This just in...US Air will now start taking bids from Paul Newmann, McDonald's, and anyone else who wants to sell Turkey sandwiches onboard US.


http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/031219/dcf008_1.html

US Airways to be First Airline to Offer Wolfgang Puck In-Flight Cafe Meals for Sale
Friday December 19, 9:44 am ET


ARLINGTON, Va., Dec. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- US Airways announced today that it will offer signature menu items from Wolfgang Puck on In-flight Cafe-designated flights beginning Jan. 1, 2004, becoming the first airline to offer the celebrated chef's high-quality fare onboard.

US Airways, working with LSG Sky Chefs, introduced the In-flight Cafe program on July 1, 2003. Customers traveling in Coach Class on most domestic flights of 700 miles or longer and on some Caribbean flights have the opportunity to purchase restaurant-quality meals onboard.

Award-winning Master Chef Wolfgang Puck, known for popularizing contemporary California cuisine, is chef and owner of a number of celebrated restaurant concepts, including Spago, Chinois, Granita, Postrio, Trattoria del Lupo, Vert, the casual Wolfgang Puck Cafe and the quick-casual Wolfgang Puck Express. Puck is the star of his own Emmy Award-winning television show on the Food Network, and is the author of several best-selling cookbooks.

"We are very excited to be the first airline to bring Wolfgang Puck's world-renowned fare to the skies," said Sherry Groff, US Airways vice president of in-flight services. "US Airways is dedicated to providing our customers with quality meals onboard, and we think Wolfgang Puck is a perfect fit."

"By creating meals adapted from Wolfgang Puck restaurants in-flight, we continue to raise the bar regarding the level of culinary excellence that air travelers can expect from our In-flight Cafe program," said Stephan Egli, global senior vice president of marketing for LSG Sky Chefs. "We hope passengers will continue to enjoy the convenient option of being able to purchase and enjoy restaurant-quality meals in-flight."

Lunch/dinner meals are available for $10. The Smoked Turkey Sandwich lunch/dinner selection includes shaved boneless turkey breast on focaccia bread with lettuce, tomato and remoulade sauce, accompanied by a salad of baby spinach, dried apples and caramelized pecans with Wolfgang Puck signature vinaigrette on the side. The Chinois® Salad selection is comprised of fresh mixed cabbages, marinated chicken breast strips and crispy wontons served with a side of Wolfgang Puck Chinois® dressing and fresh-baked focaccia bread. Both meals come with a coffee-fudge brownie and a bottle of spring water.

During the first quarter of 2004, In-flight Cafe breakfast selections will be based on combinations of popular breakfast selections. Customers may reference Attache magazine for current In-flight Cafe menu selections onboard rather than the menu cards previously distributed.

The first breakfast selection is comprised of egg salad on a butter croissant with tomato slices and lettuce, accompanied by a fruit cup, and low- fat yogurt. The second breakfast option is comprised of a fresh fruit bowl of cantaloupe, pineapple and kiwi accompanied by a honey wheat croissant, and low-fat yogurt with a crunchy granola topping. Both meals are available for $7 and come with a bottle of spring water.

In-flight Cafe meals are available for purchase onboard, currently with cash only. More information on In-flight Cafe is available online at usairways.com/inflight_cafe.

LSG Sky Chefs developed the In-flight Cafe program to offer airline passengers the option to purchase restaurant-quality meals inflight. LSG Sky Chefs is the world's largest provider of integrated inflight solutions, including catering, procurement and equipment management. LSG Sky Chefs caters 260 airlines from approximately 200 customer service centers in 46 countries. In 2002, the companies belonging to LSG Sky Chefs Group achieved consolidated revenues of $3.1 billion.

US Airways is the nation's seventh-largest airline, serving nearly 200 communities in the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America. US Airways, US Airways Shuttle and the US Airways Express partner carriers operate almost 3,300 flights per day. For more information on US Airways flight schedules and fares, contact US Airways online at usairways.com, or call US Airways Reservations at 1-800-428-4322.


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Source: US Airways

[This message has been edited by minnie (edited Dec 19, 2003).]

After having terrible (not just mediocre, but incredibly bad) meals at two of Pucks restaurants, I'm not a fan. Give me Bob Kinkead any day.

I ate at Spago's back when Wolfie was there - I wasn't that impressed. I guess I'm just not a foodie.

