Frequent flyers have markedly different opinions on food when travelling. Some people will chow down on everything in sight (guilty as charged!) while others wouldn’t touch airline food with a barge pole.
Whether you have airline lounge access or not, there is a dilemma. Do you feast on the goodies at the airport or save yourself for the flight?
Delicious Airport Food
Airports of the world have a myriad of choices when it comes to eating. You can get standard fast food from global chains, all the way up to bespoke offerings from celebrity chefs. The only restriction is your budget really.
Chow Down In The Lounge
Those with lounge access, whether paid for or as part of frequent flyer status, have a dilemma. Eat the free food offered in the lounge or wait until you’re on board? Clearly if you’re flying economy with no food service, chow down hard! It’s a bit trickier when flying in business class or first class, as the on board offering is generally of a very high quality.
Eating On Board
On the flipside, some prefer to chow down on the flight. It goes without saying that those flying first class or business class will likely take the meal as it’s usually fairly elaborate. On daytime flights, it also helps to pass the time.
Overall Thoughts
Personally, I virtually never eat in the airport proper. For one, the general atmosphere is not particularly pleasant and also keeping one eye on the clock does not make for a relaxed experience. I’m told that the food at Tokyo Haneda is especially worth eating, so that is on my list, but otherwise no.
When I have airline lounge access, I will always eat a plate of something as it would just be rude not to. On those few occasions where there has been a first class dining room involved, I’ve eaten four courses on the ground before flying. On board, I eat everything put in front of me and it is very rare that I am not satisfied.
What say you? Are you like me and chow down on everything in sight because yolo, or are you more particular about where and when you eat while travelling? Thank for for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Gordon Ramsay image via Gordon Ramsay’s Plane Food.
It all depends on the journey.
St. Louis (STL) is my home so most of my flights are 2-4 hours depending on non-stop vs. connection. My travels these days are mostly domestic USA/Caribbean. I always have a ziploc bag with some breakfast bars and bite sized chocolates in case I get peckish on board. I generally like to depart between 7-9am and since I live a mere 10 minutes from the airport I can usually have a quick and filling breakfast before I head to STL. If I have a layover somewhere between flights and at least a 90 minute connection I may grab something at the airport between flights.
Last December however I had a specific eating agenda when I booked a day trip STL-DAL-ABQ-DAL-STL for two reasons. To add New Mexico to my states visited list and to eat at Whataburger at Love Field, DAL. Whataburger is a BIG DEAL in Texas and I wanted to see if it lived up to the hype. It did not. Just another burger place, nothing special IMO.
This September I’m heading to LAX for Crankyflier’s annual Dorkfest where we will meet at In-N-Out burger and watch the planes for a couple of hours. Aside from being at Dorkfest, I also want to try In-N-Out which is a BIG DEAL on the West Coast. We’ll see…..!
So sometimes eating is a planned part of the journey and other times I just eat when I’m hungry. I’ve also been known to buy a grab-and-go sandwich to eat on the plane, but nothing hot and smelly that may offend the other pax on the plane. Common courtesy isn’t totally dead here in the States.
I think you’ve illustrated that very well indeed. In Sydney, my parents live 10 minutes from the airport, so I can do something like you, eat first then be at the airport and be away in relatively short order. I’ve never ever brought food with me on board to have on the flight though! I know a lot of people do it.
Good to know on the Whataburger. I’ve always heard In-N-Out burger is something to check out, but I have yet to go there. I did try Shake Shack in Washington DC and thought that was quite good. To be fair though, I’ve almost never had a bad meal in the United States. Food there is always superb!
Enjoyed reading that, so thank you!
I love eating on board, even if Im flying an LCC. Theres just something exciting about eating a meal, even if it is pre packaged when one is 30000 feet in the air
I agree with you completely! I very rarely fly and don’t eat. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I haven’t.
“DO YOU EAT BEFORE A FLIGHT OR DO YOU CHOW DOWN ON BOARD?”
Yes, and yes 😀
Hahaha! Me too – glad to hear it! 🙂