleep.

      • meta says:

        14 Aug14 August 11:34

        On its long-haul flights JAL serves food from top UK Japanese restaurant Roketsu that is delivered fresh to the plane at London Heathrow and it’s the same at other stations. If you only choosing Western options, you’re missing out.

        The range of options on SQ with Book the Cook is unparalleled, but as @BJ said lobster thermidor is not that good. I had excellent BTC waffles for breakfast though recently.

        Al Mourjan lounge, it’s style over substance. I had a beautifully presented but tasteless steak last month (had to fly QR as no other convenient option). lt’s up there with some of the worst I ever had.

    • BJ says:

      14 Aug14 August 09:22

      I encouraged my partner to try the arabic dishes on his flight last month but he wouldn’t, he claims he doesn’t lije the smell of it. Huge thumbs down to food again from him (lobster thermidor and some fish this time) but thumbs up for everything else on those flights. My own experience of Qatar food is mediocre excepting last flight which was fine. Fliggt before that I was missing soup EDI-DOH and no less than three elements of breakfast DOH-BKK. Dine on demand is good in theory but in practice not so much as I think somrtimes crews cannot be bothered with it and get sloppy. I cannit ever recall such sloppy service or poor food on Singapore Airlines. Singapore Airlines food is not the best but the BTC menu is extensive so usually people can find things to their liking. The Japanese food on my longhail JAL flights was by far the best food I have ever had on an airplane, only LH F got anywhere near it, Austrian which has long been reputed to be best did not come close IMO. I do like Qatar lounges at outstations such as LHR and BKK. I cannot say Al Mourjan is bad, far from it, it’s just a different lounge concept/design. Soee have expressed concern about Cathay catering here but my last two flights from HKT-HKG in J during the last 18 months has been very good.

  • Cranzle says:

    14 Aug14 August 08:01

    They really need to provide free crumbs from the previous flight, like BA do. Nibbling on those before the flight service begins is wonderful.

    • Matt says:

      14 Aug14 August 08:34

      That comment made me smile 🙂

    • BJ says:

      14 Aug14 August 09:24

      You’re lucky you just got the crumbs.

    • Baggins Surrey says:

      14 Aug14 August 09:25

      I had a fingernail clipping provided. Didn’t nibble that. Flight attendant was mortified. I always take antibacterial wipes for all the debris. Maybe a rechargeable hoover and marigolds in hand luggage required.

      • Novice says:

        14 Aug14 August 11:39

        😂 so true. Can’t remember how many times I have had security confiscate some of my hand gels because apparently I take too many.

      • Richard says:

        15 Aug15 August 11:02

        The last 3 J flights I have taken there has been someone whiling away an hour filing their nails. Perhaps the definition of entitled, certainly evidence of not understanding how poor cabin cleaning is.

    • the_real_a says:

      14 Aug14 August 12:23

      Whilst flying BA recently, i politely complained about the filth and brown stains on my seat. The FA handed me three wet wipes and walked away.

      • JABs says:

        15 Aug15 August 01:55

        I was on the EZE-LHR which does a pick up in Rio on the way where you stay on the plane. On came the cleaners and I seriously considered asking for their ghostbusters style vacuum to give my seat a good clean. There were crumbs, cashews, peanuts, and other detritus in every nook and cranny.

        I appreciate the first leg is only 2 hours but the cleaning operation was pitiful considering new customers can board. It was the first time I’d sat there and witnessed aircraft cleaning, and I wish I hadn’t.

• Dev says:

  14 Aug14 August 06:53

  I am not too fussed about the Caviar itself but am pleased to see investment in a J cabin beyond just seats. Hopefully this spurs rivals to move upwards…. Fingers crossed!

• PerpetuallyAnnoyed says:

  14 Aug14 August 07:59

  “raises the question of where Qatar Airways is sourcing its caviar from” – suggest sanctions applied in most other countries enables a ready supply.

  • JDB says:

    14 Aug14 August 08:13

    The baerii caviar is easily enough sourced from Iran with whom the Qataris are quite friendly and also China.

  • Ken says:

    14 Aug14 August 08:25

    I’d assumed that most caviar was from farmed fish these days and is produced all over the place, including Exmoor (if it’s still going).

  • Rhys says:

    14 Aug14 August 08:25

    Been told this morning that it is Iran!

• pete says:

  14 Aug14 August 08:02

  and BA cant even hand out a menu with any consistency in Club Europe.

  • Willmo says:

    14 Aug14 August 08:08

    BA are meant to hand out menus in Club Europe?

    In the two dozen or so CE flights I’ve had, I’ve only been offered a menu once (on a sub one-hour AMS-LCY at that!).
    I assumed it wasn’t part of normal service procedure.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      14 Aug14 August 08:40

      I thought it was only the longer flights LOL

    • Andrew. says:

      14 Aug14 August 09:00

      Isn’t it about meeting the legal requirements to show the calorie content of food and provide details of allergens rather than service?

      • SamG says:

        14 Aug14 August 09:03

        Yes. So domestic they have to hand them out and they do hand them out on longer flights

      • TGLoyalty says:

        14 Aug14 August 09:41

        Should be a legal requirement to show it on all ex UK flights not just domestics.

        But then again most of the calories probably come from bread and butter than the actual meal.

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