Chicken or pasta? You can eat these airplane meals at home
For some, the highlight of a flight; for many, a disappointment: the food. A tiny can of cola, a small packet of crackers with a miniature tub of butter, and of course the hot meal. What’s under the foil? Due to coronavirus measures, Asian airlines can make fewer people happy with their meals, so they’ve decided to sell the food separately, to people who are simply staying at home.
As decadent as it may sound, flying is no party for most people. In the best-case scenario, you watch a film or two, take a nap, make one trip to the toilet and leaf through the inflight magazine. In the worst case, you chew all your Mentos one after another out of nerves, have cramps in your back, legs and neck, keep that airsickness bag firmly within reach and worry about the rumbling in your intestines (it’s the Fruit Mentos, darling). However you experience flying, the meal is a welcome break from all that boring sitting. Here comes the trolley, and what will they have this time?
Plastic cutlery included—enjoy!
On average, the food at Asian airlines such as Garuda, Air Asia and Cathay Pacific is just a little less mushy than at the others. Indonesian aviation fan Rubiyanto Haliman was so disappointed that he couldn’t make his usual business trips with Garuda for the time being that he asked the airline whether he could simply eat that delicious food in his home office. He could! For 30,000 rupiah, or around 2 euros, he had the tray with the familiar plastic containers delivered straight to his home. Plastic cutlery included, Rubiyanto could enjoy spinach, a pastrami quiche and coconut rice with lime. He says in The Economist that it’s even tastier than on the plane.
Rendang, prawns or a surprise
Santan, a local airline, has also put its meals up for sale. Customers in Kuala Lumpur can choose between rendang and nasi lemak. Thai Airways is selling stir-fried prawns and lamb tandoori in Bangkok. In Hong Kong, you can enjoy wok-fried strips of beef or an Indian fish curry from Cathay Pacific. Sounds pretty delicious, right? And dirt cheap: Santan’s menus cost 4 dollars, Thai Airways charges 8 dollars and at Cathay Pacific you pay just 5 dollars. Even Australia has been swept up in the airplane-meal craze: there, foodies can order from SnapFresh’s extensive menu, a catering company that mainly supplies airplane meals. The real deal: choose a surprise menu from Gate Gourmet, the most famous producer of airplane food. What will it be, chicken or pasta?
Also read:
