Singapore Airlines (SIA) and SilkAir will offer a wider range of main courses on flights
under 3.5 hours from 1 December 2020, providing customers with a greater variety
of local Singaporean and international favourites on these routes as part of its new
Economy Class meal concept.
More than 40 new dishes will be available on rotation on different flights, including
Singaporean favourites such as congee, laksa and gravy-rich mee siam that were
previously not available in Economy Class.
Customers can now enjoy these meals after SIA replaced its plastic casserole service
ware with a new packaging solution, consisting of a leak-proof box and cup made
of Forest Stewardship Council certified paper, a dessert box and a cutlery pack made
of bamboo with a paper wrap. The unique box can hold the same amount of food
as the casserole but is deeper and more secure, allowing it to retain gravy and soupy
dishes without any seepage. It is also oven-safe and resistant to overheating,
ensuring that food quality is preserved even after reheating.
The new meal concept was developed jointly by SIA and SATS, the Airline’s
Singapore-based catering partner. After a study into potential pain points and areas
of improvement in the short-haul in-flight experience, and following months of
research and development, the companies designed a box that is both versatile and
eco-friendly, and yet also enhances taste, variety and meal quality.
This will also reduce the amount of single-use plastics, including cups and polybags
for cutlery, on the meal tray by 80 per cent by weight. Leftovers on the tray,
including the new service ware, will be brought back to Singapore, sent to an eco-
digester at SATS, and converted into pellets that can be used as refuse-derived fuel,
a source of energy that can replace fossil fuel and coal. The onsite processing of
waste reduces approximately 60 per cent of catering waste and further reduces
emissions from transportation to the incinerator. In addition, the use of lighter
paperware helps to reduce fuel consumption on flights.
Mr Yeoh Phee Teik, Senior Vice President Customer Experience, Singapore Airlines,
said: “We are delighted to be able to offer a greater variety and quality of meals on
our short-haul flights, including selections from Singapore’s popular local favourites
that we hope both Singaporeans and international customers will find familiar and
comforting. This is part of our continuous efforts to enhance the customer
experience while keeping sustainability at the forefront of our operations.”
Mr Kerry Mok, CEO Food Solutions, SATS, said: “Developing eco-friendly packaging
solutions that can improve quality of food has to take into consideration various
challenges unique to the preparation of aviation meals. We are pleased to lend our
culinary expertise and knowledge of food and packaging technology to collaborate
with SIA to transform the travel experience.”
Visitors to SIA’s Inside Singapore Airlines tours in November 2020 will be the first
to preview the new meals, which will be served at the event.
Please refer to Annex A for the list of potential meals in the new meal concept.
Photos of the meals can be found at https://bit.ly/330XsJr. Details of SIA’s flight
schedules from November 2020 to January 2021 can be found at
https://bit.ly/3pFLrmd.
