51–60 of 88 posts
But the article does take a weird take. Also not sure how collusion is claimed here. I guess CAB counts as a forcing mechanism, but I am not sure one can argue collusion when it is the result of regulation. Was the regulation in bad faith?
Uh. It's nothing like as bad as it was 20-30 years ago.
Airline food used to be AWFUL. Like you would honestly not even bother unless you were on a very long flight and needed it. My experience is that the last 10 years or so, most airlines have decent food. It is nothing to get excited about or to look forward to, but compared to how bad it used to be it is now quite good. I would rate a lot of the food I've had on flights as fair to average. Compare that to "i'll only eat it if this flight spans two mealtimes" of the 80s-90s and here we are.
Singapore Airlines is actually quite good (even in coach). ANA is also good. If you fly on a US Carrier, just know its all the same provider regardless of airline. Their food is meh: perfectly edible, but not good. Pasta dishes usually reheat quite well, so that's often the safe bet when choosing a meal option.
Trust us guys. If you think food now is bad... you don't know what they COULD be serving you.
It's actually not awful, and besides, without an oven or grill or fryer, how good could it possibly be?
Check out some youtube video on Emirates or Singapore airlines on their suite experience on the A380. You will see how great the food can be before you go take your shower and go to sleep in your full size bed.
Anecdotal story/take: The Aegean Airlines (Europe) business seat has much, much better food in a 20-minute flight than the comparable business 5-7-hour flight in the U.S. (And for a lower price, but I'm not sure that is important to the point.) But the article does take a weird take. Also not sure how collusion is claimed here. I guess CAB counts as a forcing mechanism, but I am not sure one can argue collusion when…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've traveled for business a few times and a few times I got the company to pay for a first class seat up front. One time the first class cabin had a crying baby in it. Another time it was full of rowdy children. It turns out that rich people have children too. Paying for first class simply decreases your chances of dealing with such things, just like any other seat upgrade. I suspect that airlines could offer seats…
From what I've noticed, first class in the US is usually around 3x the price. As a big guy I'll usually swallow the bullet on cost. I really don't mind kids too much and like chatty people. Otherwise, I have noise cancelling headphones That said. I do think I can handle a whole can of soda. On the food front, I can pretty much take it out leave it.
I agree, and besides: We were all that kid at some point or another in our lives, probably many times too. The adults then were patient with us, so I think it's our turn to pay that hospitality forward.
This is obvious for anyone who took an airlines outside of USA eg Singapore air, Emirates, Cathay and ate real food with real cutlery and got a tub of hagendaz ice cream for dessert.
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Isn't the point that food in economy class is often worse than it needs to be for the cost, and food in first class is not good enough to justify the massively increased ticket price?
Yes, but many don’t buy first class for the food. On a red eye (often don’t serve much food at all and if they do it’s very rushed) it might be you need to sleep for a meeting tomorrow. Or if you’re tall, leg room + basic comfort.
The parent comment claimed that people "choose" the worse option, ignoring that the "better" option is marginally better food for usually 2x or 3x the price.
I haven't flown domestically (in any country) in about 10 years. The shortest leg of recent trips will be ~2 hours, either followed or preceded by a ~7-9 hour flight.
Parent's comment suggests I'm "choosing" worse food options (thankfully they are still an option, you can just choose not to eat on the plane) as if that's the only factor.
It couldn't possibly be that business class on the same route is more than 4x the cost, and for a family of 3 will cost the same as a brand new small car... just to get a slightly better reheated meal. Yes the meal is in a "nicer" seat, but that isn't the argument being made in the parent comment, is it?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, but many don’t buy first class for the food. On a red eye (often don’t serve much food at all and if they do it’s very rushed) it might be you need to sleep for a meeting tomorrow. Or if you’re tall, leg room + basic comfort.
As a fat and tall guy, it's all about the extra free inches of space. Worst seat is the back isle. Person in front of my pushed seat back and dislocated my knee. Short notice flying for work can really suck.
I'm 180cm and definitely could stand to lose some weight so I've experienced some uncomfortable flights - generally on Qantas. Surprisingly (given average national height/weight) the best legroom I've had was on Thai, followed by Singapore airlines.
But then I can't compare to US airlines, which if stories are true, sound just horrific by comparison for any number of reasons before legroom is even a factor.
I've flown long distance economy a lot, and business class a few times, and I just wish airlines would serve sandwiches instead of elaborate, mediocre meals. It would probably be better, and it would definitely be easier to eat in a cramped economy seat.
Business class is rarely worth it, it’s not priced for mere mortals. Most people have a corporation buying their tickets, or are using air miles to reduce the price, or they are 1%ers, etc.
I've flown long distance economy a lot, and business class a few times, and I just wish airlines would serve sandwiches instead of elaborate, mediocre meals. It would probably be better, and it would definitely be easier to eat in a cramped economy seat.
Dating myself, but I flew TWA back in the day and we got a complete bag lunch with sandwich and a few other things, complimentary. It's been downhill since then, but maybe that extra cost is why they're not around anymore?