Random food thoughts
 

A couple weeks ago I completed my first two international flights WS. It was also my first time flying them in maybe 5 years and overall I was satisfied with the experiences.
As way of simple background my partner and I opted for WS+ for our flight to NAS and the return from MCO as we didn't want to be stuck on rouge and could not justify the price for premium rouge. Our experience met expectations of an e+ product so we were mostly happy.

However there were a couple things that caught my attention. The first was I gotta ask who thought it was a good idea to provide salami slices as a snack on an aircraft??!? Yes I get that "bold" flavours are a plus in a pressurized aircraft, but by the half way point the plane reeked like an elementary school lunch room!!!

Secondly and on a more serious note, I noticed that there appeared to be some rationing on board the flight. On the flight to NAS exYYZ another passenger who was sitting in 2a asked for the cheese tray in addition to one of the sandwiches for his meal and the FA responded saying that they had limited number aboard and that it should be saved for other passengers. She finally relented when he said it was for his partner who was dozing beside him. Saw something similar exMCO when heading back to YYZ, except it was with red wine.

Seemed a little cheap on the part of WS to guilt people into not having what they wanted (and paid for) so that they could later sell it to someone in the back.

Salami sounds great! Too much turkey everywhere

As for the cheese tray: I've never been able to buy it. Whenever I tried, the cheese tray was sold out before the cart reached my row. I started asking during boarding, to no avail. Once I was told "we only have two". I'm not sure why they are in such short supply. Maybe the cheese tray has a low profit margin?

Warm meals would be a real differentiator. I would invite WestJet management to study how Niki (HG) is doing it. I understand they earn good revenue with warm meals even on short flights (except for ultra-shorts). And those meals are actually tasty. (The airline is even selling their food at travel trade fairs and other events.) Niki also has premium meals, but those you have to order in advance.

They are a differentiator - for AC.

Thanks for the info.

I did the status challenge and I'm just starting to plan my non-vacation 2015 travel. In-flight offerings are pretty important to me, since I never budget time to eat on travel days (which usually involve transcons).

Why is this response so wordy? Because I know the WS poster will read this and will listen :)

Thanks for the info.

I did the status challenge and I'm just starting to plan my non-vacation 2015 travel. In-flight offerings are pretty important to me, since I never budget time to eat on travel days (which usually involve transcons).

Why is this response so wordy? Because I know the WS poster will read this and will listen :)

Hey folks,
This marks the first time our cabin's been compared to a school lunch room! Anything with both salami and cheese is actually among our most popular food items, including the cheese tray and the snack box.

Originally we did limit complimentary food in Plus to only one item, to be fair to everyone else in the cabin. Thankfully our guests' excitement for free food has subsided a little, but it sounds like our crew members was perhaps burned by a previous sell-out. It's certainly not the normal reply that we expect our flight attendants to give.

Hot food is now a part of our offering. For now, it's just on our Boeing 757 flights from Alberta to Hawaii, available on a pre-purchase basis only. We'll keep an eye on how this works and will consider making this available on our Boeing 767 services which start next year. We don't have any plans on installing overs on our Boeing 737 fleet at this time (or our Bombardier Q400s, for that matter - but I don't think anyone would have been expecting that!).

Cheers,
Darren

No joke, but the lack of hot food on WS was one of the top 3 reasons why I chose to AC after the draconian cuts. Just my feedback Darren! :) And again, thanks for coming on. I love reading your posts when I drop by here a few times a day! Still wearing the WS gold FT reference with pride...lol.

That is ridiculous, what “hot” food are you referring to on AC in Y? Pizza? "Limited Quantity" Meal Trays? Noodles? the "hot" food on AC in J isn't any better than buying something @ the airport food court either.

What’s even more ridiculous is all the back slapping on the AC forum for a company representative asking FT’ers to send pics of dirty planes so he can pass them on….that’s fantastic customer service for sure.

What else was in your top 3? AC planes don’t run out of fuel mid-flight? The Emergency doors are functional? Gimme a break…

Wow, a bit harsh, but given the culture of FT as of late, not surprising.

