Cathay Pacific’s Impressive In-flight F&B Offering

Cathay Pacific sometime back appointed Hong Kong-based Master of Wine Debra Meiburg to the airlines wine panel. Debra will join existing Cathay Pacific wine consultants Lau Chi-sun and Roy Moorfield to pick out new wine selections for passengers in all classes of travel. Debra who is also an award-winning author, educator and international speaker has for the first time teamed up with an airline to select fine wines for the enjoyment of passengers on board.

The airline is known for  serving finest wines onboard all its flights, it also conducts wine tastings at Cathay City often. In 2015, more than 2,000 bottles of wines were sampled with more than 40 picked. When the Cathay Pacific wine panel find a good wine on the ground, it requests the wineries to fly their bottles to Hong Kong for blind tasting so that the panel can identify whether the wine can withstand the stress of flying. Last year Cathay served a whopping 1.8 million bottles of wine onboard its flights, enough to fill 150 standard 20ft containers.

Some of the wines on offer in First or Business class are: Jean-Marc Brocard Chablis Grand Cru 2013, Akura Pinot Noir Bannockburn Central Otago 2013, Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi Mormoreto, Toscana IGT 2010, Yealands Estate Land Made Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2015, Dandelion Vineyards Lionheart of the Barossa Shiraz 2013 and Pietraregia Reserva Morelino di Scansano Riserva DOCG 2011.

 

When it comes to gastronomic experience, the airline scores high. Through specially crafted menus, the airline caters to different countries across the globe with varied cultures and preferences. For flights from India, Cathay Pacific offers a choice of three courses, vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals that include a starter, main course, and dessert. Cathay Pacific also has more than 20 special meals on offer to passengers who have special dietary, cultural and religious needs. The airline has seen the rise of vegetarian meals over the years and for that reason, it offers more than five types of vegetarian cuisine including Indian, oriental, lacto-ovo and vegan increased. There is also a surge in demand for healthier meals including requests for fruit platters, low salt meals, and low-calorie meals. Special meals are also prepared by Cathay Pacific with a minimum of 24 hours’ advance notice. The airline also modifies its in-flight menu on a monthly basis, including in Indian routes.

Cathay Pacific has worked in close collaboration with premium restaurants, hotels and Chefs with Michelin credentials for quite some time. In 2015, they partnered with Mandarin Oriental Hotels for the design of First Class menus. The airlines in-flight menus are ever changing, taking the opportunity to incorporate fresh vegetables and fruits which are in season, while also offering light and healthy dining options.