Tag Archives for inflight meals.
Singapore Airlines took two of their latest configuration Airbus A380s and turned them into a popup restaurant. They offered tickets for “Restaurant A380 @ Changi” yesterday and their two planned dates (October 24 and 25) sold out in 30 minutes.
So Singapore is extending the concept, offering the restaurant for a longer period, and has also created a waitlist.
Back in June Thai Airways, unable to transport many passengers, pivoted into the prepared meals space offering food pre-orders for pickup at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports. Now they’ve taken their culinary aspirations and grown that into a new airport cafe.
The new restaurant just opened yesterday, and is decorated with real airplane seats, model airplanes, and “even an airstair at the entrance that would (probably) make you miss boarding their iconic purple planes.”
Don’t expect a return to meal (tray) service on American Airlines any time soon. And when they’re ready to offer meals again expect something ‘more modern’ which in my experience is usually code for something cheaper and less extensive,
With the global pandemic, airlines have looked to cut costs wherever they can, while saying the changes are driven by safety concerns.
Just last weekend I reported that American Airlines, which started giving out fruit and cheese plates in domestic first class on flights over 900 miles, eliminated meals on the longest domestic flights of more than 2200 miles (such as Miami- Seattle) and similar-length international flights. They’ve already done an about face on this plan.
Airlines are differentiating their approaches to the pandemic. Offering a better experience is a key strategy to winning business away from other airlines.
For U.S. consumers who do not live in an international gateway city, a connection is required. And as Air Canada brings U.S. flights back online, this matters because they’ve historically been the foreign carrier serving the most U.S. destinations – making the one-stop required for an international trip just as easy via Canada as via many U.S. cities. Air Canada is a direct competitor of U.S. airlines for U.S. passenger international trips.
American Airlines is dropping meals on most domestic flights that are over 2200 miles as well as short haul international. These flights, that have been receiving single tray meal service in first class throughout the pandemic, will get a fruit and cheese plate instead.
Here’s why this ‘first world problem’ actually matters more now than ever.
Domestic flights over 2200 miles will no longer receive meal service and the same applies to close-in international flights, too. Long haul international premium cabins will still receive meals.
When people (1) fly because they have to, and (2) don’t have many competitive options because of reduced schedules, inflight product doesn’t drive business. And airlines are looking to conserve cash. Even when business turns around, it’ll take time for product to recover as carriers try to manage their debt burdens.
In the near-term, airlines are restoring their schedules (somewhat) on domestic routes and there are (some) more passengers willing to travel. That means competition starts to matter.
Speaking to employees this week at a Crew News forum, American Airlines CEO Doug Parker shared that he wasn’t in the loop on the decision to cut meals from inflight service. Cuts are being made across the company faster than ever before.
A key point for turning around an airline, or any business, is delivering a product customers will pay for. And when you’re not the low cost provider in the industry, you need to earn a revenue premium, and the details of the product therefore matter most.
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 »