A warm meal can go a LONG way on a cross country flight where you are craving dinner. AC breakfast (sausage, eggs) is something that I, as well as many others crave (never done drugs, but I suspect this is close).

AC meals aren't awesome by any stretch, but they are mediocre. Sometimes pairing a mediocre meal with a few gins and tonics works (well in my case, it works very well). We've all been there where you are so exhausted from traveling that all you want to do is eat (to get some energy), and AC hits it for me.

If you want better meals, then you need to start learning what meals what station serves for its special meals. I'm not the only FTer that does this - at the last Micro Do in YUL, myself and another FTer were comparing AVML's. I've gone through the special meals and they are a notch above your standard chicken/beef/pasta/fish. (VOML's out of YYZ do it for me) (NLML's out of YVR do it for me)

As far as answering your other question as to why I still chose AC over WS. Definitely #1 = Aeroplan miles. (I earn easily over 150,000 miles a year and can attribute roughly $25k in annual travel (including SPG/Fairmont/MR) 2nd = Preferred seating complimentary (35" pitch like WS plus) for me (which means usually a cheaper flight than flying WS Plus, which I cannot expense anyways as the darn ticket shows "Premium Economy")

PS - by He, you are referring to Ben L, who successfully managed to get the two fins that were incredibly dirty and publicly shamed deep cleaned. So you might want to check your facts there..

I fully understand what special meal options are available, for me it's not a good use of time to chase that down when in the end no matter how "special" the offer is it's lacking vs. eating prior to boarding.

Yes I'm referring to Ben L but I think you are missing the point - why does it take FF'ers to post embarrassing pictures of; stained rugs & ripped seats in a lounge or filthy conditions on board in order for action to be taken? Why should we applaud and say THANKS! for doing something that should be expected?

I'm not sure how often you fly, perhaps more than me, I dunno, but I don't know of any FF, including a friend on FT that I met who is doing 400,000 AQM just on AC (not total) who doesn't enjoy a hot meal. But hey, i'll agree to disagree. Often, I enjoy a nice hot meal and a few drinks and then go to bed. Sure, not the best for me health wise, but I enjoy it.

I also cannot eat almost everything on BoB with WS and AC. The meals I can usually get away with (the chicken is usually dairy free) as I have a dairy allergy. But then again I'll usually clear my eUp and request a special meal.

As far as Ben goes, I don't disagree with you that AC should be proactive. I don't disagree with you airplanes should be cleaner - so please don't take it that way. Ben is an office employee who also believes in engaging with FFers. He convinced Ben S himself that he should engage with us and chose to still do it after we (all) vented on him during the Altitude 2015 changes. We presented him with a problem, he took it upon himself to try and fix it. Our feedback resulted in free same day changes in the Western triangle.

What would you rather have? UA doesn't have someone as active as Ben on the FT forum, and no amount of venting has shown us that UA is cleaning up their airplanes (deep clean).

FWIW, I (personally) love hot meals on flights. It could be because I'm a little OCD, because more than anything I love how everything comes so neatly organized. I also geek out on the menus and am sure to bring them back for our Buy-On-Board team. In return, I sometimes get asked to help taste test new products. :) ~Darren

That and this time of year must not be very good for your health :D

All a part of a balanced diet? ;)

Thanks for this Darren.
My sons are flying YYZ-VRA to visit me in Cuba and I have saved big $$ picking up on Westjet flights. Food will be taken care of (pre-purchase) and who cares about the "smell". My sons and I DO NOT give diddly. I saved $1276 Canadian on this flight as compared to the AC alternative. Yes, on WS they will pay for their food and drinks and pay for a bag on the way to Cuba, but SHEESH what a savings (102% over the WS fare or 51% or what AC would have cost).

$1276 can do wonders in Cuba - and in Canada too :D OTOH, those with sensitive nostrils can swallow the $1276 and fly AC and take their chances too. Maybe a Vicks inhaler could assist those in nasal distress... :rolleyes:

Thanks for the alternative, WestJet ^