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Bringing food on board the plane
Basically the food service "system" has gone into
chaotic mode, completely balkanized. International flights are still more or less OK but the passengers have to otherwise go completely into a defense mode. If "they" wont feed us, we feed ourselves. Marinated herring anyone?? Long live things garlicky. The cabin attendants are now garbage collectors. **** Airplane food: Winging it at Sea-Tac By Stuart Eskenazi Seattle Times staff reporter Air travelers hungering to eat while flying this summer will find that in-flight meals are worth little more than peanuts these days. Thankfully, airports are responding to the famine by offering a feast of grab-and-go food options that are tastier, healthier and, in some cases, smellier than anything a flight attendant ever has served on a plastic tray. At Seattle-Tacoma International Airport's new Pacific Marketplace food court, for example, Dish D'Lish's neatly packed Northwest salad is a vast improvement over the wilted lettuce and unripe tomato wedge that used to pass for a garden variety salad on airlines. But the Northwest salad's crumbled blue cheese is, as it should be, rather ripe. Want bread with your salad? Well, Dish D'Lish's olive tapenade makes a superior spread to the pat of margarine typically included as part of in-flight meals. But the tapenade's flavor ‹ and smell ‹ is enhanced with garlic. The trend away from in-flight meals and toward grab-and-go food is nothing to sniff at. Then again, maybe it is. One thing is inarguable: The new order of eating on planes is creating a new order of passenger etiquette. "I don't particularly like it when people carry their food on the flight," said Travis Myers, who was passing through Sea-Tac last month on his way home to Houston. "I don't want to share my food aromas with everyone else ‹ and vice versa." Fortunately, Sea-Tac is not Safeco Field. Garlic fries are not served within 10 miles of the airport. But if watching someone eat eel makes you squirm, then better not look beside you because your seatmate might have brought on board some sushi rolls from Maki of Japan, another of Pacific Marketplace's eateries. "As passengers, we need to be considerate of other people in terms of smelly food," said Wendy Stafford, a former flight attendant and president of Orlando-based Airline Inflight Resources, which trains prospective flight attendants. Rather take your own food? Try these sandwich recipes tested by Seattle Times home economist CeCe Sullivan: Bagels with Smoked Salmon and Dill Cream Cheese Focaccia with Capicollo Ham, Smoked Provolone and Green Olives Ciabatta with Salami, Artichokes and Fresh Rosemary Although travelers are more prone to bring cold foods than hot foods onto a flight, Pacific Marketplace does offer malodorous greasy options of Wendy's burgers ("Can I have extra onions with that?") and Ivar's fish, which tends to smell like, well, fish. "I don't mind the smell of fish because I like fish," Stafford said. "But I do realize that other people don't." As a way to cut costs, domestic airlines steadily have been pulling back on the frills of food service, offering only meager snacks (pre-packaged nuts, crackers and cookies) and beverages on board. While some continue to serve tray meals on transcontinental and long-haul flights, others have ended the complimentary service altogether for coach-class passengers. A few airlines are selling sandwiches or other basic fare to passengers with growling stomachs. The best advice for travelers is to know before they go whether a meal is being offered on the plane, and then plan accordingly. Passengers are advised to bring food from home to eat on board or, if possible, eat at the airport before boarding. One benefit of having to arrive at the airport early in order to pass through security is that it sometimes gives passengers time to sit down for a meal before their flight. The practice of passengers eating in the terminal not only is a blessing for those sensitive to smells wafting through a claustrophobic airplane, it's also more healthful. Diana Fairechild, a former flight attendant and author of books about the comforts of flying, "Jet Smarter: The Air Traveler's RX" and "Strategies for the Wise Passenger," suggests travelers eat before they board the plane because altitude impairs the body's ability to digest. "In the past, we had a mindset that eating on the plane was something we had to do to while away the time," said Fairechild, of Kauai, Hawaii. "Even if we weren't hungry, we'd mindlessly eat because the people next to us were eating. I don't think we should look at the loss of meal service on planes as something we are being deprived of or something that we are going to miss. We should think of it as a lucky thing because people will be healthier." But air travelers need to fly smart, too. "I worry about the inexperienced travelers, the elderly or people with kids, who don't realize they aren't going to get fed on the plane," said Mindy McCabe, of La Conner, snacking on a sandwich and sipping on a soda while awaiting a flight out of Sea-Tac to her second home in Ontario, Calif. "I was on one flight recently where some kids were cranky because they were hungry so the parent asked the flight attendant for extra snacks and was told, 'You should have thought of that before you boarded.' I couldn't believe it!" For every story about flight attendants holding back on the goodies, there are at least as many about flight attendants being more generous with what little they have to offer. "When I order orange juice now, I get the full can along with the plastic cup," Myers said. "They'll toss you three bags of peanuts instead of just one or two." That also means extra cans and bags for a flight attendant to pick up ‹ not to mention the burger sack, the salad container, the sushi tray and the pizza box. "What you'll notice on Alaska Airlines is our flight attendants making two or three times more passes through the aisle with a heavy garbage sack in response to people bringing more of their own food on the plane," said Sam Sperry, director of corporate communications. "We want to keep the airplane as clean as possible during flight." Bringing food on board raises several new challenges for keeping planes clean. Qdoba Mexican Grill, also in Pacific Marketplace, offers burritos that are both good and messy ‹ and when a burrito squirts, what comes out has to land somewhere. "If someone leaves a huge mess, just remember that somebody else, usually a flight attendant, has to clean it up later," Stafford said. |
#2
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Stupid ass, you thought you were on rec.travel.air, didn't you?
