CRAVING INFLIGHT MEALS AFTER MONTHS WITHOUT INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS? WELL, IT APPEARS YOU AREN’T ALONE, JUDGING BY THE SUCCESS OF THAI AIRWAYS’ NEW RESTAURANT.
The airline has pivoted to serving its inflight meals, which are prepared by its international chefs, at Thai Airways’ head office – and according to Reuters – to great success.
Some of the meals on offer include grilled eel and ginger beef with Japanese rice, braised E-fu noodles with prawns, and mustard lamb chops Mustard with thyme and mustard sauce.
There’s also tandoori chicken breast with tomato cream sauce, and grilled chicken shish taouk with biryani rice – meals that attracted more than 100 diners to Thai Airways HQ last Thursday.
“I ate a lot,” Pirachat Pengthongworrapetch, 36, who heard about the restaurant online, told Reuters. “It’s better here than in the air because it’s cooked to order.”
Thailand has halted its commercial flights to try to prevent an outbreak of coronavirus infections. The country’s national carrier, Thai Airways filed for bankruptcy protection in May.
But diners can still meet the airline’s cabin crew, who greet them in full uniform as they enter the restaurant. The restaurant is decorated with plane parts and seats to lend it an authentic aircraft feel.
“Spare parts from engines, windows and fan blades were used as furniture,” Thai Airways Catering managing director Varangkana Luerojvong told Reuters.
Varangkana added that the restaurant, which reportedly serves around 2,000 meals per day, was a way to recoup some lost revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Reuters, there are also plans to turn other Thai Airways offices into similar dining experiences.
Airlines around the world have come up with creative ways to offload items that are normally used for inflight services.
Qantas in August made the move to sell its excess business-class pyjamas, amenity kits and snacks, which the national carrier distributed as lockdown care packages.
