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AIRLINE MEALS


to eat and satisfied hunger. At the other extreme, barely registering on the


 whilst 11% of


those surveyed would actively


avoid an airline if the food was bad yet the


flight arrived on time, 37% indicated they would tolerate a late arrival if the food was good. This demonstrates the importance of getting the food right in order to complement the fundamental nature of your operation. Referring back to the previous point about managing expectation within context, it is therefore essential to understand what those customers are expecting in terms of their inflight meal. The Leatherhead airline study showed four clear elements that a flyer expects to ensure that they are satisfied (Figure 1). The study also showed that over 60% of those surveyed desired the food to reflect the time of day and be free! The next greatest requirement was to ensure that the food was easy


scale, is the requirement to satisfy their normal dietary needs. This is particularly interesting in that whilst a consumer’s dietary needs – low in salt, fat and sugar for example – don’t change whilst inflight, there is little expectation for the inflight catering to provide that. In fact, 75% of respondents considered that to varying degrees the meals weren’t healthy to some extent, but this is obviously not a concern; this may be due to the fact that inflight meals are considered an isolated or one-off dining experience and the consumer feels that this is not necessary to consider. The response is reflective of a ‘food for fuel’


approach which would further emphasise the importance of satisfying hunger in order to ensure a happy customer. However, 42% did consider that the portions were small and 21% only ever ate them if they were really hungry. Considering the fundamental desired features fed back by consumers, which seem simple in many ways, it is therefore disappointing that only 19% of those surveyed expressed any degree of liking for inflight meals, with 38% expressing complete ambivalence. This is further compounded in the fact that 46% suggested the quality of the food was no


Figure 1. Desired Features of an Airline Meal Source: Leatherhead Food Research


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