Meals on Belavia planes: what will you be treated to on board the airliner? What do different airlines feed Belarusians during flights? Spoiler: Belavia food is very tasty on board

Based on the results of six months of this year, Belavia Airlines was in fifth place among the top ten CIS airlines offering the most delicious food, reports tio.by. The rating was compiled by the Russian service based on reviews of 22 thousand passengers. TUT.BY decided to look at how they feed on flights not only of the Belarusian airline, but also of others, and collected photographs from readers about what they ate on board planes while traveling this year.

A flight attendant pours drinks on a Belavia flight to Brussels. Photo: Alexander Vasyukovich, TUT.BY
Food in economy class on board Turkish Airlines on August 9, 2017 from Istanbul to Minsk. Photo: Elena Karaagach

And in economy class on the Minsk-Istanbul route in August of this year they offered these sets. These are beef cutlets, rice, stewed chickpeas in sauce, salad with vegetables and sour cream, chocolate mousse with brown sugar.

Food in economy class on the Minsk-Istanbul flight on August 10, 2017 with Turkish Airlines. Photo: provided by readers

And in business class you could taste this.

This is also a dish for passengers flying business class.

Food in Turkish Airlines business class on the Istanbul-Minsk route on May 10, 2017. Photo: Lyudmila Uvaina

Airline food Austrian Airlines also differs depending on the class the passenger is flying. There is much more choice in business class.

Food on board Austrian Airlines business class on the route Minsk-Vienna on May 15, 2017. This includes ham and cheese, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, fresh bread, butter, jam, coffee, cream, yoghurt with fresh fruit. Photo: TUT.BY reader Alexey

And this is food in economy class.

Such dishes can also be found when flying Austrian Airlines.

Food on board Austrian Airlines business class on the Munich-Vienna route in August 2017. Photo: Alena Yesenina
Food in economy class on Austrian Airlines on the Minsk-Vienna route in July 2017. Photo: Vadim Samarin
Food on board Austrian Airlines business class on the Vienna-Munich route in August 2017. Photo: Alena Yesenina
These are the cakes they serve in business class on Austrian Airlines. Photo: Alena Yesenina

Airline Aeroflot on Moscow-Guangzhou flights, passengers can choose dishes from the menu. For example, our reader Nadezhda Shu I ate this kind of low-calorie food.

Low-calorie meal option (chicken breast on a skewer) in economy class on an Aeroflot flight Hong Kong-Moscow on May 12, 2017. Photo: Nadezhda Shu

I also tried this version of kosher food.

Kosher food in economy class on board Aeroflot on the Moscow-Hong Kong flight on May 22, 2017. Photo: Nadezhda Shu

Aeroflot serves these dishes on the Valencia-Moscow flight.

Food in economy class on July 27, 2017 on the Valencia-Moscow flight of Aeroflot airlines. Photo: Alina Martinkevich

China Southern Airlines On the Moscow-Guangzhou route, passengers are fed twice during the nine-hour flight.

Food on board economy class on China Southern Airlines on the Moscow-Guangzhou route in June 2017. Photo: Elena Karpovich
Food on board economy class on China Southern Airlines on the Moscow-Guangzhou route in June 2017. Photo: Elena Karpovich
Food on board economy class on China Southern Airlines on the Moscow-Guangzhou route in June 2017. Photo: Elena Karpovich
Food on board economy class on China Southern Airlines on the Moscow-Guangzhou route in June 2017. Photo: Elena Karpovich

TUT.BY readers travel around the world not only with the above-mentioned airlines. Some fly with Qatar Airways, others with KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines). And that's what they eat there.

