A classic first world dilemma faced by many an SQ premium traveler is whether to Book the Cook or chance it with the inflight menu. Fortunately, Singapore Airlines recently started making inflight menus available on its website a couple of months beforehand, which alleviates some of the FOMO.
The airlineโs now gone one better by allowing passengers in Suites, First and Business Class to pre-select their main course from the inflight menu up to 24 hours before the flightโs departure. This means no more โsorry, we ran out of that optionโ, which Iโve admittedly never faced on SQ before.
Whatโs the difference between pre-ordering your meal and Book the Cook?
Wait a minute, you say. I thought SQ already allowed premium cabin customers to do that. Isnโt that what Book The Cook is all about? Thatโs a good question, and hereโs a comparison table for those of you who are confused:
| Pre-order Meal | Book The Cook | |
| Available out of | All destinations | ADL, AMS, AKL, BCN, PEK, BNE, CBR, DXB, FRA, HKG, IAH, LHR, LAX, MEL, MXP, MUC, JFK, CDG, PER, SFO, ICN, SIN, SYD, TPE, HND, NRT, WLG, ZRH |
| Cabin Classes | Suites/First & Business Class* | Suites/First, Business and Premium Economy Class |
| Selection Options | 3-4, depending on location | Up to 68, depending on location |
*Premium Economy will be added โin the near futureโ
In other words, pre-selected meals are meant to provide some certainty on routes where BTC is not available. Singapore Airlines now flies to ~62 destinations, and although BTC has expanded to cover 28 cities, thatโs still less than half of the overall network. Certain long haul routes like MAN, FCO and IST still donโt offer BTC, and given the flight time I imagine most people would like the assurance of getting a meal they enjoy rather than whatโs left.
FYI: If youโre flying out of a destination that also offers BTC, youโll still be able to BTC as per normal.
How do you select your pre-order meal?
Singapore Airlines says the inflight menu is available for selection from three weeks up to 24 hours before departure. In practice, however, Iโve found it available even before the three week mark.
Iโm flying to Bali on 14 January on the first leg of my honeymoon, and when I bring up my booking I can already see the inflight menu options:
Here are the three options available on SQ942, a 9.05 am departure out of SIN:
And hereโs what Matthew sees on his flight from PEK-SIN:
Adding photos would be nice, but I understand the constraints- the appearance of the dish can depend heavily on whatโs seasonally available, and caterers need the flexibility to swap things out as needed. The last thing theyโd want is some customer kicking up a fuss because the meal doesnโt look like the website picture.
Conclusion
This is a great move for both SQ and its passengers- the airline hedges against potential over/undercatering, and passengers get their meal choice guaranteed. Be sure to check out this option on your next premium cabin flight, as well as our BTC wiki which crowdsources images of the various offerings available out of Singapore!
Over cater you end up with wastage, under cater you get passengers complaining that they paid thousands for a ticket and canโt get a meal of their choice? Benefits both the airlines in cost management and reduces passengers satisfaction. A great move imho
Hi Aaron.. Have you actually tried it? Iโve been trying for days now.. selection done.. โSave & Exitโ.. then โSorry but we are unableโฆโ.
Frustratingโฆ
I have not, actually! Happy with my btc cod.
I recently tried both the Thai and Chinese versions of cod for the first time, and must say that I was very impressed with the perfect timing of the doneness of the fish.. the rice, both, were mehโฆ. but both fish were indeed excellent! ?
Iโve tried it on my trip back from BKK. The crew will confirm your order when you board ๐
Iโve experienced not getting my selected meal because I was seated at the back on one of my business trips back to Sg from Bangkok. It was quite disappointing so this is a refreshing surprise!
To me, its just a move to reduce costs.
Spun with a lot of nice marketing.
So imagine you and another pax are in 1st class. The plane just needs to load the 2 confirmed mealsโฆ Instead of potentially 2 BTCs and 4 menu choices.
I paid/redeemed for First Class seatsโฆ I deserve to be fickle and spoilt
I once flew back from Osaka and sat at the last row of Biz, only to be told that there werenโt anymore of the Kaiseki jap bento sets (usually only found on SQ-Japan flights). Made a din with the chief steward (โbossโ) and they somehow rearranged some hastily patched up combi, which was really disappointing. So I now learnt to sit right in front of Biz. In fact, besides ensuring the first pick at the choices, there is also extra legroom โฆ BTW, just came back from Shanghai and the Shi Quan Wei Mei set menu (in your pic) wasโฆ Read more ยป
Confession: Iโve never heard of Shi Quan Wei mei before this.