The food one is served aboard the plane is, at least for some travelers, an extremely important part of the travel process.
In the summer of 2023, a United Airlines (UAL) flight from Houston to Amsterdam ended up having to make an emergency landing in Chicago after a business class traveler became belligerent over the fact that his first choice of meal was not available. The promised choices were beef short rib, lemongrass salmon and ricotta salata with wild honey manicotti.
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This week, Alaska Airlines (ALK) announced that it would restart offering hot entrees as part of the in-flight menu that customers can purchase. Cut during the pandemic, the hot meal option will be available for purchase on Alaska flights of more than 1,100 miles. The airline’s longest flight is between Alaska and Hawaii so it only serves meals free-of-charge to business class travelers.
Alaska Airlines: ‘Guests have often asked if we’re going to bring back hot meals’
The new menu items include a Monte Cristo breakfast sandwich, a carnitas breakfast bowl, a panang curry chicken entree and pretzel roll sliders with chips. They will complement cold entrees like the sandwiches and fruit and cheese platters currently available on the same flights.
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“For a while now, our guests have often asked us if we’re ever going to bring back hot meals in the Main Cabin,” Alaska Airlines Director Of Guest Products Todd Traynor-Corey said in a statement. “It’s been difficult to keep it a secret – but for more than a year, our team has quietly worked behind the scenes taste testing the best hot food options with our culinary chef and creating a West Coast-inspired menu. Now no matter where they sit, guests will get to taste our world class food and beverages.”
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New menu offerings inspired by West Coast ingredients, different cities
But those who are used to just getting onto the plane and choosing from the menu will be disappointed: the hot meal options will need to be pre-ordered from two weeks and 20 hours before the flight. Each entree will range in price between $8 and $11.50 while those who use the Alaska Airlines credit card to order them will receive 20% back in credit points (this is a standard perk offered by airlines through their signature card.) Those ordering during the flight itself will need to pick between cold menu options and snacks Alaska Airlines has always been serving.
Each of the four new menu items were developed by Alaska’s Head Chef Tony Wright to highlight West Coast ingredients (despite its name, Alaska Airlines is based in Seattle) and tested by flight attendants from the cities after which they’re inspired. The Pretzel Sliders are made placed on King’s Hawaiian buns and served with the kettle chips many associate with the islands while the carnitas breakfast bowl is a nod to the Southwest.
“The creative process of selecting meals that made the most sense for the West Coast-based airline and then sourcing the freshest ingredients was a labor of love for all of us who were involved in developing this menu,” Wright said.
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