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Japan’s largest airline has started offering luxury meals aboard a parked plane called a “winged restaurant”, for £ 390 a meal.
Diners were quick to relive the cabin dining experience on Wednesday, despite being unable to travel due to the pandemic.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) offers “passengers” the choice between a first class seat with food for 59,800 yen (£ 391) and a business class option for about half the price, at 29,800 yen, on board. of a stationary Boeing. -777 at Haneda Airport in Tokyo.
Guests are asked to choose between a Japanese or an international menu in advance. Main courses include grilled sablefish with saikyo miso, simmered beef, and tofu; Wagyu beef with Kobe wine mustard; and sea bass and seafood stir fry bisque served with Japanese sake, plum wine or Krug champagne.
Yosuke Kimoto, 42, who had a business class meal with his 14-year-old son, told Kyodo News: “It was a delicious meal. I’m glad my son enjoyed it too. ”They were among the 60 guests who had lunch on board the first day of the service, and a similar number dined.
His son was also impressed. “Business class was drastically different from economy class in terms of food and seating. It was so spacious, and the seat was like a bed when reclined, ”she told Nikkei Asia.
ANA will offer 22 lunch and dinner sessions this month, each lasting approximately three hours. There is no inflight entertainment, but customers receive amenity kits and can also use the airline’s lounge at the Haneda Domestic Terminal.
Singapore Airlines became the first airline to tap into the public’s appetite for onboard dining last October, when it began offering meals on two A380 superjumbos parked at Singapore’s Changi Airport. Tickets were sold out in less than half an hour, despite the £ 360 price to eat in a first-rate suite, with a chance to see a movie as well. Economy class meals were more affordable at £ 30 per head.
The pandemic has plunged the global aviation industry into its worst crisis, as many planes around the world remain grounded amid travel restrictions and coronavirus lockdowns, prompting some airlines to think creatively about what to do. with their idle planes. At ANA, employees reportedly came up with the “winged restaurant” idea.
Meals on board have been surprisingly popular. ANA started selling economy class international meals online in December and they sold out quickly. It sold 264,000 meals and had revenue of £ 1.3 billion as of March 12. The airline said the beef sukiyaki and hamburger steak with demi-glace sauce served with buttered rice and creamy scrambled eggs disappeared within minutes.
British Airways now also offers first class cabin meals from £ 80 for home delivery, starting this week. Sells two-person four-course meal kits on a selection of vegetarian, fish and meat dishes through caterer Do & Co. Starters include Loch Fyne smoked salmon with mustard dressing, followed by Slow-cooked British beef cheeks, a selection of cheeses and bread made from dark chocolate and orange liqueur and butter pudding.
Similarly, Finland’s national airline, Finnair, started selling business class meals in a supermarket near Helsinki International Airport last October, which turned out to be a hit at € 12.9 for takeout (10, £ 90).
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The Australian government has launched a 1.2 billion Australian dollar (£ 660 million) package for people to fly domestically again, which will cut the price of 800,000 flights in half through July. Airlines reported a surge in bookings when they began selling half-price tickets on Thursday when the Queensland government lifted travel restrictions.
BA owner International Airlines Group has called for the introduction of digital health passes for passengers to allow the airline industry to recover, as the company reported a record loss of € 7.4 billion for 2020 la last week.
IAG has worked with the industry body, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), on a digital health verification application. The IATA travel pass app allows passengers to receive Covid-19 test results and verify that they can travel through the “OK to travel” status. It is being tested by various operators.
