4.5 hour flight and no free refreshments?

[BlueJeansNiceTop]

Granted I’m more of a long haul traveller on decent airlines that give you complimentary meals, drinks and booze.

But I’ve just come off a 4.5 hour TUI flight and was astonished not to even get a free cup of tea. Is that the norm now?!

I haven’t flown it myself but I recall some friends telling me about some budget airline doing trips from Sydney to Hawaii where you had to pay for any food or drink and they just took provisions for the flight rather than waste money on sub-par airline fare.

Not sure if this still exists or failed to take off.

Meal deals are the answer! I'm not a fan of airline food so get one even when a meal is provided. And I can't be doing with having to sit with the tray of half empty food in front of you for blooming ages!

Pretty normal

But the other day I flew delta from Vegas to Seattle and we had free soft drinks- so maybe it’s different with the American ones?

Cake you are right about BA.

iirc it was 2013 when I flew to the East coast of USA but had to change in Heathrow. So I was on the plane for only 1 hour (from Manchester) but got a full breakfast. It was amusing to see how quickly the cabin crew had to run around to distribute the food and passengers had to eat up quickly.

We got a meal and one drink when we flew to Cape Verde with TUI, which is a 6hr flight. Anything less than that we've had to buy drinks etc so we usually get a big bottle of water in the airport and have something to eat before we board. I do buy a peppermint tea on board, though.

I think the american airlines are different.

Last year i went from JFK to SFO and was plied with constant soft drinks and bags of pretzels, crisps and other bizarre snacks.

I think there may have been booze too but perhaps that was to pay for.
This was on JetBlue.

Thankfully I had picked up a Boots meal deal; good job too as the on-board prices were astronomical!

Yes I must have been spoiled in the past. Bloody love Lufthansa with the unlimited double Baileys and Prosecco!

There should be, but there isn’t and there isn’t a whole lot the customer can do about it easpecially on a tight budget so you are stuck with Ryanair and the suchlike

We flew Tui to Kos and yes very basic flight, nothing given out, no entertainment, very dated plane, paid to sit together, for what was quite an expensive holiday. Wouldn't rush to fly with them again, have booked separately since to choose who we fly with.

The thing is though the budget ones aren’t always much cheaper overall. I was going to somewhere in Europe and a better carrier going from Heathrow was charging £100. A budget from Stanstead was £35. However, it costs me £3 to get to Heathrow on the tube, but £25 to get to stanstead. I had a suitcase to check in which was free with the more expensive flight but the charge was £20 for the cheaper one (each way so £40 total). If I wanted to buy snacks or pick my seat that would have added on more costs.

Tbf, back in the day when you'd be given a plastic tray with inedible crap in it, we always used to say "here comes the salmonella". My Mum lived near the factory that produced airline meals and they would sell them off in the factory shop for 25p each.
We did always comment as well that it's a psychological thing isn't it? Why would you even NEED anything to eat in a 3-4 hour flight?
My first ever flights, 50 years ago, were with an airline called Court Line who gave all the children model airport/'aeroplane kits to build.

They went bust pdq as well.

The norm. This is why Boots meal deals are so popular in airports
Very true.
I normally fly at least once a month to main Europe but always with Ryan Air, easyJet, Norwegian or other low cost carriers.
I did a 4.5 hour flight a few moths ago that need a connection from Frankfurt and I flew with Lufthansa. We got a meal and a drink from Manchester to Frankfurt and then the same meal again from Frankfurt to our destination and the same coming back!
It was certainly a surprise .

The other surprise was I had a comfortable seat and no one felt squashed!!

Definitely the norm and agreed re Boots meal deals, what we always get at airports.

They've all gone stingy with a few exceptions. I pack a picnic and fill up our water bottles once we're passed security. Tui, what a corny stupid fucking name why'd they change it, is a rip off.

BA were alright, but then last Summer we were on a 10-hour day flight trans-Atlantic, and the purser or whoever heads the crew decided he couldn't be arsed to work so had all the lights turned off for 8 hours of the flight and if too many got up to complain the captain switched o the seatbelts sign. Felt like being in detention. Then he had the nerve to say 'hope you had a nice rest' when we landed.

So they will never get the thousands I spend on flights again. Cunts.

Personally, KLM is my preference.

I always wonder how much bottles of water bought in airports contribute to the overall profits of Boots/M&S/WHSmith. Seeing as how 99% of passengers buy one as soon as they have cleared security.

Until I was 18, I only ever flew business class. Then went to Paris with my friends and we flew easyjet and I couldn't believe it! Nothing complimentary and the prices of a glass of wine or can of juice.... omg.

It was then that I realised I'd been a snob but was completely unaware that I was!

Slightly off topic but we were very excited to find a Tunnock's stand inside Glasgow airport the other year giving away free boxes of tea cakes and wafers.

I don't mind paying for food on the flight. I do object to the mark up on M&S food on BA, though.

More and more airports now offer water dispensers at certain points inside again so you can use a refillable bottle. I don't drink alcohol on planes but BA was still doing complimentary booze last year on long hauls.

I've never in my life heard of LoganAir, but I really want to fly with them now!

I bet they just fly from Edinburgh to Glasgow or something. Maybe the Faroe Islands.

Normal these days.
I live in another country and the food at my local airport is also extortionate and no nice Boots' Meal Deals - so I pack sandwiches and snacks and then buy a drink after security.
Love flying to Norway as they have fresh water fountains everywhere in their airports!

More and more airports now offer water dispensers at certain points inside again so you can use a refillable bottle

I bought a 500ml collapsible bottle off ebay for pennies (like pic). It lives in my travel bag now. Just fill up once through security.

And for the short haul flights I take where refreshments are chargeable, I just (shock horror) cope without food for a couple of hours. I'm not going to die of starvation.

KLM rule - if you don't fancy the cheese sandwich they'll give you smoked nuts if you ask nicely (they have a secret stash for Business Class). They also give slices of oddly tasty plastic spongecake on the morning flights. Aer Lingus are the worst, 900* odd euro for a 'panini' that will burn the lip off you whilst making the cabin smell of rot and despair.

(*slight exageration. slight.)

DinaCallente that Bangkok airways flight to Koh Samui is awesome, the food is a lovely start to the holiday noodles for breakfast as is the butterfly pea tea drink!
...and the flight attendants are fabulous too....no wonder they've won awards!

I’m a coeliac so I have to take food with me. My compensation is that what I’m eating is invariably nicer than what everyone else is eating!