Taking into account all the feedback, the spokesperson said the airline has decided not to continue with this new serviceware for the time being. (Photo: Shutterstock)
The trial was rolled out in March this year for economy class meals on a small number of medium-haul and long-haul flights, prompting criticism of the airline’s food standards, including the presentation of meals.
Singapore Airlines (SIA), a leading international partner of Air India, said on Thursday it will not continue using paper boxes for inflight meals on medium-haul and long-haul flights for now, following feedback from the trial earlier this year, according to a media report. The trial was rolled out in March this year for economy class meals on a small number of medium-haul and long-haul flights, sparking criticism of the airline’s food standards, including the presentation of meals, Channel News Some said the move made SIA appear “cheap” and that it was a cost-cutting measure, the report said. “Some of (our customers) have shared their feedback about the service products as well as members of the public. We have taken that to heart,” said an airline spokesperson. “We also received the operational feedback on the trial and noted that we may need to improve the design of the box,” the spokesperson said.
The March trial was part of SIA’s effort to “improve the flight experience on medium-haul and long-haul flights by offering more main course options” that were often requested, such as gravy-rich dishes such as laksa, mee siam and congee. Taking into account all the feedback, the spokesperson said the airline has “decided not to proceed with this new serviceware for the time being”. SIA uses paper food boxes for economy class meals on short-haul flights of less than three and a half hours.
In recent months, some netizens have given the flag carrier a thumbs down for its economy class meals, with the paper serveware trial sparking debate around the airline’s food presentation. SIA had previously responded to comments about cost-cutting, stating that the trial food boxes cost more than the disposable plastic dishes it uses, the report added.
Amid growing complaints, SIA reported a record annual profit of SGD 2.16 billion (USD 1.63 billion) earlier this month. The spokesperson said on Wednesday that the airline has not cut its budget for inflight meals. The current budget is about 20 percent higher than that for the 2019-2020 financial year, even though the airline expects its capacity to be lower than that year.
“SIA remains committed to continuous innovation with the goal of improving the in-flight dining experience and meeting and exceeding the expectations of our customers,” said the spokesperson.