Ooops I gave him the address, now he'll be flooding that group with european travel topics ! Silly me "Earl Evleth" a écrit dans le message de news: ... Basically the food service "system" has gone into chaotic mode, completely balkanized. International flights are still more or less OK but the passengers have to otherwise go completely into a defense mode. If "they" wont feed us, we feed ourselves. Marinated herring anyone?? Long live things garlicky. The cabin attendants are now garbage collectors. **** Airplane food: Winging it at Sea-Tac By Stuart Eskenazi Seattle Times staff reporter Air travelers hungering to eat while flying this summer will find that in-flight meals are worth little more than peanuts these days. Thankfully, airports are responding to the famine by offering a feast of grab-and-go food options that are tastier, healthier and, in some cases, smellier than anything a flight attendant ever has served on a plastic tray. At Seattle-Tacoma International Airport's new Pacific Marketplace food court, for example, Dish D'Lish's neatly packed Northwest salad is a vast improvement over the wilted lettuce and unripe tomato wedge that used to pass for a garden variety salad on airlines. But the Northwest salad's crumbled blue cheese is, as it should be, rather ripe. Want bread with your salad? Well, Dish D'Lish's olive tapenade makes a superior spread to the pat of margarine typically included as part of in-flight meals. But the tapenade's flavor and smell is enhanced with garlic. The trend away from in-flight meals and toward grab-and-go food is nothing to sniff at. Then again, maybe it is. One thing is inarguable: The new order of eating on planes is creating a new order of passenger etiquette. "I don't particularly like it when people carry their food on the flight," said Travis Myers, who was passing through Sea-Tac last month on his way home to Houston. "I don't want to share my food aromas with everyone else and vice versa." Fortunately, Sea-Tac is not Safeco Field. Garlic fries are not served within 10 miles of the airport. But if watching someone eat eel makes you squirm, then better not look beside you because your seatmate might have brought on board some sushi rolls from Maki of Japan, another of Pacific Marketplace's eateries. "As passengers, we need to be considerate of other people in terms of smelly food," said Wendy Stafford, a former flight attendant and president of Orlando-based Airline Inflight Resources, which trains prospective flight attendants. Rather take your own food? Try these sandwich recipes tested by Seattle Times home economist CeCe Sullivan: Bagels with Smoked Salmon and Dill Cream Cheese Focaccia with Capicollo Ham, Smoked Provolone and Green Olives Ciabatta with Salami, Artichokes and Fresh Rosemary Although travelers are more prone to bring cold foods than hot foods onto a flight, Pacific Marketplace does offer malodorous greasy options of Wendy's burgers ("Can I have extra onions with that?") and Ivar's fish, which tends to smell like, well, fish. "I don't mind the smell of fish because I like fish," Stafford said. "But I do realize that other people don't." As a way to cut costs, domestic airlines steadily have been pulling back on the frills of food service, offering only meager snacks (pre-packaged nuts, crackers and cookies) and beverages on board. While some continue to serve tray meals on transcontinental and long-haul flights, others have ended the complimentary service altogether for coach-class passengers. A few airlines are selling sandwiches or other basic fare to passengers with growling stomachs. The best advice for travelers is to know before they go whether a meal is being offered on the plane, and then plan accordingly. Passengers are advised to bring food from home to eat on board or, if possible, eat at the airport before boarding. One benefit of having to arrive at the airport early in order to pass through security is that it sometimes gives passengers time to sit down for a meal before their flight. The practice of passengers eating in the terminal not only is a blessing for those sensitive to smells wafting through a claustrophobic airplane, it's also more healthful. Diana Fairechild, a former flight attendant and author of books about the comforts of flying, "Jet Smarter: The Air Traveler's RX" and "Strategies for the Wise Passenger," suggests travelers eat before they board the plane because altitude impairs the body's ability to digest. "In the past, we had a mindset that eating on the plane was something we had to do to while away the time," said Fairechild, of Kauai, Hawaii. "Even if we weren't hungry, we'd mindlessly eat because the people next to us were eating. I don't think we should look at the loss of meal service on planes as something we are being deprived of or something that we are going to miss. We should think of it as a lucky thing because people will be healthier." But air travelers need to fly smart, too. "I worry about the inexperienced travelers, the elderly or people with kids, who don't realize they aren't going to get fed on the plane," said Mindy McCabe, of La Conner, snacking on a sandwich and sipping on a soda while awaiting a flight out of Sea-Tac to her second home in Ontario, Calif. "I was on one flight recently where some kids were cranky because they were hungry so the parent asked the flight attendant for extra snacks and was told, 'You should have thought of that before you boarded.' I couldn't believe it!" For every story about flight attendants holding back on the goodies, there are at least as many about flight attendants being more generous with what little they have to offer. "When I order orange juice now, I get the full can along with the plastic cup," Myers said. "They'll toss you three bags of peanuts instead of just one or two." That also means extra cans and bags for a flight attendant to pick up not to mention the burger sack, the salad container, the sushi tray and the pizza box. "What you'll notice on Alaska Airlines is our flight attendants making two or three times more passes through the aisle with a heavy garbage sack in response to people bringing more of their own food on the plane," said Sam Sperry, director of corporate communications. "We want to keep the airplane as clean as possible during flight." Bringing food on board raises several new challenges for keeping planes clean. Qdoba Mexican Grill, also in Pacific Marketplace, offers burritos that are both good and messy and when a burrito squirts, what comes out has to land somewhere. "If someone leaves a huge mess, just remember that somebody else, usually a flight attendant, has to clean it up later," Stafford said. |
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