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Food I Had Onboard XVI (mid-April to mid-May 2024)

Florian Buechting Airports and Airlines, Just Blogging No Comments

I had quite a lot of travel in recent times – so there is time for a new Food I Had Onboard posting. Hope you enjoy my culinary and service reviews of the flights I had.

 

13th April 2024, Eurowings EW 756, Cologne/Bonn (CGN) – Vienna (VIE), Economy Class

Austrian Airlines / Lufthansa rebooked me from a 09:35 departing own service to the 6:45 flight with Eurowings. No big deal, if they at least have given me a more legroom seat (as Lufthansa typically does) and also put my Senator number in the ticket. Thus, I had to pay 10 EUR for the additional comfort, which I highly appreciate. A passenger behind me collapsed twice, once still on the tarmac and a second time in the air. He recovered quickly both times, but of course, that meant that the crew dealt with more important things than service. Only BizClass had a bit of catering. I felt that the crew did an outstanding job here – no food picture for you, though.

 

14th April 2024, Austrian OS 213, Vienna (VIE) – Frankfurt (FRA), Economy Class

I had really been looking forward to that short hop. There have been quite a bunch of good flights with Austrian Airlines in the past. However, they have also been impacted by the “make flying cheap” virus. The only drink option on this flight was still water. At least, there was a bit of touch by the chocolate distributed after that service. All other items were for sale (including sparkling water, tea or coffee).

The service was overall charming, but I really did not like their attitude. Two passengers around me were able to use their notebooks during take-off. One of them did not even have his seat belt fastened – what he ashamedly recognized by himself after take-off. This person was a HON Circle member. Maybe the crew just treated him with too much respect. Bad luck, the A320neo was brand new. The crew was absolutely overchallenged by making the passengers put their carry-on suitcases on the short side of the major bins. Finally, some where completely empty, while in others passengers (disrespectfully, in my point of view) squeezed their stuff into the new, larger bins. Thus, the flight was at most an average experience – I expect much better from this Lufthansa Group airline.

 

26th April 2024, British Airways BA 931, Cologne/Bonn (CGN) – London (LHR), Business Class

The ground handling provider for British Airways in Cologne felt to have some major issues that day. The two check-in agents did not manage to manage the passengers in time – which then meant that they were too late to switch into the gate agent role. Once the plane had departed, the flight was lovely and I felt really happy to fly the Brits again. Lunch snack service was a choice of salad. I went for the chicken tikka salad option, which had quite a spicy touch, due to the curry dressing coming with it. The panna cotta with raspberry sauce had a bit too much fruit. People just don’t enjoy the beauty of pure panna cotta sufficiently. The crew was lovely, so that we had a slightly delayed, but really enjoyable flight.

 

26th April 2024, British Airways BA 782, London (LHR) – Stockholm (ARN), Business Class

After some work time in the lounge, I headed on to Sweden. The two hour flight came with full service: pre-meal drinks with nuts and a choice of three different main dishes, including a menu card. Two of the entrees were warm, I went for the shrimp red Thai coconut curry over the vegetarian pie. Third option would have been a charcuterie board. The meal came with a salad dish, a honey roasted apricots and masarpone desert and even a selection of cheese. In relation to the flight time, this has simply been an amazing service. The crew was lovely as well – and I had to be disciplined not being too tipsy when arriving at Stockholm-Arlanda Airport (ARN).

 

28th April 2024, British Airways BA 779, Stockholm (ARN) – London (LHR), Business Class

The service on the early morning flight (my afternoon service was cancelled and I have been rebooked) was a typical morning one. Thee choice of breakfast dishes was either a typical Full English Breakfast or a ricotta and tomato filled omelette. I went for the latter one. Again, the crew was absolutely lovely. The hot chocolate I had felt a bit of thin, but I absolutely appreciated to have one at all. On this weekend, British Airways definitely strengthened their role as my key carrier.

 

28th April 2024, British Airways BA 932, London (LHR) – Cologne (CGN), Business Class

The flight rebooking lead to an eight hour layover in Heathrow. The service to Cologne thereafter had a bit of delay due to technical issues at the airport. However, the crew handled the situation very professionally. The service was a choice of meat salad or vegetable salad. I went for the vegetable salad, which was definitely not Do & Co’s best, but rather solid. The fruit creme dessert was a really nice one, though.

 

7th May 2024, KLM KL 1904 (operated by KLM Cityhopper), Dusseldorf (DUS) – Amsterdam (AMS), Business Class

Heading off to the World Floorball Championships made me select KLM this time, due to their luggage policies for the camera. The first flight was the short hop from Dusseldorf (DUS). The crew was surprisingly neutral. I in general like the small sandwich bag, even though I would highly appreciate a chocolate over a dinner mint. The vegetarian sandwich was also rather average, the salmon one I had on this connection before was definitely the better treat.

 

7th May 2024, KLM KL 1255, Amsterdam (AMS) – Helsinki (HEL), Business Class

After my experience on the first leg was limited, I absolutely enjoyed my second flight of the day with KLM. The Boeing 737 service was nice. The crew was very friendly and attentive. I also like the “bento box”, how I like to call it. The sweet chili noodle salad with mango and shrimp was nice. I liked the nuts and the condiments as well.

 

13th May 2024, Finnair AY 1675, Helsinki (HEL) – Malaga (AGP), Business Class

If you are in Helsinki already… I just was too tempted about taking the mileage run loop to Malaga (AGP). The service started with a pre-meal drink, followed by the main course. The chicken with pasta was nice, even though I had better Finnair meals in the past. The starter was nice. The crew explained what it was, but it was a bit too complex for me. A chocolate bar for desert is not too thrilling, but delicious. The crew was very friendly and attentive, including two bread services and several drink rounds.

 

14th May 2024, Finnair AY 1676, Malaga (AGBP) – Helsinki (HEL), Business Class

On the return, I just cannot tell you too much about the service. I liked that they asked you whether you want the breakfast dish right after departure or rather close to Helsinki. I more or less slept the whole flight, even missing the gin and tonic I love to have on these kinds of flight. However, I practically always wake up for food. The breakfast was definitely a nice one.

 

14th May 2024, KLM KL 1252, Helsinki (HEL) – Amsterdam (AMS), Business Class

Again, I was still rather sleepy. However, I did go for lunch, which was really nice. The fresh carrot and fennel salad with white cheese and orange was definitely some food which was unusual for inflight meals, but it was really tasty. The walnuts and macarons in the KLM box were a nice addition as well. I really do like that they upgrade the box on flights of this duration with a bread roll and a warm snack. In this flight, I had two Indian vegetable pakora, which I definitely enjoyed. A very good flight, as the crew was very kind as well.

 

14th May 2024, KLM KL 1803 (operated by KLM Cityhopper), Amsterdam (AMS) – Dusseldorf (DUS), Business Class

There feels to be a lot of rotation in the KLM very short haul flight sandwich bags nowadays. This time, I had a cheese one, which was overall really delicious. The flight attendant was really nice as well. A good experience with KLM Cityhopper again.

 

Food I Had Onboard

My bites and drinks on flights and trains are shown in Food I Had Onboard:

 

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