Why Singapore Airlines’ paper box meals are a really bad idea

Earlier this week, Singapore Airlines broke the internet when it announced a trial of paper-based serviceware for medium and long-haul flights in Economy and Premium Economy Class. 

The scorn was swift and merciless (and predictable). “Looks like SAF cookhouse food”, “Coming soon: return your own tray after eating”, and “You guys misspelled ‘Scoot'” are some of the choice zingers– and those are just the ones polite enough to publish. If you’re part of the SIA social media team, chances are the past few days have been rough for you. 

There’s a lot of misconceptions floating out there, so perhaps it’s good to clarify a few things upfront:

• These rectangular paper boxes are intended for medium and long-haul flights in Economy and Premium Economy Class. Short-haul Economy Class flights will continue to use the square paper boxes and bamboo cutlery introduced in December 2020

	Economy	Premium Economy
Short-haul (<3.5 hrs)		Not offered on short-haul routes
Medium & Long-haul (≥3.5 hrs)

• Passengers will continue to receive metal cutlery in all cabins, except short-haul Economy Class flights (<3.5 hours) where bamboo cutlery is now the norm
• This is not a permanent switch, at least not yet. Singapore Airlines plans to run this as a trial on selected routes from 1-25 March 2023, after which it will restore the current serviceware while it evaluates feedback

• Portion sizes will remain the same. I remember this being a concern back in December 2020 when the square paper boxes made their debut; it got to the point where Singapore Airlines had to produce a video refuting the claim

And yet, so visceral has been the reaction that damage control is already underway. In comments provided to CNA, an SIA spokesperson reiterated the benefits of the new containers, while rejecting accusations of cost-cutting.

I have to say, I’m very surprised by the claim there’s no cost savings to be had. Even if the new paper boxes represent a recurring cost, there’ll surely there’ll be substantial ongoing savings from reduced weight, as well as washing fewer service items. 

But leaving that aside for a moment, there was one word here that really concerned me: elevate.

“This trial is part of SIA’s continuous pursuit to elevate the onboard dining experience. We have spent many months and invested resources in developing this new serviceware,” he said in a note sent to the media.

Now, I haven’t seen or touched these boxes in a real-world setting yet. For all I know, they could very well be better than the image many of us have in mind when we hear “paper box”. Like pudding, the proof of the box is in the eating. 

At the same time, however, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to have serious misgivings about the move. If Singapore Airlines really believes that paper serviceware helps to elevate the inflight experience, there’s two things I hope they consider. 

(1) This isn’t what “World Class” looks like

The internet rage may have caught Singapore Airlines off-guard, but perhaps it shouldn’t have. 

Even though the new blue boxes are more aesthetically-pleasing than the drab industrial brown ones found on short-haul flights, the optics will always remain a problem. Paper containers have an inextricable association with cheap takeout food (why do you think some fine dining restaurants were so reluctant to pivot to deliveries even during the pandemic?), and are entirely at odds with the way Singapore Airlines is positioning themselves. 

I thought it was making quite a statement that in their latest “World Class” ad campaign, Singapore Airlines chose to feature its Economy Class cabin. Not Suites, not First, not Business, but Economy. 

Unlike other airlines which plaster their First and Business Class seats on posters and would rather you forget that the back of the bus exists, Singapore Airlines is sending the message that it’s proud of all its products, from tip to tail.

And why not? The seat certainly makes the cut. Economy passengers enjoy at least 32″ of seat pitch on widebody aircraft, 1-2″ more than the competition. They also get a six-way adjustable headrest and personal inflight entertainment screens, plus quality-of-life features like a cupholder, vanity mirror and coat hook. 

What’s more, the airline has long resisted the temptation to go 10-across in Economy on its B777-300ERs, giving passengers some precious extra inches in a 3-3-3 layout (although it’s all but certain they’ll abandon this once the B777X comes into service). As far as the hard product is concerned, the rhetoric matches the record. 

It’s the soft product that’s sending mixed messages. While good times have returned to First and Business Class with pre-COVID elements like course-by-course dining, pre-departure drinks, physical menus, and warm nuts restored, things aren’t so rosy back in Economy. 

The cutbacks are plain to see. Fruits and appetisers are no longer served with meals, mid-flight snacks are by request only, paper menus are long gone, and perhaps we’ll never see that hot towel again. Heck, even those little salt and pepper packets have been missing for years now. For some Economy passengers, this new paper-based serviceware has an air of Naked Gun 33⅓ about it: The Final Insult.

I experienced the new normal first-hand when I flew to Seoul in November 2021 and the Economy meal on this 6.5 hour flight consisted of a main, bread and yoghurt- no fruits or appetiser to be found.

Before you write that off as a COVID-era blip, a recent report by Inflight Feed from Singapore to Melbourne looks little different. 

The meal was nothing special, a chicken dish with some rice and vegetables, but a decent serving of food. I appreciated the real cutlery, it would have been nice to have a salad/entrée offering or some fresh fruit/dessert rather than ice cream, but that’s my opinion. This offering is basic, and it’s nothing but a cost-cutting exercise and provides no value to the customer.

-Inflight Feed

Singapore Airlines will certainly claim that these changes were only made after detailed customer surveys and analysis of post-flight waste, but that’s missing the point: just because passengers don’t actively use something, doesn’t mean they don’t value the option. I rarely use the salt and pepper shakers in Business Class, yet I like to see them as part of the setup because it helps sell the idea that I’m in a fancy restaurant. Likewise, perhaps not every Economy passenger finishes the fruits and salad, yet delivering a fully-loaded tray sells the image of abundance and choice.

