‘It’s Not Bacon!’ Singapore Airlines Crew Insists—Then Serves Pork to Muslim Passenger [Roundup]

by Gary Leff

News and notes from around the interweb:

  • Jail, fine for content creator who used Singapore Airlines miles from accounts he bought illegally

    An Indonesian, Rizaldy Primanta Putra, bought compromised KrisFlyer accounts via Facebook between May and November 2024, paying $16-$200 per account.

    Putra converted KrisFlyer miles to KrisPay, using them to buy pastries, a Samsung phone, cameras, shoes and clothes in Singapore.

    Putra was jailed for three months and four weeks after Singapore Airlines noticed unauthorised transactions and reported him to the police.

  • Wired profiles me and since they call me “the internet’s biggest travel nerd” I guess it’s fair for you to taunt me as a ‘nerd’ all the way out to when the Zager and Evans prophecy is fulfilled. Conde’ Nast Traveler reprinted the piece as well.

  • Muslim passenger on Qatar Airways shouts at a Jew, “This is Muslim airline! No for jews! You go on Jew airline!” Qatar may be state-owned but if you want to avoid Jews, maybe fly Saudia or Kuwait Airways instead?

  • British teenager boards flight to Italy without a ticket after losing parents in airport

    A British teenager boarded the wrong flight home after being separated from his family at Menorca Airport, Spain and ended up in Italy instead of London yesterday.

    The 15-year-old’s parents lost sight of him and raised the alarm before discovering he had successfully boarded a flight to Milan Malpensa without a ticket after police reviewed CCTV.

  • Singapore Airlines apologises after Muslim passenger served pork on flight to New York, says crew ‘didn’t know’ what prosciutto is

    [H]e was served a dish labelled “Grilled Mediterranean Salad with Prosciutto” during one of the meal services on SQ24.

    Unsure what “prosciutto” was, he asked cabin crew if it was bacon. According to Jey, they told him it was not and assured him it was safe to eat. But after tasting the “unfamiliar” dish, he decided to look it up — only to learn that prosciutto is pork.

    …He was initially offered a S$150 (RM490) KrisShop voucher, followed by 15,000 KrisFlyer miles and later 30,000 miles — all of which he rejected. Calling the offers “saddening and insulting”, he told Mothership: “No person of faith — Muslim, Jew, Hindu, or otherwise — would ever willingly break a sacred dietary law in exchange for 30,000 miles.”

    …Jey has since filed another complaint with the US Department of Transportation. Before the flight, Jey had booked a Muslim meal for the refreshment service. For lunch, he chose the airline’s “Book the Cook” option instead.

  • At least he can say that he tried! Most people go through life without even trying. (HT: @crucker)

  • This is not how you pivot to premium, American Airlines.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  2. Re: Muslim on Qatar flight.
    Seinfeld reference here. Apologies in advance.
    It reminds me of the soup Nazi episode. Except with a “no soup for Jew” line.

  3. I’m not sure why a 15-year-old would not look for his family before or after boarding a flight and also couldn’t read the sign that said Milan, not London. Also, apparently Menorca Airport only has 16 gates. How lost can you get?

  4. Regarding avoiding Jews on Saudia:

    I’ve flown Saudia (JFK-RUH and JFK-JED) many times (and I’m fortunate: my clients generously reimburse for business class).

    I make no secret of my religion (Jewish), either in-flight or in-country, and I’ve been treated only with respect by my clients in KSA, the random guys I workout with in a gym near my hotel in Jeddah, and by the cabin staff on Saudia.

    I’m just one data point, but my experience is only positive in the Arab Gulf States (KSA, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE) if you are as polite as your hosts, and just keep your own biases and judgements to yourself.

    I have been going to KSA for clients on-and-off for over 20 years, and the changes in KSA are remarkable. On my last trip to Jeddah in December 2023, my wife decided to come with me (on our dime), and she decided, while I was running a two day workshop in Jeddah, to travel to Riyadh by herself. A few years ago this would have been absolutely unthinkable. She flew JED-RUH and back, stayed in a modest downtown Riyadh hotel, and visited restaurants, museums, and markets all by herself, with no problems at all. A few years ago, this side-trip would have been unthinkable, likely resulting in her being arrested by the morality police, having her visa ripped out of her passport book, and being scolded and sent back home on the next flight. Based on my informal dinner conversations with local policy makers, in a few years there will be beachfront resorts on the Red Sea serving alcohol to the guests. KSA is quickly moving into the 21st century.

  5. @SE_Rob — That’s actually pleasantly surprising; thank you for sharing here. Hope they continue with that progress and openness. It’s refreshing, especially for that region.

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