Food in KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) economy class on the Amsterdam-Catania (Italy) route in July 2017. This is a vegetarian pasta. Photo: Vlad Savelyev
Dessert in economy class on KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) on the route Amsterdam-Catania (Italy) in July 2017. Photo: Vlad Savelyev
Food onboard economy class on Qatar Airways from Moscow to Doha in March 2017. Photo: Olga Koroleva
Food on board IrAero economy class on September 2, 2017 on the Barnaul-Moscow route. Photo: Mikhail Savkin
Food on board economy class Royal Flight on July 22, 2017 from Moscow to Reus (Spain). Photo: Anna Alekseeva
Food on board S7 Airlines on August 23, 2017 on the Moscow-Barnaul route. Photo: Mikhail Savkin
Food on board Georgian Airway economy class on the route Kyiv - Tbilisi in August 2017. Photo: Tatiana Voropai
Food in TAP economy class (AIR PORTUGAL) on the Lisbon-Vienna route on July 22, 2017. Photo: Vadim Samarin

I am often asked about what kind of food on board airplanes different companies offer and how their diet differs. Everything is banally simple: according to the purchased ticket and the efficiency of the marketing department. Today, as a passenger, I will share the culinary secrets of Belavia Airlines, with which I have repeatedly flown to the World and European Championships and other international sporting events of various levels.

Any flight begins with the purchase of an air ticket. And the earlier an air ticket is purchased before the intended trip, the lower its cost. Belavia's prices are among the highest among European carriers. You can easily verify this by viewing the destinations you are interested in and comparing fares with other airlines for identical destinations/distances.

Why look at ticket prices? - you ask. And all because this company has meals on board included in the price, and accordingly, the tariffs affect the range of food offered during the flight.

Choose a route and date.
As an example, I chose the most interesting directions, where he attended various championships and subsequently published his reports from the events on the website. And in order for the tariff to be “lower”, at the time of writing this material, I specifically chose dates 5 weeks in advance before the intended trip.

And so, we fly from Minsk in economy class. The most low price one-way ticket – 299 euro (if purchased 35 days before departure). This "Semi-Flexible" fare means that the ticket can be exchanged, but without refund, in case of cancellation of the trip.

We are flying from Minsk to Amsterdam. Most cheap ticket in the “economy” segment - “Restricted” for 149 euros (if purchased 35 days before departure). Tickets at this rate cannot be exchanged or returned. The price for an Economy Flexible ticket with the possibility of return and refund is 290 euro.

Do you want to go to Israel at the height of the pilgrimage season to the Holy Land to see? Then choose flight Minsk – . The price for the “Economy Restricted” ticket is 155 euro, and for the “Economy Flexible” ticket with the possibility of return and refund – 299 euro.

In general, it turns out that if you are lucky, then buy non-refundable ticket in economy class one way, you can on average for ~ 225 euro. It will be possible to change the departure date, but you will not be able to get a refund for the ticket if the trip suddenly does not take place due to your fault.

Let's see what tasty and healthy food will be offered on board a Belavia plane during the 3 hours in the air? Still, I’m almost 2 meters tall and flying to a competition, so I often immodestly ask for “the maximum”, in accordance with the ticket.

The set has remained virtually unchanged for several years:
3 glasses during the entire flight: coffee, tomato and orange juice. No more than 150 grams of each drink is poured at a time. They also give you a bag of some food.

The bag usually contains a sandwich.
Here is a “chicken ham sandwich” in vacuum packaging produced by some private company from Minsk. The food is extremely dry and to “hammer” such a sandwich, you need more drinks, otherwise the digestive system will be offended after several hours of sitting during the flight.

Here is a simple diet for a ticket ~ 150-299 euro.
The total cost of such a food set will be at most ~2 euro in any cafeteria in Minsk, taking into account retail prices.

Is it comparable to other offers from European air carriers? Probably possible. At least according to the principle that if sandwiches are served, they are warmed up. As an example, . From Scandinavian companies at the time of purchase tickets online There is an option for choosing meals, where by checking the appropriate option, for an additional ~ 8-15 euro to the ticket price you can order a very good hot lunch on board. It's all about the presence of marketing and its desire to work with clients and for the benefit of the company. The passenger will always be grateful for the attention and service equivalent to the cost of the services.

By the way, I believe that the professionalism of Belavia pilots is at a very high level. They are the ones who do the most to develop the company’s image and prestige. Airplane takeoff and landing are always smooth in all conditions. weather conditions. But safety is much more important than the “sandwich”, isn’t it?

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Air passengers of the Belarusian company Belavia often complain about what they are fed during the flight: the food is tasteless, instead of a hot lunch there are only sandwiches, and the sandwiches are dry and bland. Belarusians also noticed that on some flights they serve hot food, while on others of the same duration, only the notorious triangle sandwiches appear on the tables again. The Village Belarus figured out what the menu on board Belavia aircraft depends on.