Look, we all know that Economy travel isn’t meant to be luxurious. Still, presentation matters, and a meal is one of the main opportunities for an airline to put its best foot forward. It’s painful enough to see short-haul Economy meals delivered in unappealing brown boxes, but for paper serviceware to become the standard for all Economy flights? 

It’s hard to see how this brings us any closer to “World Class”.

(2) This is the wrong direction for Premium Economy

Even if you could somehow convince me that paper-based serviceware is passable in Economy, I’d still put my foot down when it comes to Premium Economy.

As it stands, Singapore Airlines already has an image problem with meals in this cabin. In October 2022, I flew Premium Economy from Tokyo to Singapore and received the following: 

Frankly, you’d be hard pressed to tell whether this was Economy or Premium Economy (unless, of course, you knew that salads no longer feature in Economy!). Drinks are served in plastic cups, there’s no cloth napkin, and the main course isn’t even served in a plate- just a disposable plastic container. It’s already not a pretty sight, even without a paper box thrown into the mix. 

I mean, just consider how Emirates does meals in Premium Economy: white china, actual glassware, salt and pepper shakers, metal cutlery in a cloth napkin (that awesome Isigny Sainte-Mere butter doesn’t hurt either).

And before you dismiss that as bottomless oil money talking, perhaps consider examples from Virgin Atlantic, Air New Zealand, British Airways and Finnair.

I can’t speak to how good these meals taste, but people eat with their eyes first, and this presentation is much more appealing (by the way, all these are real-life examples, not staged publicity photos). Proper plates, glassware, and cloth napkins are de rigueur, and Virgin and Finnair even provide nice mugs for hot drinks!

What’s frustrating is that Singapore Airlines has some great tricks of its own in Premium Economy, like champagne and a choice of 18 Book the Cook meals. Then it goes and hamstrings itself with shoddy presentation; serving champagne in plastic cups that cost 80 cents each is not “elevation” by any means of the word. Is switching to paper meal boxes really the direction we want to go in?

It feels like the decision makers have forgotten there’s a kind of pageantry to inflight dining- more prominent in First and Business, though just as important in Premium Economy and Economy. Make all the jokes you want about airplane food; when you’re stuck in a middle seat on a 13-hour flight, you’ll take any distraction you can get. 

But what really stumps me is that using paper boxes in both Premium Economy and Economy narrows the quality gap between the two. Singapore Airlines should be doing all it can to convince Economy passengers that Premium Economy is worth the extra miles or cash, not make them look similar. 

Let’s not forget that Singapore Airlines Premium Economy fares are already close to what some “lesser airlines” charge for Business Class, if not more expensive. 

If you’re a traveller who’s paid a pretty penny for your Premium Economy seat, and come mealtime a paper box is unceremoniously plonked in front of you, I bet you’d think twice about upgrading in the future. 

It looks good on paper…

If you asked me to guess the thought process behind this, I’d say this is probably one of those things which looked good on paper (yes, I spent all night thinking of that pun). 

After all, objectively speaking the new paper boxes do retain heat and moisture better, and allow a wider variety of dishes to be served. And while there’s more than a little greenwashing going on here, there are environmental benefits arising from reduced weight and less single-use plastic (to those saying the boxes can’t be recycled because they’re contaminated with food waste, that was never the plan- they’re put in an eco-digester and converted into refused-derived fuel pellets), not to mention all the water and electricity saved from not washing a few hundred casseroles per flight. 

I’m not disputing the technical superiority of these paper boxes versus traditional casseroles. But optics and perceptions matter, and in this case, I reckon Singapore Airlines has read the room wrong. Customers pay a premium to fly SIA, and they want to feel like they get what they pay for. Seeing cheap-looking paper boxes (even if it’s not cheap at all to manufacture them, as the airline avers) creates the kind of cognitive dissonance that isn’t a great way to win friends and influence people. 

If the idea is to reduce waste, a much better way would be to nudge passengers towards pre-selecting their meal, or opting out altogether in exchange for a small incentive (in 2019, China Southern experimented with giving Economy passengers 200 miles for skipping the meal). This reduces the amount of catering required, while ensuring those who want the full experience still get it. 

What can you do?

Love it or loathe it, the paper boxes are coming. Menus on trial routes have already been updated for March, together with a brief justification for the new casserole. 

Singapore Airlines says that they’ll be reviewing feedback before deciding whether or not to make this permanent, so if you dislike the boxes, you need to make your voice heard. Look out for the post-flight email that ends up in your inbox (sent from no_reply@singaporeair.com.sg), and provide feedback to the crew onboard if the opportunity arises. 

Singapore Airlines, of course, is not the first full-service airline to serve meals in boxes. Back in 2014, Qantas decided to serve all domestic Economy meals in a box, eliminating trays altogether. The move attracted its fair share of ridicule, but customers eventually got used to it (the fact that portions were increased by 50% probably helped).

The thing is: Qantas never said they were “World Class”. Singapore Airlines, for better or worse, has branded themselves with that label, and if that’s the path you’ve chosen, you can’t act surprised when customers hold you to it.

The minimum standards for “World Class” are high indeed. And they should be.