Having just returned from first-class flights to and from Hawaii, I found this guest piece by Claire Jenkins is of great interest. Our food was not nearly what I expected from first class, nor was the wine. The pictures are from our trip.
The Airline Food Lottery - Are You Getting Your Money's Worth?
Food used to be considered one of the perks of airline travel. It was a novelty, a nice little freebie to make you feel better about the cost of the flight and break up the tedium of a long-haul journey. With air travel now more commonplace the novelty has well and truly worn off, and passenger expectations have increased in line with flight costs. What used to be reasonably reliable quality standards, however, seem to have taken a nose-dive in some quarters. In-flight food has become something of a quality lottery, with customer experiences ranging from the sublime to the inedible. Passengers can take heart though, as signs from the industry suggest that moves are afoot to address customer concerns.
Travelers are becoming more discerning and (with the help of the internet) more vociferous, and it would seem that the airlines are starting to respond to the backlash. Travel companies, keen to preserve their reputation for promoting quality service providers, are increasingly using the internet to demand feedback on passenger experiences of onboard catering. There are also the annual World Airline Awards which seek to establish a global benchmark for excellence in all things flight related. If you value good quality in-flight food and you have some choice of airlines when you are booking your flight it may be worth checking out these polls and awards to give you an idea of the type and quality of food you can expect. This is no guarantee of a pleasant experience of course but you can perhaps narrow your odds a little!
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Air_Canada_AirbusA340_Kitchen.jpg
The airlines are taking this feedback on board, and appear to be busy addressing the onboard catering issue via the introduction of various initiatives targeting different passenger markets. European holiday airline Monarch offer set breakfast lunch and dinner menus, bookable in advance, for an additional cost. The emphasis is on quality, the range being called "Divine." The opportunity to Buy-on-Board, or order ahead of time is becoming more and more popular. As a part of that airlines are increasingly offering locally sourced products for sale, a response to growing global concerns over carbon footprints and the demise of the small, independent producers.
Names of celebrity-chef big-guns are also appearing more frequently in the airline publicity blurbs bringing the X-Factor to the skies, with the likes of Michelin-starred chef Michel Roth creating menus for Air France, and James Beard Award-winning chef Michelle Bernstein working with Delta Airlines. For the lower-budget pocket, Japan Airlines is setting the scene by providing passengers with in-flight food and drink sourced from, and prepared in conjunction with, well-known coffee brands and fast food chains.
Estonian Airlines has been rolling out their "Restaurant in the Sky" idea over the last 12 months, showcasing a different chef from a prominent national restaurant each month to prepare meals in-flight for Premium passengers. Similarly, Abu Dhabi-based airline Etihad Airways offers its Diamond First Class passengers meals made to order on from scratch on the flight itself.
As an airline traveler you are a captive audience, and in the dry atmosphere of recycled air it is usual to both want and need a drink. Increased security measures on some flights may prevent you from taking your own beverages on board, so check this out before you travel, and ensure you are in a position to buy a drink should you need one. They are generally not provided free of charge.
Freshly tapped beer has been available on All Nippon Airways since 2010, not something that seems to have taken off at a global level, but nevertheless another move in the direction of responding to passenger demand.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Air_Canada_business_meal.jpg
The quality of wines offered onboard flights can vary greatly too, and some of the larger trans-continental airlines, such as Delta and Cathay Pacific, have sought to address this, and now have trained sommeliers on board who help with both the selection and serving of the wines on offer, but usually only in First Class. This sweetener isn't designed to make money in its own right (the drinks are often complimentary) but rather to keep passengers coming back for more, thus securing the more lucrative ticket sales.
Catering isn't the only in-flight offering that you may want to consider before you book. The range of other products available free or to buy onboard seems to be ever-expanding too. Airlines clearly see these products as beneficial to their businesses, as for Premium and First Class passengers they will often offer complimentary products. Perfumes, watches and cosmetics are all favorites with airlines, as are travel accessories and skincare products. It is important to remember that the bargains on board may not be all they seem, and a little forethought before you travel can save you a lot of money. There are some unbeatable deals on travel accessories and beauty products available online that not only protect your pocket, but allow you to choose from a far superior range of products to find one that best suits your needs. Onboard, you are limited in your selection to the very small range of products carefully selected to provide the illusion of choice. Do not be fooled by the limited choice trap - always ask yourself if this is REALLY the product you would choose or is it simply the best of the selection on offer? You may well find some products at a lower price than on the high street, but a quick scan online of in-flight magazines has just revealed no fewer than three different cosmetic products alone on offer on various trans-continental flights that are DOUBLE the price you can find them online. In-flight products are by no means always cheaper!
The initiatives underway are a start - as with any service-based industry it seems it will be those who can afford to pay the premium for top class catering and service who will benefit most, but the other initiatives mentioned do indicate a good move in the right direction for all passengers.
These new initiatives should in theory address quality issues through greater control, visibility and transparency in the supply chain. If this is supplemented with improved benchmarks for standards of excellence for cabin crew and training programs to support that, then it is to be hoped that the overall airline food experience will continue to improve.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clou_TXL_aircraft_05.jpg
What this
all boils down to is the airlines squeezing margins where they think they can
get away with it. For the passenger, choice is often limited - the airlines
know this, but are still keen to keep the majority of customers happy if they
can. As far as catering is concerned, if the quality of your food experience on
flights is important to you, then it's wise to check out your alternative
operators, how each fares in the unforgiving world of online ratings and
comments, and also where they rank for catering quality within the airline
industry itself. Then hopefully your in-flight intake will be sure to
satisfy!