It seems to me that they are trying to "justify" the high prices for meals by associating it with a "celebrity chef". C'mon, I can get a better sandwich from my neighborhood deli or supermarket and bring it onboard.

You guys are tough. I'm with you that Wolfgang Puck's resaturants aren't all that, but it's better than Bennigan's.

I'm not sure I love the idea of egg salad for brekkie, however.

After the poor experience my friends and I had with Wolfgang Puck's in Denver (good food, but BAD service), we've renamed it "Wolfgang Sucks". Next...

Doesnt matter...still gonna be made by LSG, and still gonna be airline quality...and most importantly...IFC is still gonna suck...

N674UW

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by GregLeg:
After the poor experience my friends and I had with Wolfgang Puck's in Denver (good food, but BAD service), we've renamed it "Wolfgang Sucks". Next...</font>

Along with the bad service I had at this location, the food was pretty bad.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/rolleyes.gif

We are talking airline food here. I've eaten at several of WP's restaurants. I'd be hard pressed to call any of them 'horrible' experiences. Then again, as has been pointed out, we are talking LSG airline food here. I'm just glad we won't be seeing the same thing month in and month out. Good for US for mixing it up a bit. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif

I didn't find the celebrity Envoy meals to be too impressive, so I'm sure they're not going to wow me with some $7 egg salad.

I've had the chinois salad at the Wolfgang Puck Express in Arlington and it's pretty good.

I had this exact meal (turkey sandwich, bottle of water) the other day at ORD's Puck Restaurant (in Terminal 1), and it cost me almost $12....

Folks this is marketing for the great unwashed who don't travel but once a year, not for the seasoned traveler who can smell BS form here to CCY. Give them a break I actually kinda like the idea from a marketing perspective. I fly from PHL so unless and until they have Cibo do the catering I couldn't care less. Cibo is so good i actually eat at the club regularly

I'm not so sure it's marketing for the once-a-year crowd, though. If that were the case, there would be no need to change the menu often, because that crowd wouldn't notice.

The semi-frequent changes is an attempt to get a known name for the infrequent flyer, AND give the frequent flyer a little variety. Personally I don't have a problem with that, I was just having fun ripping on this particular choice...

Maybe some braniac will realize that instead of changing vendors every 2 months, they can just change the menu offering?

I wonder whether each successive vendor "swears off" the IFC business with US because its tough to make money? I have a hard time believing the grand plan was to change vendors every few months. I dont care whether LSG is really the prime vendor - it cant be worth all the effort to go through so many companies so quickly.

I agree completely. Something is up here. It takes time money and effort to switch vendors--US is not doing this to keep the menu fresh to please frequent fliers.

I think this is a lose lose for vendors. Didn't someone mention that F Class snacks would not longer be IFC-type meals? Is that the case?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by hscottm:
Maybe some braniac will realize that instead of changing vendors every 2 months, they can just change the menu offering?

I wonder whether each successive vendor "swears off" the IFC business with US because its tough to make money? I have a hard time believing the grand plan was to change vendors every few months. I dont care whether LSG is really the prime vendor - it cant be worth all the effort to go through so many companies so quickly.</font>

Not that the people at the Crystal Palace are doing a great job, I don't think that we can give them the credit or the blame for the changing of the "brands" of the food that is served in the In Flight Cafe meals. This is an excerpt from a LSG news release:

As LSG Sky Chefs continues to add popular brands to its roster of In- flight Cafe restaurant partners, which already includes Wolfgang Puck, T.G.I. Friday's, Einstein Bros, Vie De France, D'Amico & Sons and Fresh City, the process is in place to begin rotating these brands among participating airlines approximately every 90 days. During the time that a particular brand is served on an airline, the meal selections will change monthly or according to a schedule determined by the airline partner. For lunch and dinner, menu development will continue to focus on fresh salads and sandwiches, which are popular among travelers.

"The In-flight Cafe program continues to be well received by passengers, and the approach of rotating participating brands among our airline partners will help LSG Sky Chefs offer even more choices for those who are interested in purchasing quality meals in-flight," said Egli. "LSG Sky Chefs' role is to help airlines make the flying experience as convenient and comfortable as possible, and early indicators show that having high-quality meal options in- flight increases passenger satisfaction."

In-flight Cafe meals are currently priced at $7 for breakfast and $10 for lunch or dinner. All meals include a bottle of spring water.