We try the new Qatar Airways business class caviar service!

In August, Qatar Airways announced it was introducing a caviar service for business class passengers on certain routes.

As far as I know, this made it the first airline to offer caviar in business class. Several airlines serve it in First Class including Lufthansa, Emirates, Air France and indeed Qatar Airways itself.

With a holiday booked to Vietnam using Avios on Qatar Airways, I was keen to try out the new caviar service for myself.

Which flights are eligible for Qatar’s caviar service?

Before I start, it’s worth noting that not all of Qatar’s long haul flights are eligible for the new service. So far, it is only serving caviar on selected routes including:

• Boston
• Dallas
• Hong Kong
• Houston
• London
• Los Angeles
• Melbourne
• New York
• Paris
• Sao Paulo
• Singapore
• Sydney
• Washington DC

Fortunately, London is on the list which means it is easily accessible for most of our readers.

It’s worth noting that caviar is only served on flights departing Doha. According to reader feedback, it only appears available on day flights.

Depending on where you’re flying to, this may mean you only get the chance to try it once – on the Doha to London sector. This is possibly because Qatar Airways is buying Iranian caviar and I’m not sure sanctions would permit it to import that to most Western countries ….

The Qatar Airways caviar service

When Qatar Airways first announced the new caviar service, it wasn’t clear if this was an additional service or simply a new option for your starter.

On the in-flight menu it is listed under starters, and the experience on my flight was that this is an additional option, rather than a new, dedicated course.

On my fully-booked flight I had originally asked to have the caviar and a second starter in succession. I was told this would only be possible based on availability and was asked what my preferred first choice was. As it happens, my ‘second’ starter never materialised, so Qatar Airways clearly isn’t overstocking to enable a dedicated caviar course.

On the menu, it is described as:

“Baeri caviar with Balik style salmon served with a selection of accompaniments, blinis and melba toast.”

As is typical for Qatar Airways, the meal service is hand-plated:

As you can see, the caviar comes with creme fraiche, chopped chives, chopped onion and crumbled egg white and egg yolks.

It is accompanied by half a lemon in muslin cloth to prevent seeds dropping as well as three slices of Balik style salmon. It comes with what appears to be a mother of pearl spoon.

The caviar is not served in the tin but is decanted into a small white ceramic bowl. I am told that Qatar Airways is serving 15g per person.

The caviar is sourced from Iran and imported from the Caspian Sea. It is classic Baeri caviar from supplier Uga Caviar. Uga describes its Baeri caviar as:

• “Smaller in size and darker in color with a very delicate texture.
• From the Serbian Sturgeon, giving eggs their unique characteristics.
• A pure flavor that takes you on a nutty and briny journey.”

Business class caviar: gimmick or genuine benefit?

With caviar on just 13 routes, and only when departing Doha on day flights, the new caviar service is only available to a small number of Qatar Airways customers. By my reckoning, less than 13% of passengers will have the option to try caviar on board.

I enjoyed my caviar service on my flight. Clearly, however, caviar isn’t for everyone and I’d be genuinely curious to see how many people actually order it.

I would have liked to have my caviar and a ‘proper’ starter, although I might be in the minority there. As someone who has more of a savoury tooth than a sweet one I often skip dessert. It also didn’t help that my flight was totally full in business class.

Even if only a small portion of customers try it, however, Qatar Airways will benefit from the halo effect of offering a prestige ingredient on its menu. It also puts ‘Brunchgate‘ into perspective ….

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As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

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There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

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There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.