The Airline Food Lottery - Are You Getting Your Money's Worth?
Food used to be considered one of the perks of airline travel. It was a novelty, a nice little freebie to make you feel better about the cost of the flight and break up the tedium of a long-haul journey. With air travel now more commonplace the novelty has well and truly worn off, and passenger expectations have increased in line with flight costs. What used to be reasonably reliable quality standards, however, seem to have taken a nose-dive in some quarters. In-flight food has become something of a quality lottery, with customer experiences ranging from the sublime to the inedible. Passengers can take heart though, as signs from the industry suggest that moves are afoot to address customer concerns.
Travelers are becoming more discerning and (with the help of the internet) more vociferous, and it would seem that the airlines are starting to respond to the backlash. Travel companies, keen to preserve their reputation for promoting quality service providers, are increasingly using the internet to demand feedback on passenger experiences of onboard catering. There are also the annual World Airline Awards which seek to establish a global benchmark for excellence in all things flight related. If you value good quality in-flight food and you have some choice of airlines when you are booking your flight it may be worth checking out these polls and awards to give you an idea of the type and quality of food you can expect. This is no guarantee of a pleasant experience of course but you can perhaps narrow your odds a little!
A pasta dish
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Air_Canada_AirbusA340_Kitchen.jpg
The airlines are taking this feedback on board, and appear to be busy addressing the onboard catering issue via the introduction of various initiatives targeting different passenger markets. European holiday airline Monarch offer set breakfast lunch and dinner menus, bookable in advance, for an additional cost. The emphasis is on quality, the range being called "Divine." The opportunity to Buy-on-Board, or order ahead of time is becoming more and more popular. As a part of that airlines are increasingly offering locally sourced products for sale, a response to growing global concerns over carbon footprints and the demise of the small, independent producers.
Names of celebrity-chef big-guns are also appearing more frequently in the airline publicity blurbs bringing the X-Factor to the skies, with the likes of Michelin-starred chef Michel Roth creating menus for Air France, and James Beard Award-winning chef Michelle Bernstein working with Delta Airlines. For the lower-budget pocket, Japan Airlines is setting the scene by providing passengers with in-flight food and drink sourced from, and prepared in conjunction with, well-known coffee brands and fast food chains.
Overdone steak and faux potatoes
Estonian Airlines has been rolling out their "Restaurant in the Sky" idea over the last 12 months, showcasing a different chef from a prominent national restaurant each month to prepare meals in-flight for Premium passengers. Similarly, Abu Dhabi-based airline Etihad Airways offers its Diamond First Class passengers meals made to order on from scratch on the flight itself.
As an airline traveler you are a captive audience, and in the dry atmosphere of recycled air it is usual to both want and need a drink. Increased security measures on some flights may prevent you from taking your own beverages on board, so check this out before you travel, and ensure you are in a position to buy a drink should you need one. They are generally not provided free of charge.
Freshly tapped beer has been available on All Nippon Airways since 2010, not something that seems to have taken off at a global level, but nevertheless another move in the direction of responding to passenger demand.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Air_Canada_business_meal.jpg
The quality of wines offered onboard flights can vary greatly too, and some of the larger trans-continental airlines, such as Delta and Cathay Pacific, have sought to address this, and now have trained sommeliers on board who help with both the selection and serving of the wines on offer, but usually only in First Class. This sweetener isn't designed to make money in its own right (the drinks are often complimentary) but rather to keep passengers coming back for more, thus securing the more lucrative ticket sales.
Catering isn't the only in-flight offering that you may want to consider before you book. The range of other products available free or to buy onboard seems to be ever-expanding too. Airlines clearly see these products as beneficial to their businesses, as for Premium and First Class passengers they will often offer complimentary products. Perfumes, watches and cosmetics are all favorites with airlines, as are travel accessories and skincare products. It is important to remember that the bargains on board may not be all they seem, and a little forethought before you travel can save you a lot of money. There are some unbeatable deals on travel accessories and beauty products available online that not only protect your pocket, but allow you to choose from a far superior range of products to find one that best suits your needs. Onboard, you are limited in your selection to the very small range of products carefully selected to provide the illusion of choice. Do not be fooled by the limited choice trap - always ask yourself if this is REALLY the product you would choose or is it simply the best of the selection on offer? You may well find some products at a lower price than on the high street, but a quick scan online of in-flight magazines has just revealed no fewer than three different cosmetic products alone on offer on various trans-continental flights that are DOUBLE the price you can find them online. In-flight products are by no means always cheaper!
A really good salad
The initiatives underway are a start - as with any service-based industry it seems it will be those who can afford to pay the premium for top class catering and service who will benefit most, but the other initiatives mentioned do indicate a good move in the right direction for all passengers.
These new initiatives should in theory address quality issues through greater control, visibility and transparency in the supply chain. If this is supplemented with improved benchmarks for standards of excellence for cabin crew and training programs to support that, then it is to be hoped that the overall airline food experience will continue to improve.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clou_TXL_aircraft_05.jpg
Pre-dinner snacks and not very good wine
No comments:
Post a Comment