Airplane Food and Airport Restaurants
Airplane Food
My kids can’t stand airplane food. They’ve flown on a bunch of different airlines, and have never been happy with what’s been offered (there was even that time that US Airways charged for a cup of water, but that’s another story). Airline food really is something of a punchline – although air travel is no joke – and like most travelers, we now buy our meals at airport restaurants beforehand. Our favorite, merely in terms of convenience and lack of cabin-filling smell, is the array of sandwiches from Starbucks. We’ve found that there’s nearly always a Starbucks near a cluster of gates at major airports. There’s usually also a fast food chain like McDonald’s, but burgers and fries stink up a plane.
Now, terrible airplane food is not the worst thing that
United Airways Snack
can happen to a child during air travel, but that can of lemon tuna at American Airlines really has to go. Nasty stuff. And it’s (at this time) five bucks! I’m talking about coach class meals, by the way; business and first class meals come with little tablecloths and wine and real silverwear and (I imagine) a professional massage. Well, maybe not the massage, but warm nuts before the meal and warm cookies after typify the business class flight experience.
For the rest of us, herded like cattle into the less comfy seats of coach, I recommend leaving enough time before departure to stock up on whatever snacks you’d like from Hudson News and other kiosks, as well as those Starbucks sandwiches. I’m partial to turkey pesto, myself. In the meantime, if you’re flying on United, American, or US Airways, keep this in mind: A poll by SeatGuru had those three airlines ranked as having the rudest flight attendants AND the worst food. What a combination! So, foodie travelers, pick your airline wisely. It’s worth the extra time it takes to do a little research.
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2 Responses
Airline food is no joke…
Here is what I want to know, with food that is sooo bad why even offer it? I totally agree about bringing your own, I like to pack something from home, but it is always a challenge bringing it through security.
here is my tip – for water bring a camel-pack and fill it up on the other side of security (depending on the city of course, in the SF area the water is quite nice from the fountain, but in Las Vegas FORGET it
next is, get food that can be packed cold.. hot food that is brought on usually does not end well.
and finally, fly southwest, I know some of you don’t like them, but they
Fly everywhere (almost)
Let you have 2 bags for free
Let you pick your own seat (woot!)
Don’t charge for drinks or snacks
Have the great frequent flyer program of the industry
let you cancel and change your flight dates and times without penalty (or attitude)
are friendly and fun
are easy to get a hold of
make money (which is important because you don’t want to be stranded on the other side of a bankrupt airline
hard to beat.. #2 in my book is alaska airlines – they have great food too.
They actually got better, in my opinion, when they started charging. The little $5 snack pack with trail mix is better than any lame sandwich they’ve ever handed me. And the meals on international flights are really amusing: chicken or pasta? Like I trust them to get either one right under those conditions.
Julie Sturgeons last blog post..When in Naples, Look Behind the Bushes