Jaunted - Tag: In-Flight Meals

Virgin Atlantic's Big News: Sexy New Clubhouse, Sexy New Seats, Sexy New S & P Shakers

JetSetCD — 2012-02-08T12:20:56-05:00

When some sweet airline news comes down the pipeline, we get a little shiver of a thrill. The latest carrier to give us those goosebumps of expectation is Virgin Atlantic, as they've got a slew of updates hitting the sky later this year:

· New Upper Class seats, coming Spring 2012.

100 million GBP. That's how much Virgin Atlantic is laying out to get you all laid out in "enhanced" Upper Class seats and enjoying all their spring 2012 upgrades. While we don't yet know specifics like seat width, gadgets or even the design, we do know that the seats will debut on the airline's London-New York route in just a few months. Following this, VS planes will get the Upper Class refresh throughout the world, over a period of three years. Stay tuned, since details can't be kept secret much longer.

JetBlue Updates Their Snack Boxes, But Thankfully Not Prices

kjb — 2012-01-31T09:34:50-05:00

Everybody loves snacks—especially since those 2012 resolutions have long faded away—so now's the perfect time to discuss some new in-flight offerings. JetBlue enjoys passing out plenty of free bits and bites, but they also have some more substantial options for sale in the aisles as well. There's new stuff on the horizon, as they just announced that they’re updating and upgrading some of their offerings as part of their Eat Up! Program.

It sounds like the new and improved options hit the skies over the last week or so, and in total there’s four unique boxes. Beef Up, Shape Up, and Cheer Up all remain priced at $5.99, and there’s even a "Mix It Up" option for the kiddos—but they promise that it’s good for everyone. The beef option is more of a protein snack box with stuff like salami, cheese, crackers, and bagel chips. The healthy option will get you stuff like hummus, fruit, nuts, and some pita chips. They’re pitching the Cheer Up option as the perfect side dish to a glass of in-flight wine—and it is—as it’s filled with cheese, fruit, and crackers.

Five Favorite Airline In-Flight Snacks and Where to Buy Them

Chanize — 2012-01-25T12:17:09-05:00

Free airline snacks are far and few between but there are some so good, we don’t want to wait for another flight to taste them again. Luckily, we’ve done some sleuthing and found our favorites in grocery stores and specialty shops around the country. Found your favorite in-flight goodie on the road? Let us know!

· Constant Craving: Biscoff Cookies
Delta Airlines has raised the hackles of many a customer, but you’ll find few willing to complain about the sweet, crunchy, cinnamony goodness of the Biscoff cookie. We were thrilled to find them in our cookie aisle, but even better? The new Biscoff spread made up of 50% of Biscoff cookies. There’s even a new crunchy version with chunks of cookies in it (swoon!). We’ve tossed aside our peanut butter and Nutella with scorn and slathered this goodness on everything from toast to English muffins. Yeah, it’s a problem.

Where to Get ‘Em: The cookies have been spotted in Walgreens, Ralphs, and even Walmart, but the spread can be found in the peanut butter section in stores like Shop Rite, Kroger, Hannaford, Wegmans, and even on Amazon.com.

Virgin Australia: Now with Sexy, Sexy Business Class

jetflyboy — 2012-01-18T11:40:34-05:00

Last time we checked in with the happenings of Aussie aviation, Virgin Australia was opening up new lounges all over their network, repainting planes and re-branding airports. It seems, however, that they may have saved that best for last. This week was the official launch of Virgin's business class cabin across their entire fleet of Boeing 737s and Airbus 330s.

Rewind to April 2011, when Virgin Australia was still Virgin Blue, and very busy refreshing itself to become a new airline capable of going head-to-head with rival, Qantas. Since the collapse of Ansett in 2001, Qantas has been the sole player in the domestic business class market. Fast forward to now, where Virgin Australia is sparkly and shiny, and has eliminated their low-cost model to become a premium airline contender.

First Class Food from a Five-Star, Onboard Chef? It's Coming to Etihad.

jetflyboy — 2011-12-13T13:13:57-05:00

This is some next level stuff. First Class in-flight meals on Etihad—the Abu Dhabi-based airline—are now being prepared by a qualified chef. No, really; one person is dedicated to cooking, preparing and plating the meals served in the front of the plane. Yes, you read correctly: cook!

Etihad announced the hiring of 110 restaurant-caliber chefs to fly back and forth from Abu Dhabi to a handful of cities while preparing the menu for the Diamond Class cabin. The chefs will also be responsible for contributing to the evolution of the menu and meal choices both in-flight and on the ground in the each of the airline's lounges. Each chef will need at least 6 years experience in a 5-star restaurant to be welcomed aboard, and there are even some Michelin-starred restaurants that have lost their chef to the airline.

Shocker! Virgin Atlantic's Economy Food is Actually Pretty Decent

juliab — 2011-11-28T16:35:51-05:00

You may remember we told you a little while back about a rather underwhelming experience in Virgin Atlantic's economy class from London to Vegas. Luckily, we're pleased to report the food was much, much better.

First, a bit of background. This member of Jaunted is not a fan of airline food—even in business class. We were also seriously unimpressed with the meals consumed in premium economy a couple of years back, with the exception of a recent excellent Full English Breakfast. Alas, we still didn't have much hope for economy.

But what do you know...for economy, it was actually very decent.

A Doc Ranks Airlines with the Healthiest In-Flight Snacks of 2011

JetSetCD — 2011-11-22T15:58:44-05:00

A snack in First Class on Virgin America

Over the next few days, millions of air travelers are going to sit down to eat something they likely wouldn't otherwise. It's called an in-flight meal and, as with the airlines themselves, the quality varies. Some will be stuck with "nuts or pretzels?" while others live in luxury with "chicken or beef?" What will you choose this holiday travel season? Allow a doctor to help out...

Dr. Charles Platkin, PhD, MPH is an assistant professor at the CUNY School of Public Health at Hunter College in NYC and he's just published his "2011 Airline Food Survey" at DietDetective.com. Reviewing in-flight menus and nutritional information for offerings on Air Canada, American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, United, US Airways and Virgin America, Dr. Platkin rated each airline out of four stars based on the protein, variety and calories of their onboard offerings. The findings are kinda shocking...