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Healthy poke bowls and herbal tea designed especially for Qantas, are among the new dining choices on Qantas’ new 787 Dreamliner Perth to London menus to increase hydration and help reduce jetlag.
The airline’s creative director of food, beverage and service Neil Perry says the new menus combined research from the Sydney University’s Charles Perkins Centre (CPC) with inhouse experience of the Qantas and Rockpool teams to create dishes that encourage sleep at optimal times during the flight.
“Working with clinical sleep specialists, nutritionists and metabolic scientists, we’ve designed new menu options using delicious ingredients that have added benefits of hydration, aiding sleep and reducing jetlag,” said Perry.
“The menu we are trialling on the Perth to London route will continue to offer a selection of customer favourites, but it has some special ingredient additions and exclusions.”
Simpson said the next step in the research will involve trials with a group of frequent flyers using wearable technology and apps to collect data on sleeping and activity patterns, mental state, eating patterns and hydration before, during and after their long-haul flight.
“Qantas’ new menu incorporates the latest scientific knowledge on nutrition and hydration and our scientists are excited by this opportunity to discover how the wide variety of influences work together during long haul flights,” says Simpson.
Partnership
Qantas has announced a partnership with Sydney University’s CPC in June 2017 and began working with the centre’s researchers across a variety of fields including nutrition; physical activity; sleep and complex systems modelling to help redesign the passenger experience on long-haul travel.
Qantas and the CPC have used existing research and information to design and develop strategies to counteract jetlag, influence menu design and service timing, pre and post-flight preparations and cabin environment including lighting and temperature.
Qantas’ nonstop flight from Perth to London in late March 2018 coincided with the second phase of the study, with several passengers selected to wear medical research grade and clinically approved wearable devices that contained algorithms recording physical activity, sleep and posture changes throughout the entire flight.
Early observations from the study have indicated customers on Qantas’ nonstop Perth to London flight are enjoying the lighter food options as well as the "light therapy" shower suites. There is also a 71% uptake in the stretching classes ahead of the flight.
Helen Gray, head of food and beverage at Qantas, says the partnership with CPC is helping to inform its service design and delivery and providing passengers with the knowledge they need to positively influence how they feel when arriving at their destination.
“And what’s most exciting, is that customers are telling us they are experiencing real benefits. We have seen a double-digit increase in our customer satisfaction scores,” says Gray.
According to prof. Stephen Simpson, academic director at CPC, scientists at the centre are excited by the partnership with Qantas and the opportunity to help shape the future of aircraft cabin design, environment and service.
“Already our work has contributed to innovations in pre- and post-flight preparations, the cabin environment including lighting and temperature, as well as meal plans and timing," says Simpson.
“The second stage of our research partnership is now well underway. In-flight measurements involving structured questionnaires and wearable devices are beginning to provide insights into the impact of air travel on a range of factors."
Early results are allowing CPC to begin to associate passengers’ experience of jet lag after flying on the new Dreamliner Perth to London service with their patterns of diet, sleep and physical activity, both prior to flying and while onboard.
“Initial results indicate a generally low level of jetlag on this route, which may reflect the design features of cabin and service that have been implemented in partnership between CPC and Qantas,” he says.
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