TIME: Almanac 1990/1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso/time/031389/03138900.017

Text File | 1990-09-22 | 6KB | 103 lines

TRAVEL, Page 76

You Want Me to Eat THIS?

How frequent flyers frequently flee domestic-airline food


    Thirty thousand feet above the Pacific, the businessman wakes
from a peaceful sleep to find the flight attendant placing a glass
of Dom Perignon on his tray. "How would you like your eggs, Mr.
Kliman?" His eyes fall on the small and tasteful burner resting
atop her cart in the aisle. A sigh of contentment. "Poached,
please." Has he arrived in heaven? Or is this merely Singapore
Airlines?

    Thousands of miles away, on a U.S. domestic airliner, another
flight attendant strides down the aisle and deposits a tiny tray
of what is optimistically described as chicken Kiev. A ragged strip
of batter and bone soaked in an indeterminate broth, nested in some
wilted greens, alongside a piece of cinder block with red gumdrop
icing. A sigh of resignation. "On the short hauls, I never eat
anything," says John Downard, vice president of Hoechst Celanese
in Charlotte, N.C. "I look at flying as an opportunity for
fasting."

    There are travel agents who will argue that if such carriers
as Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, Air France and Swissair were
allowed to fly the U.S. domestic routes, they could put a few of
America's airlines out of business. Ask any world travelers about
the difference in comfort and service and, particularly, the
quality of food, and many would say there is no contest. U.S.
carriers are notorious for serving meals that are poorly conceived,
badly prepared and sometimes unhealthy. By contrast, the food on
many non-U.S. carriers, even when catered by the very same firms,
is generally considered superior fare in both quality and variety.

    A reputation for decent cuisine does not come cheap: thanks in
part to government subsidies, some foreign carriers are able to
spend up to five times as much per passenger on food than U.S.
airlines do. "Since deregulation," admits Robert Adamak, manager
of planning and development for Eastern, "the U.S. airlines are
putting on more snacks and perhaps using less expensive products."
Among domestic carriers, Alaska Airlines is the most lavish ($7 a
passenger), while USAir is the cheapest, at $2.22. Foreign
carriers, on the other hand, may spend as much as $15, though the
coming of European deregulation in 1992 may dent the quality of
even Air France's free-flowing champagne.

    In their defense, U.S. companies point to the large number of
passengers they must feed on relatively short flights. Most
carriers rely on a network of catering companies operating out of
kitchens at major airports. The largest, Marriott In-Flite
Services, prepares about 150 million meals a year on 150 different
airlines -- including many foreign carriers. Thus while passengers
on U.S. domestic flights wrestle with their rubbery entrees,
Swissair passengers flying first class out of Atlanta may sample
smoked salmon, caviar, lobster medaillons, foie gras, pan-fried
trout or vacherin glace, among other esoterica. Even Swissair's
coach-class passengers are treated to veal roast with walnut sauce
and mocha mousse with kiwi -- and all provided by Marriott.

    The U.S. carriers are not completely insensitive to the groans
of hungry passengers. As they compete for frequent flyers, some
companies are finding that decent food can help promote passenger
loyalty. Alaska Airlines has started advertising that its "plane
food isn't plain food." Researchers at Chicago-based United sort
through the garbage to see what is regularly returned uneaten. One
result: the airline in March will stop serving canned fruit
cocktail on all coach flights. In April American will introduce a
Heart Healthy menu approved by the American Heart Association.

    At the same time, travelers are taking matters into their own
hands. Some have discovered the "special meals" that can be ordered
in advance and at least stand a chance of being fresher and better
prepared. The major carriers offer as many as 18 alternative menus,
including kosher, Hindu, vegetarian, high protein, no salt, low
calorie, low cholesterol, diabetic and children's. American's
seafood plate is particularly popular among veteran flyers. Special
meals cost the companies more because they require special handling
and are not mass produced. Says San Francisco businessman David
Kliman: "It allows me to choose what to eat rather than have it
just dished out."

    Some more duplicitous seasoned travelers order a special meal
when they make their reservation, then, if they like the look of
the regular meal once on board, deny that the special order is for
them. Likewise, there are the "double dippers," who savor the
vegetarian entrees but lament the tiny portions. They are known to
make two reservations for special meals and then ask the flight
attendant if by any chance an extra veggie entree has gone
unclaimed. Since special orders are so frequently fouled up anyway,
either tactic is likely to beat the system. But even if passengers
get the meal they ordered, they may wish they hadn't. Vegetarian
meals, though not mystery meat, may be mystery mush. Another ploy
is a double setup: two sets of rolls and salads and no main course
at all.

    The only guarantee of a decent meal, some travelers insist, is
the brown bag. Manhattan's William Poll, sandwich purveyor to the
Upper East Side top crust, prepares at least 50 boxes a week for
his customers. On any given Monday morning, an arbitrager on his
way to the coast will stop by to pick up his deluxe, shiny white
box. Inside: beluga caviar on thinny-thin slices of white bread,
a wedge of brie, English biscuits, a string-bean salad and a
chocolate mousse. Fellow passengers look on jealously, perhaps not
suspecting that this discerning gent finds $95 a small price to pay
for being spared an airline lunch.