Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/12/04/airline-opens-restaurant-servi.html
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NOT TODAY, SANTAN!
(Goodness, the BBS automated grammar checker is annoying.)
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“Airline food sucks” has long been a stock trope of comedy, but I’ll out myself as somebody who enjoys both the food and the pastime of unwrapping, identifying, and consuming the various parts of an in-flight meal.
On the other hand, I wholeheartedly embrace the new model, in which the fare is much cheaper and it includes either a single, non-alcoholic beverage and a pitiful tiny snack or (on the budget airlines like Spirit) not so much as a drink of water. I’m as quick as the next consumer to make price my main criterion, and I understand the implications. And it’s OK; I can pack my water bottle and get my own peanuts. Peanuts aren’t hard to get. What I can’t do is fly.
Edited to add: Once, on a cross-country flight I took alone in the center seat, I pulled out a one-pound bag of cashews and shared it with my neighbors. I told them I was bringing back the golden age of aviation.
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… they serve something other than packets of peanuts and massively overpriced drinks? /sarcasm
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Finally! Now I don’t have to buy one of those silly expensive plane tickets to get to the food-like substances.
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I just flew on AirAsia last week, but did not partake in their food. The people in front did have a meal and it did smell good. They also had a large menu items to choose from. If the price is right, I’d check it out.
The Asian airlines I flew on (Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines) had much tastier and better cooked food than American Airlines. This may seem petty, but the roll passed out by both Asian airlines was warm and could melt the butter versus the hard, cold roll from AA.
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I think the reason airline food sucked was not (necessrily) the food itself, but the cabin pressure did werid things to ones sense of taste and smell.
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One local woman writes about shopping here. More than once she’s mentioned buying airline meals to keep in the freezer. I think they are sold by the companies that supply the airlines rather than from the airlines themselves. They are frozen, she made it sound like tgey weren’t expensive, and of course convenient. Surely this happens elsewhere too.
So it would give that airline meal experience at home, no need to go flying or travel to a distant restaurant that serves airline food.
Hmm… is this a sign of serious problems at the airline? Like when Barnes & Nobles started expanding its cafes?
I may have posted this elsewhere but… a few years back I was flying Korean Air, and when mealtime arrived, the stewardess took orders; I noticed that she’d ask white people if they wanted chicken or beef, but to Asian people, she’d just say “bibimbap?”. When she came my way I said “bibimbap” and got a big bowl. It was extremely decent and I’d happily order it from a mall food court given the choice.
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Yes. If you’re flying international, there are often (at least) two menus (to offer familiar cuisine for passengers from either the origin or destination country). I’ve found that it’s usually worth choosing the cuisine which matches the nationality of the airline. I had an amazing kaiseki meal on ANA once.
These days I’m a vegetarian, and a similar choice is available when special-ordering a vegetarian meal ahead of time (you can do this on most international flights!): You can have “western vegetarian” (usually some nasty unseasoned steamed veggies and rice) or “asian vegetarian” (usually a very flavorful curry of some kind).
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Next up: an airline opens a movie theater to show edited movies on a little tiny screen and where the audience all wear cheap headsets plugged into their armrests. As an added bonus, there are only 3 unisex bathrooms in the whole theater, and each is smaller than a broom closet.
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I have always hated the food on US domestic flights (on the rare times it was more than a bag of nuts). But when I started flying to SE Asia all that changed. I’ve genuinely enjoyed most of the meals and like unwrapping everything. The stand out was the bibimbap interactivity when flying to Korea.
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Pro tip: The “Mediterranean tapas picnic pack” on Alaska Airlines is actually a pretty good snack box.
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Confirmed.
Do I still get served half an hour before everyone else cos I’m vegetarian?
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I have no objection to airline food - it’s frequently pretty good - but I did think it was formulated to be eaten in cabin conditions. I’d be interested to know if it’s distinctly different in a food court.
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Yes, but you also inexplicably get inedible gluten-free “bread” with nondairy margarine, and a vegan, gluten-free “cookie” for desert (even though the dinner rolls, butter, and ice cream they serve everyone else are vegetarian).
You also have to order at least 48 hours in advance, and they won’t tell you what dish you’ll get until it’s served.
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I’ve flown AirAsia many times. I usually fly the routes between Bangkok and either Phnom Penh or Denpasar Bali, but I’ve also hit about a half dozen of their other locations. Their service to Bangkok is notable for using the crappier of the two airports, and the supposed savings on this discount airline gets close to disappeared by the cost and trouble of getting downtown. Instead, I fly Emirates when I can, and it’s great.
AirAsia distinguish themselves every time with the undisputed worst food I’ve ever been served on a plane – and they charge stupid prices for it. A sandwich, for instance, is priced as a sandwich. But it turns out to be half a sandwich, cut in half again, and overpackaged.
And in general, I like airline food alright, I certainly don’t think it’s worse than average food court food. That’s all about to change.
