Qatar Airways is levelling up its business and first class dining experience for Australian travellers, with a new inflight menu designed by celebrated chef Ross Lusted. The seasonal menu will launch on 12 June and appear across all Qatar flights departing Australia, including upcoming services flown by Virgin Australia under a wet lease deal.
Australian ingredients meet inflight precision
The new menu brings a local lens to Qatar’s premium cabin dining. Ross Lusted, best known for his highly acclaimed Sydney restaurant Woodcut and Melbourne fine-diner Marmelo, has developed a menu that focuses on clean flavours and produce designed to perform at high altitude.
Diners will be able to dine on dishes including spanner crab with native greens and smoked mayo, slow-cooked lamb with heirloom vegetables, and a Basque cheesecake designed to hold structure at 38,000 feet. The menu will rotate quarterly and is exclusive to flights departing Australia.
At a Sydney media preview event, the quality of ingredients and precision in execution stood out. Dishes are designed to hold texture and clarity at altitude, with proteins sourced from top Australian suppliers including Stone Axe and Rangers Valley via Vics Meats.
A sharper take on business class
Qatar’s business class offering already includes caviar service on selected routes, a choice of two champagnes (including a rosé), and a consistently strong wine list. The Qsuite remains one of the leading hard products in the market, with privacy, flexibility and storage that still outpace most competitors.
Virgin Australia’s Qatar Airways wet lease flights to Doha will launch this week, starting with Sydney, Brisbane and Perth to Doha, and adding Melbourne later in the year.
The routes will use Qatar Airways aircraft, staff and service on board. Travellers will connect through Doha to over 100 destinations, with expanded options to earn and redeem points across Velocity and Qatar Airways Privilege Club.
How to experience Qatar Airways business and first class with points
Qatar’s own Privilege Club program also offers strong availability, especially if you’re transferring points from Amex Membership Rewards.
Velocity Frequent Flyer members currently have access to a solid amount of Qatar Airways business class reward seats, including on Virgin-operated wet lease flights. If you’re sitting on a Velocity balance and looking to fly Qsuite, this is one of the most reliable ways to do it.
And while Qatar award space can technically be accessed via Qantas Frequent Flyer, as a oneworld partner, premium seats are few and far between and rarely available far ahead.
The Champagne Mile attended the Qatar Airways x Ross Lusted menu launch at Woodcut as a guest of Qatar Airways
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