Airplane food takes off
Posted
Sep 04 2009, 10:43 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Airplane food -- the butt of a thousand jokes -- is getting upgraded this summer at some airlines. Soon, you might see sushi, ice cream and gourmet cheese served during your flight, The Wall Street Journal reports.
It's an odd thing to do, in this age of cost-cutting, and particularly as airlines are increasingly threatened with swine flu and the downturn in corporate travel.
But better food is being eyed as a profit center for airlines. Food-for-purchase has been a bust (could the quality be any worse?) and any profits made usually went to cover the cost of the food that was thrown out.
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Now, the idea is to provide food in coach that actually tastes good -- for free or at a cost. The food itself may not bring in big money, but it will give some airlines a leg up in the competitive business.
So what's headed to the menu? The Journal reports that Delta Air (DAL) is trying out grilled chicken gyros, almond-butter-and-grape-jelly sandwiches, and Ben & Jerry's ice cream in coach.
Already, a standout hit has been the $6 fruit-and-cheese plate with a trio of cheeses that don't look like Kraft singles.
American Airlines is testing Boston Market sandwiches and salads, like a $10 chicken sandwich meal plate, the Journal reports. Hawaiian Airlines (HA) is rolling out the culinary red carpet, selling sushi bento boxes and satay chicken in vermicelli noodles.
It's about time airlines did this. They lose too much business to the restaurants that now populate airports. But people have grown accustomed to buying food at the airport to carry on the plane, and those habits are hard to change.
Image credit: Alessandro Scotti, Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 license
At the time of this writing, Kim Peterson did not own shares of any stocks mentioned in personal or client portfolios.
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