Each week, my Meal of the Week feature examines an airline meal from my travels over the years. This may be a meal from earlier in the week or it may be a meal served over a decade ago.
How about a break from the news and focus on airline meals this morning, specifically brunch on the top three Gulf carriers? Below, I’ll compare brunch on Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways.
All three carriers offer an a la carte menu in first class, meaning you can mix and match breakfast and lunch/dinner items at any time on most flights. While breakfast on airlines tends to be the least creative meal, there’s nothing like a warn and flaky croissant, cappuccino, and glass of champagne at 40,000 feet.
Emirates
When I flew from Dubai to Brussels on Emirates, our flight left at 8:20AM, perfect for brunch. While I saved my appetite for a beautiful steak and white asparagus lunch prior to landing, I did partake in a light brunch after takeoff.
That started with champagne, something I never drink at home but always enjoy a glass when flying in first class. The Dom 2008 vintage was served with salted mixed nuts.
Next I had some fresh fruit, yogurt, breakfast breads, fresh squeezed orange juice, and cappuccino.
The warmed almond croissant was delightful.
I love how Emirates uses a stencil to create its logo in the cappuccino.
The Irish yogurt was also tasty.
> Read More: Emirates 777-300ER NEW First Class
Etihad Airways
Our Etihad first class flight from Abu Dhabi to Los Angeles took off from Abu Dhabi in the morning and landed in Los Angeles in the early afternoon. We had brunch prior to landing.
I enjoyed eggs served over bacon on an English muffin with asparagus while my wife had salmon. Once again, the cinnamon roll and sesame-seed covered roll were delightfully flaky and buttery.
Cappuccino was tasty and we shared some fresh fruit and cookies for dessert.
> Read More: Etihad 777-300ER First Class Review
Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways only offers first class on its A380, serving a limited number of routes. My Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Paris in first class left at 7:25AM, another perfect opportunity for brunch.
About an hour after takeoff, I enjoyed a delicious brunch which included a hot croissant, bircher muesli, cappuccino, omelet, and a glass of Krug.
> Read More: Qatar Airways A380 First Class Review
So Which One Was Best?
I guess if I had to pick a winner I’d say my meal on Etihad was best. That said, putting this comparison together just reminded me of how much I appreciate the approach to in-flight dining taken by Gulf carriers (and also how much I cannot wait to get in the air again after a month of being grounded).
If you’ve flown any of these carriers, did you enjoy brunch?
Been reading a lot about how Etihad has significantly cut back its food budget and catering is much worse today….maybe that’s only for Y?
From all I have heard, it has not happened in first class yet.
Does distance factor into the quality of the brunch e.g. the Etihad was from LAX to hub versus the other two were from Europe to their hubs? Also I wonder if leaving from the hub makes any difference. I’ve not flown any of the M.E. airlines, but as a point of comparison, JAL departing from Japan has a bit of an edge in catering quality. In any case, based on those photos, Etihad does look like a more thought-out meal.
Part of it was based on my selections, not the menu itself. For whatever reason, I don’t have the complete Etihad menu or I would have posted all three (you can review the Qatar and Emirates menus by clicking on the full flight reviews above). I do like to review airlines from their hubs, where catering tends to be best.