As it was before

Belavia passengers have repeatedly complained about poor and meager food on board. Here's what they wrote on the forums:

“On a 3-hour flight, offering 25 GRAM CHOCOLATE and 100 grams of instant coffee is not the best best quality with a ticket price of 150 euros, this is a shame!”;

“We flew to Marseille via Paris. To Paris Belavia. The ticket includes a snack on board. The flight is two hours. Snack - tea with cookies (a couple of pieces!)";

“For the price that Belavia charges for tickets, passengers could be treated to truffles and black caviar, and not sandwiches with chicken mortadella”;

“I flew to London from Minsk once. The flight is about 3 hours. Along with the dry ice bun they threw a lettuce leaf with a rag and a piece of chicken breast, icy, dry and of an indeterminate color. A bunch of bags with salt, pepper, a drop of ketchup, a waffle, tea and coffee. I choked to death from the first bite.”

The catering service (restaurant service) at the Minsk airport is a monopolist, and the airline does not always manage to negotiate with it on the quality and variety of the menu. As Deputy General Director of Belavia Igor Cherginets told us back in 2012, once we even had to remove hot meals altogether on flights to Moscow - the quality of the supplied products did not correspond to the status of the country’s title air carrier.

What changes have happened

In the spring of 2012, on morning flights Minsk - Moscow, passengers began to be offered a hot breakfast and soft drinks, as well as tea/coffee, and on evening flights - sandwiches and drinks. Before this, on the Moscow flight they only fed us chocolate and drinks.

Two years ago, from January 5, 2017, Belavia changed its approach to in-flight meals: now they began to provide full meals on all flights. More precisely, on almost all of them: the old menu of a 20-gram chocolate bar like “Alenka” and a drink was left on flights to Vilnius and Budapest - Belgrade, where the horizontal flight time is 15 minutes, and the flight attendants do not have time to serve all the food and collect empty dishes.

The general director of the company, Anatoly Gusarov, noted that this was achieved thanks to a reduction in fuel prices and some airport taxes, so it was possible to return full-fledged food without increasing the cost of tickets:

Really, we had a rather modest proposal. We still considered it necessary and advisable to cut costs in other areas, but to organize better in-flight catering service. And we can already see that passengers are pleasantly surprised.

The new rations were divided into two groups: for those who fly no longer than an hour and a half, and for longer-distance passengers. They promised to change the menu every six months.

For short flights (up to 1.5 hours), sandwiches or meat/fish snacks with vegetables were prepared in economy class. Plus the usual drinks (water, juices, tea, coffee). On long flights (more than 1.5 hours) they offered hot meals: a side dish with meat, fish or poultry plus drinks.

In business class, several types of hot food were offered. The fish set included red fish, a side dish and appetizers - shrimp or caviar. The meat set included vegetables with pork, beef or veal. In addition to the usual drinks, alcohol was also served in business class.

Sandwiches with a drink cost the company 2.5 rubles, cold appetizers (cold meats with cheese and olives) with a drink - about 6 rubles, a hot meal with drinks - 10–12 rubles, a meat menu in business class - 19 rubles , and fish - 22 rubles.

What happened next

At the end of spring 2018, passengers noticed that on some flights they stopped serving even the trademark triangular sandwiches. This happened on short-haul Belavia flights to Warsaw, Vilnius, Zhukovsky, Palanga and Riga. The company explained it this way:

These changes were due to the fact that food on these flights was in demand among a small number of passengers, and a significant part of the sandwiches remained untouched. Instead, from May 1, passengers on these flights will be offered an expanded range of drinks (water and juices)

What's wrong with food now?

Belavia, as before, receives in-flight meals at the Catering service of the Minsk National Airport. You cannot load food from other suppliers on board in Minsk. As a rule, the ordered food is enough for the flight there and back. But there are also cases (for charter flights) when passengers are fed food from the departure point. For example, on a charter from Montenegrin Tivat to Minsk in the summer of 2017, we were fed sandwiches from the family Podgorica restaurant Voda u kršu and other snacks.

