It’s safe to say that Singapore Airlines Economy Class meals haven’t been getting the best of press lately, with customers complaining about a decline in quality, as well as quantity.
That’s not even mentioning the grief they’ve received for their new short-haul boxed meal concept, or the recent trial of paper-based serviceware on medium and long-haul flights (which, by way of update, the airline has decided not to proceed with).
So it probably comes as a welcome relief that Economy Class passengers will have something to cheer from 1 June 2023, as the airline restores appetisers to selected flights.
Singapore Airlines restoring appetisers to Economy meal service
Currently, Economy Class passengers on short-haul flights (< 3.5 hours) receive one main course and one dessert, while those on medium and long-haul flights (≥3.5 hrs) receive one main course, one dessert and one bread roll.
From 1 June 2023, Economy Class passengers on medium and long-haul flights will once again be served an appetiser with their meal, as first spotted by MileLion community member Ming Zhi.
Short-haul flights will receive an additional bread roll.
Appetisers on Singapore Airlines typically consist of a salad of some sort, although on certain routes they may be more localised (e.g. passengers on SQ11 from NRT-SIN can look forward to Japanese soba noodles as a starter). You can check the menu for your upcoming flight up to eight days in advance via this link.
Restoring the appetisers will help bulk up a meal tray that’s been looking increasingly sparse in recent times, though it won’t quite bring things back to pre-COVID days either. Before the pandemic, Economy Class passengers could also look forward to a serving of cut fruits with every meal.
⚠️ Correction: Based on browsing AirlineMeals.net, it seems that even pre-pandemic the default was to offer fruits or an appetiser, but not both. A handful of photos feature both, but those could be special meals. Singapore Airlines has also confirmed that cut fruits will be making a return as the appetiser for breakfast. |
Here’s the thing though: if you asked Singapore Airlines why the appetisers were removed in the first place, you’d probably get a response to the tune of “our research showed that customers weren’t consuming the appetiser”.
I guess we’ll have to take their word for it, since we don’t have access to that data. But optics matter, and receiving a half-empty tray doesn’t look good for an airline gunning for “world class” (even if they have made the tray smaller!). No matter the actual reasons, it always leaves you open to accusations of penny-pinching.
Moreover, if you’re on a long-haul flight you’ll take every distraction you can get, and if an appetiser helps stretch the meal by even 10 minutes, that’s surely a tick in the win column.
So I’m glad to see appetisers making a return, even if Singapore Airlines does have some way to go before they can match what STARLUX is offering…
Singapore Airlines’ comments
I reached out to a Singapore Airlines spokesperson for comment, who confirmed that appetisers are indeed returning from 1 June. Additional context was also provided, some of which makes for interesting reading:
-Singapore Airlines |
Conclusion
Economy Class passengers on Singapore Airlines can look forward to a slightly more filling meal from June, as the airline restores appetisers to its service once again.
It’s certainly a step in the right direction for the airline, and hopefully cut fruits and hot towels won’t be far behind (in fact, SQ has put out a tender for the latter!)
Do you actually eat the appetiser in Economy Class?
