'Food was poor': AirAsia co-founder Tony Fernandes praises Singapore Airlines service, but not its inflight meal

AirAsia's co-founder Tony Fernandes has praised Singapore Airlines (SIA) for its service while criticising its food.

In an Instagram post on Thursday (Oct 1), Fernandes shared photos of himself onboard a Singapore Airlines flight.

He said he took the SIA flight because he was unable to get an AirAsia flight.

"Service was great, internet amazing," wrote Fernandes in his post caption, before adding that the "food was poor".

His carousel post included a picture of his in-flight meal, which appeared to show some noodles in a red gravy with beef and vegetables.

Fernandes went on to praise AirAsia's in-flight catering service, Santan, calling it "far far better" and claiming the cabin crew agreed.

He concluded that it a was "great flight", but that AirAsia was "not far off".

AsiaOne has reached out to Fernandes for more information about his flight and experience, as well as SIA for comment.

SIA's dining complaints

His complaint about SIA comes after a passenger recently took issue with SIA's in-flight meal on social media earlier this month.

The passenger, who was on an SIA flight from London to Singapore, stated in a Facebook post on Sept 2 that they were served "bland" and "stodgy" fish .

The passenger added that the breakfast meal was even worse.

"Dry, sauceless, overly salty beef noodles, with only a few tiny pieces of meat," read the post.

The passenger said that SIA offered some of the best economy service and seating they had experienced, but "the catering turned a potentially world-class flight into a merely good one".

While some netizens agreed with the passengers' review of SIA's gripes, others pointed out that the quality of in-flight meals often varies based on the country the flight is departing from.

New, refreshed dishes

On Sept 29, SIA announced that it is enhancing its dining experience with a new SIA Chef's Selection in-flight menu category, featuring more than 100 new and refreshed dishes across all cabin classes.

SIA said that the dishes use fresh, seasonal ingredients from local producers, allowing customers to enjoy them at their best quality, freshness and flavour.

Some of the highlights include the Tandoor Roasted Paneer and Cheng Tng, a classic Chinese dessert, which will be served across all cabin classes in different styles.

The Roasted Chicken Breast with Black Pepper Sauce will also be added as a main course for Economy Class passengers while Premium Economy Class passengers can expect the Irish Lamb Stew.

Those flying on Business Class can look forward to options such as the Char Siew Wonton Noodle while Beef Short Rib Sambal Percik with Nasi Kerabu will be amongst the dishes served to Suites and First Class passengers.

The airlines will also be expanding its beverage offerings, including an extensive range of cocktails, spirits, sake, liqueurs, and beers.

Non-alcoholic beverages will also be served, ranging from mocktails and juices to soft drinks, non-dairy beverages, coffee and teas.

The new menu was developed by the airline's in-house and guest chefs in collaboration with its catering partners based on "customer feedback, evolving preferences and emerging dining trends".

"The result is a combination of thoughtfully crafted dishes, carefully curated beverages, elegant serviceware, and thoughtful touches that make dining on board more memorable for our customers," said Yeoh Phee Teik, SIA's senior vice president of customer experience.

laili.abdeen@asiaone.com

亚洲航空联合创始人托尼·费尔南德斯称赞新加坡航空公司（新航）的服务，但批评其食物。

周四（10 月 1 日），费尔南德斯在 Instagram 上分享了他在新加坡航空公司航班上的照片。

他说他之所以乘坐新加坡航空公司的航班，是因为他买不到亚航的航班。

费尔南德斯在他的帖子标题中写道：“服务很棒，网络也很棒”，然后又补充说“食物很差”。

他的动态帖子中包含一张他在飞机上的餐食照片，照片上似乎是一些浇着红色肉汁的面条，里面有牛肉和蔬菜。

费尔南德斯接着称赞了亚航的机上餐饮服务 Santan，称其“好得多”，并声称机组人员也同意这一观点。

他总结说，这是一次“很棒的飞行”，但亚航“也相差不远”。

AsiaOne已联系费尔南德斯，以了解更多关于他的航班和经历的信息，并已联系新加坡航空公司征求意见。

新加坡航空的餐饮投诉

此前，一名乘客在本月初在社交媒体上对新加坡航空的机上餐食提出了质疑，随后他也对新加坡航空提出了投诉。

这位乘客乘坐新加坡航空公司从伦敦飞往新加坡的航班，他在 9 月 2 日的 Facebook 帖子中表示，他们吃到的鱼“味道平淡”且“口感粘稠”。

该乘客还补充说，早餐更糟糕。

帖子写道：“干巴巴的、没有酱汁的、过咸的牛肉面，只有几小块肉。”

该乘客表示，新加坡航空提供了他们体验过的最好的经济舱服务和座椅，但是“餐饮服务却让一次原本可能世界一流的航班变成了一次仅仅不错的航班”。

虽然一些网友同意乘客对新加坡航空的抱怨，但也有人指出，机上餐食的质量通常会因航班出发的国家/地区而异。

全新升级的菜肴

9 月 29 日，新加坡航空宣布将推出全新的“新加坡航空主厨精选”机上菜单，为所有舱位等级的乘客提供 100 多道全新升级的菜肴，从而提升乘客的用餐体验。

新航表示，这些菜肴采用当地生产商提供的时令新鲜食材，让顾客能够享受到最佳的品质、新鲜度和风味。

亮点包括坦都里烤奶酪和经典的中国甜点清汤，这两道菜将以不同的形式在所有舱位等级供应。

烤鸡胸肉配黑胡椒酱将作为经济舱乘客的主菜，而高级经济舱乘客则可以享用爱尔兰炖羊肉。

商务舱乘客可以期待叉烧云吞面等菜肴，而套房和头等舱乘客则可以享用配以椰浆饭的牛小排叁巴酱等美食。

航空公司还将扩大其饮料供应范围，包括各种鸡尾酒、烈酒、清酒、利口酒和啤酒。

此外，还将供应各种非酒精饮料，包括无酒精鸡尾酒、果汁、软饮料、非乳制品饮料、咖啡和茶。

新菜单由该航空公司内部厨师和客座厨师与其餐饮合作伙伴合作开发，依据“客户反馈、不断变化的偏好和新兴的餐饮趋势”。

“我们精心烹制菜肴，精心挑选饮品，提供优雅的餐具，并注重细节，力求让乘客在机上用餐的体验更加难忘，”新加坡航空公司客户体验高级副总裁杨菲德表示。

laili.abdeen@asiaone.com