“I Don’t Think I’ll Make My Flight….”: A Qantas and American Airlines Economy Class Food Review on my 38 Hour Journey from Virginia to Tasmania

Tasmania, Australia is approximately 10,164 miles away from Staunton, Virginia. That’s really freaking far. Best case scenario for getting there is 3 flights for a 30 hour journey. Maybe 27 if you’re lucky. I had the best case scenario booked. Richmond to Dallas (3ish hours), 2 hour layover, Dallas to Sydney (17.5ish hours), 2 hour layover in Sydney, Sydney to Hobart (2ish hours). $1400 bucks round trip.

What I didn’t account for was a massive snow and ice storm that would disrupt thousands of flights. My perfect flight plan turned into one of the most chaotic travel day(s) I’ve ever had with the theme being, “I’m not going to make this flight…..”

As a Frugal Foodie, it’s my duty to share all my economy class flight eats along the way!

Let’s dive into my Qantas and American Airlines economy class food experience from Virginia to Tasmania.

Part 1: Staunton to Richmond, 2 Hours

10am hit. I waved goodbye to my parents and drove off towards Richmond. Packed down snow still coated many of the side roads, but the major highways were clear. And empty. Phew. I made it to the Richmond Airport just after noon. Check in took 5 minutes, security another 5 on top of that. Then I saw the dreaded red letters:

DELAYED.

30 minute delay? No problem!

30 minutes turned into 45. 45 into an hour. Finally, the plane arrived. They shuffled everyone off, then shuffled all of us on. Okay it’s 4:15pm…. If we leave by 4:30pm I’ll be able to make the connection…

That was wishful thinking.

I gazed out the window as one woman and one man teetered across the ice to transfer all the bags off the plane. 5pm hit. Then the same two people proceeded to start the process of putting all of our luggage onto the plane.

I furiously texted Jeremy erring my stresses. Is Qantas going to pay for a hotel? This same flight is sold out tomorrow! Ugh I’m so mad at myself for not pushing my flight back. 5:45pm we started moving, just to promptly stop.  Ladies and gentlemen there is too much ice. We need a *some sort of device* or for someone to break the ice.

6:00pm we finally took over.

Part 2: Richmond to Dallas, 3 ½ hours, American Airlines

6:00pm – 1hr for the time change + 3.5 hrs for the flight = getting into Dallas right as my flight in Sydney was schedueled to take off.

Before I was able to panic too much a FLIGHT REBOOKED notification popped up.

The new itinerary would be Dallas to Brisbane, Brisbane to Sydney, Sydney to Hobart. Not as ideal as my original travel plan. But I was relieved that I didn’t have to wait in a long line or fight with someone on the phone to get new flights booked.

45 minutes into the flight, the flight attendants came down the aisle with the snack service. The beverage options were water or juice, and the snack options were cookies or pretzels. The flight attendant surely knew how abysmal the offerings are, and she just handed me cookies and pretzels without asking. Not a great start for my American Airlines economy class food journey.

It ended with the flight attendant asking passengers to let people with close connecting flights off first. She rattled off various flights, making comments like, “Oh an 10:15pm… that’s very tight!”  My flight new flight was departing at 9:55pm. Will I even make it?! To my surprise, passengers actually did let people with close-connecting flights off first. I suppose there’s hope in humanity after all!

 I rushed out of the plane, ran to the sky train, and had my mind blown at just how far away terminal D was from terminal C. I made it to the gate just as boarding was meant to begin just for the flight to be delayed an hour. Better too much time than too little, I suppose.

Part 3: Dallas to Brisbane, 17 ½ Hours, American Airlines

 I brushed my teeth and took out my contacts before making my way to seat 24A just after 10:30pm. It was a window seat, and the middle seat was open. Throw in an Advil PM and fancy new neck pillow, and I had the perfect situation for managing a few hours of sleep.

Meal 1: Dinner

Less than an hour into the flight, my American Airlines economy class food experience commenced as dinner came rolling down the aisle. The options were chicken or pasta. I went with chicken. I’ve done my fair of long haul flights, and meals tend to come with one main, some sort of bread, and 2 to 3 little side dishes. But not this one. (Check out one of the better economy class food experiences I’ve had HERE!)

The tray placed in front of me had a dry roll in a plastic bag, a tray of chicken in a mystery sauce with a few veggies and orzo, and a packaged brownie. It looked better suited for a pet than a human. It tasted better than it looks, which isn’t saying much. And it put my grumbling stomach at bay.

