There’s nothing like sinking your teeth into an appetizer of sautéed prawns and crispy short rib wontons with organic Thai barbecue sauce and chilled sweet-and-sour cucumber relish, right?
Yeah right.
Most of us will never get to wrap our lips around an appetizer that fancy in a traditional restaurant let alone in a flying fortress 35,000 feet in the air.
But that’s how good life can be if you fly first-class these days.
While complimentary meals are all but a distant memory for most of us coach passengers a few rows up first-class cruisers are dining on gourmet meals made by celebrity chefs.
Fancy first-class meals are the latest tactic airlines are employing to lure flyers to drop a few more bucks to upgrade to the front of the plane.
For example, United Airlines just hired award-winning chef Charlie Trotter to dazzle first-class flyers with his mouth watering culinary creations such as rosemary-scented shrimp drizzled with garlic sauce and served with lemon rice and artichokes.
Not to be outdone, Delta has partnered with celebrity chef Michelle Bernstein who whips up entrees such as roasted chicken breast with goat cheese and pepper pesto crust with polenta and ratatouille for the carrier’s elite passengers.
Competition is fierce in the airline industry. Then, you add on the soaring price of fuel and you see why carriers are pulling out all the stops to encourage passengers to drop extra cash on first-class tickets. Airline experts say that the demand for better food from wealthy passengers who have sophisticated and refined tastes has influenced first-class menu options. Carriers are looking to differentiate themselves from the competition and create repeat business.
I would love to dig into a 5-spice rubbed steak and risotto cake or a grilled chicken breast with goat cheese crostini and an organic spinach salad, but I’m not sure I would be willing to pay $2,000 per seat for the chance. Would you?
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