By Hemal Gosai
How Qatar Airways is Embracing the FIFA World Cup Onboard
Qatar Airways is in the process of fully incorporating and highlighting the 2022 FIFA World Cup into its in-flight services. The 2022 FIFA World Cup will be held in Qatar starting next month.
Passengers will see planes in a special FIFA livery and will be able to stream many of the games directly on their flights. In addition, there will be limited edition amenity kits, football jersey-styled loungewear and more for FIFA fans traveling on Qatar Airways.
Most importantly though, Qatar Airways is introduced special FIFA-themed menu items that feature a variety of meal and snack options including typical game day snacks like burgers and chicken wings along with the standard types of dishes offered on Qatar Airways.
AirlineGeeks had the opportunity to sample a few of these dishes and discuss the inspiration behind some of these dishes with Mary-Jane Bonnaud, Qatar Airways’ Culinary Development Manager.
Things started off with an amuse-bouche of lobster cocktail with poached prawn topped with caviar.
Poached Prawn Topped With Caviar (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Hemal Gosai)
This was followed by a wholesome soup, corn and jalapeno soup topped with Crème Fraiche.
Qatar Airways Corn and Jalapeno Soup (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Hemal Gosai)
Things got better when the sampler was brought out.
Qatar Airways Menu Sampler (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Hemal Gosai)
Top Row Left to Right:
- A play on a hotdog with sliced beef with radish, fried onions, and pickles – part of the FIFA menu
- Fried shrimp in vermicelli noodles -part of the FIFA menu
- A chocolate mousse cake with berries and mango
Bottom Row Left to Right:
- Beef carpaccio with black winter truffles
- Roasted sweet potato with corn and smashed avocado
- Duck ravioli with slice duck breast, roasted brussels sprouts, and tomato
A lot of the FIFA menu items are specifically geared around snack foods that people would typically have while watching sporting events. Below is how the steak nachos would look if served on a Qatar Airways flight departing the U.S.
Qatar Airways FIFA Steak Nachos (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Hemal Gosai)
Things got fun with the burger. The exact type of burger will vary based on the route. On flights from the United States there will be a burger with the typical fixings of an American cheeseburger.
Flights from Australia, for example, will have uniquely Australian fixings like beetroot on their burgers.
Qatar Airways FIFA American Burger (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Hemal Gosai)
Qatar Airways primarily uses Do&Co for catering in the United States where available, alternatively, Gate Gourmet and Sky Chefs are used. Do&Co has a reputation within the industry as being one of the better caterers, however, Qatar Airways’ culinary director has assured AirlineGeeks that the offerings will be consistent across all North American departures in terms of taste, appearance and quality.
Airline catering is something that’s frequently overlooked so it’s always refreshing to see airlines take a fun approach to cater flights. Airline catering kitchens clearly have the capability to make good food as evidenced by airlines like Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines. It is just a matter of the airline caring enough to make the necessary investments to offer good food on flights for its passengers.
Hemal took his first flight at four years old and has been an avgeek since then. When he isn’t working as an analyst he’s frequently found outside watching planes fly overhead or flying in them. His favorite plane is the 747-8i which Lufthansa thankfully flies to EWR allowing for some great spotting. He firmly believes that the best way to fly between JFK and BOS is via DFW and is always willing to go for that extra elite qualifying mile. Hemal’s opinions are his own and do not reflect those of his employer.