Snack: Mystery Wrap

Halfway through the flight, I woke from my slumber to a snack being served. It was a hot wrap of sorts with a mystery filling. I think it was labeled ratatouille? It tasted like cardboard, and a couple bites was all I managed.

Meal 2: Breakfast

90 minutes before landing, breakfast was served. The options were fruit and yogurt or eggs. I went with eggs. It came with a hot serving of eggs, a hashbrown, some mushrooms, and a piece of bacon as well as Chobani yogurt with granola and a granola bar. It was edible and totally acceptable for airplane food.

The good news was that it was enough food to save me from dropping dollars on breakfast in the airport. The bad news was that, due to the hour delay, I now only had 70 minutes to make it through immigration, transfer terminals, through security, and to my new gate. I don’t think I’ll make my flight..

Part 4: The Brisbane Airpot, 1 hour layover

Taxiing and de-planing took painstakingly long. 30 minutes later I was finally off the plane, but greeted with a new stressor: a mega long entry immigration line. Luckily, the system was mostly automated. All people had to do was enter their passport into a machine, have their face scanned, then have a boarder control officer do a double check. JFK could take some notes…

Step number two was baggage claim. The lady in Richmond told me my bag would go all the way to Hobart. The signs suggested otherwise. I didn’t have to waste too much time pondering it over because my luggage was still in Dallas. (Airtags are a travel game changer and well worth the investment.) Perhaps the only time I’ll ever be relieved to have my luggage lost.

Step number three was customs declarations, which was yet another long line. I made it through in 15 minutes, stood in a Qantas line for 5 minutes just to realize I didn’t need to be there, then ran to the airport terminal transfer bus to head to the domestic flights terminal.

It was 30 minutes until boarding would close, and I was still on a shuttle to a terminal that seemed ridiculously far away. I furiously stress texted Jeremy, “There’s no way I’m going to make it…..”

I rushed through the domestic terminal and things finally went smoothly. Security took 2 minutes tops. My gate was around the corner. And there was a coffee shop 5 steps away. No price is too high for a real coffee after a long-haul, overnight flight.

With 5 minutes to spare before boarding, I sipped my coffee and opened up Wordle. When I changed my clock and skipped a day, the New York Times Games App also skipped a day. My 452 day streak was ruined. Why do bad things happen to good people?!

Part 5: Brisbane to Sydney, 90 minutes, Qantas

Flying from Brisbane to Sydney is a simple up and down. And to my surprise, there was a snack and beverage service! I got water and a chocolate caramel crumble slice that was absolutely delicious.

Part 5: Sydney Airport, 2 hour layover

I landed in Sydney and finally had a leg of the journey that was stress free. I did a couple laps up and down the terminal, and sussed out my lunch options, landing on a pay-per-piece sushi spot.

It was pretty darn good and just under $10usd. The quality of food in Australia is top-tier, and this sushi was nice reminder of what’s in store for me in the coming month!

Part 6: Sydney to Hobart, 2 hours, Qantas

2pm local time hit, and I was finally embarking on the final leg of my journey from Sydney to Hobart on Qantas. Once again, I was pleasantly surprised that there was a snack and beverage service.

The snack felt very on brand for a flight headed to Tasmania: a trail mix, cracker, and sweet potato cashew dip trio set. A perfect snack to enjoy whilst reading my book.

Finally, 38 hours after leaving Staunton, I made it to Hobart.

But my luggage didn’t…

In a state of delirium I went to the Qantas desk to ask when it would arrive. He informed me it was already tagged, and would be in tomorrow and they’d deliver it to my address of choice. Amazingly enough, it got deliever just over 24 hours later. Impressed is an understatement!

To wrap things up on this review of the Qantas and American Airlines economy class food review that has mostly turned into a travel blog…

The American Airlines economy class food for the jump from Richmond to Dallas and then the long haul flight quite frankly sucked. The snacks I had on Qantas for the two subsequent flights, however, were excellent. You get some you lose some?

It was a chaotic travel day, but not nearly as crazy as the last time I flew to Australia, which was smack dab in the middle of the pandemic in 2020. (It was a WILD journey. Read about it HERE). What matters is that I made it, and only 6 hours later than I orginally planned.

Cheers to another long-haul flight to kick off another adventure! Stay tuned for Tasmania eats to come!