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SINGAPORE, Oct. 24 (AFP): Hundreds of travel-hungry diners ate lunch and watched seatback movies aboard two parked Singapore Airlines jets that became pop-up restaurants on Saturday.
With the aviation industry in deep crisis due to the coronavirus pandemic, airlines have turned to alternative ways to raise cash, from offering “flights to nowhere” to airplane tours.
Singapore’s flag carrier, which cut thousands of jobs and grounded nearly all of its planes this year, offered passengers the opportunity to dine aboard two superjumbos A380s, the world’s largest airliner.
On Saturday more than 400 diners checked into Changi Airport and went through the usual security checks before arriving on the plane for lunch.
“The food is quite surprising, it is better than what they serve during the flight,” Zhou Tai Di, a 17-year-old student in economy class, told AFP as he ate his soy sauce glazed chicken with spicy fried eggplant. and rice.
The event saw some rumors make their way back to a section of the transit area at Terminal 3. – The Straits Times / ANN
Some settled in for a nap while they waited for their food to be served, while others watched movies on the backrest entertainment systems.
About half of the seats were left empty, according to social distancing guidelines.
Calvin Teo, a 29-year-old civil servant and aviation buff, paid Sg $ 321 (US $ 236) to be served a six-course meal in business class, and said he missed flying and hoped to recreate the experience.
“Of course the feeling of flying will be better, because there is the excitement of going to a new destination, of exploring a new destination, and although we cannot do it now due to Covid, this is a good substitute for now, to recreate the feeling. to take a long-haul flight, “he told AFP.
The most expensive option is an eight-course meal of Sg $ 642 in a first class suite, while the cheapest is Sg $ 53 and consists of a three-course meal in economy class.
A limited number of diners were also able to tour the double-decker plane and take selfies with the pilots in the cabin.
The track meals proved surprisingly popular: The airline announced six additional sessions after more than 900 lunch tickets were sold out within 30 minutes of opening reservations earlier this month.
The airline is also offering home delivery of meals by plane, but has dropped plans for “flights to nowhere” – short trips that start and end at the same airport – following a protest over possible environmental impact. – AFP
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