London - Leading British children’s food writer Annabel Karmel has criticised airlines for serving “horrible” food on flights.
She said airlines frequently “destroyed” food by overcooking it and said many parents “don’t trust” meals served on planes.
She also criticised the lack of healthy snacks on flights, saying too often junk food was offered.
She said: “Airlines should be able to provide good food for children. I think it will get better, but currently it’s pretty unhealthy. A bag of crisps, maybe biscuits and some dried-out food.”
Karmel said a recent British Airways flight had left her in no doubt that airlines were failing customers. “I was served what they called a ‘salmon salad’. It was a piece of warm, salmon fillet – I have never eaten anything as dry as that.
“How anyone could think that would be a good meal on a plane is beyond me.”
Karmel also doesn’t hold back when it comes to breakfast. “Omelettes end up dry as a bone, scrambled eggs are congealed. Airlines would be better off serving a croissant and cereal.”
The criticism comes as British Airways released research on what passengers like to eat. It said butter chicken curry, Cadbury’s chocolate and lager were all hits with flyers, but added that requests for healthier options, such as peppermint tea and sparkling water, had also increased.
A spokesperson defended the in-flight food, saying: “We’re disappointed that Annabel Karmel didn’t enjoy her dining with us on her recent flight and apologise if her meal wasn’t up to our usual high standard.
“British Airways is committed to constantly improving the menus for our customers, so they can chose from a range of dining options from healthy to indulgent.
“We always source fresh food wherever we can and ensure our suppliers provide us with produce with local provenance and have worked hard to reduce salt and remove all hydrogenated fats.”
Karmel said that there was lots more that carriers could do to improve food for children and that she was already working with an unnamed airline.
“Forget starters. Do a really nice main course that can be heated up and not destroyed. A hidden vegetable spaghetti bolognese can be brilliant – using something like penne because it’s more robust.
It isn’t just long-haul carriers that could improve, says Karmel.
“You go on easyJet and it’s extra to buy Pringles or a Heinz tomato soup that’s just about passable. (A sandwich might be) white bread with a bit of cheese and ham in it, it’s disgusting and you pay extra for it. Why not have granary bread or something like a chicken salad?
An easyJet spokeswoman said the airline’s food offering “has been carefully put together to cater for a wide variety of budgets and tastes”.
“Unlike legacy airlines, we offer our passengers the flexibility to choose from a comprehensive range of sandwiches as well as snacks like tasty couscous and lentil savoury pots. For our younger passengers we do offer a snack pack which includes healthy snacks .
The low-cost carrier said it would be introducing more salads and organic drinks to services from this week. – Daily Mail