Passengers noticed that on some long-haul flights - for example, to Georgia - they only serve sandwiches with drinks, while on the flight to Istanbul they serve hot food, hummus with tomatoes and chocolate-covered marshmallows. Has something changed again?

The Belavia press service told The Village Belarus:

On each flight, meals are adjusted depending on the duration of the flight, time of day and passenger feedback. For about a year now, on the night flight Minsk - Tbilisi - Minsk, we have had sandwiches on the menu. On short-haul flights (St. Petersburg, Moscow, etc.) we serve sandwiches, and, for example, on flights to Armenia, given the night time, we serve rollins with feta cheese and spinach.

Hot meals are provided, accordingly, for relatively long flights - such as Larnaca, London, Tel Aviv, Barcelona, ​​etc. Kasalette consists of a bun with melted cheese, hot food and snacks. On such long flights We have two options for ready meals. All food is given out at one time.

As for charter flights, the decision on meals is made by the customer.”

Like other companies

Most airlines that fly to Minsk feed their passengers at no additional cost. The Internet is full of collections of photographs showing how good (or bad) the food is on such and such an airline during a flight of such and such duration. For example, not only Belavia, but also Aeroflot have triangular sandwiches.

Lufthansa, flight Minsk - Frankfurt am Main

Etihad, flight Minsk - Abu Dhabi

"Russia", Minsk - St. Petersburg

Utair, flight Minsk - Moscow, paid food for 6 dollars

Aeroflot, flight Minsk – Moscow in business class

But there are also carriers flying to Belarus that do not give passengers food at all for the ticket price, but offer to order a snack for an additional fee.

Airline « International airlines Ukraine", which flies from Minsk to Kyiv, does not feed passengers at all on this flight (as on most others), with the exception of business class. But any company passenger can order food in advance (for a fee) and eat what only the menu allows. On the menu

From May 1, Belavia will no longer provide meals in the form of sandwiches and hot drinks on short-haul flights. Only lollipops before takeoff and soft drinks during the flight (juices, fruit drinks, water), writes vandrouki.by. In general, the text contains many interesting references that lead to the traditional conclusion in the spirit of “we will still fly from Vilnius.” Added to everything high prices to popular summer destinations. The article is being hotly discussed on social networks. We contacted Belavia for comment.

- The change in diet affected only five flights: Warsaw, Vilnius, Palanga, Zhukovsky Airport and Riga,- said the airline. - The changes were due to the fact that food on these flights was in demand among a small number of passengers and a significant part of the sandwiches remained untouched. Instead, from May 1, passengers on these flights will be offered an expanded range of drinks (water and juices).

vandrouki also report a price increase: “According to our analytics system, in one day prices for most “summer” destinations rose by 22-47%. It was probably someone else's decision. 400 euros for direct flights to Barcelona for the summer - what is this? 400 euros from an airline that is not part of an alliance, is not famous for its SkyTrax stars, and does not offer any special service.”

Belavia comment:

- For several years, Belavia has been systematically reducing fares on regular routes. For example, on some routes the tariff reduction was more than 20%. For example, one-way fares Minsk - Moscow (Domodedovo) are reduced by 45% (in 2014 - 100 euros, in 2017 - 55 euros), and air tickets to Zhukovsky airport are sold at rates starting from 35.00 euros one way side; Minsk - Tbilisi - by 50% (in 2014 - 179 euros, in 2017 - 89 euros), Minsk - London - by 42% (in 2014 - 189 euros, in 2017 - 110 euros).

We are talking about tough conditions for other carriers that could create more cheap offer in our market.

“Turkish Airlines agreed to play by the rules of the Belarusian national carrier because large quantity flights to Minsk were not approved for them by Belavia (we know this for sure),- writes vandrouki.by. - Turks - transportation of passengers on long-haul flights, in return - no sales and a minimum price. Two simple examples to prove this: Austrian Airlines and AirBaltic. The first Minsk has sales - this is the most expensive destination Europe. It gets to the point that flying from Minsk to New York via Vienna is cheaper than direct flights from Minsk to Vienna (during sales!).”

We are broadcasting the question to Belavia. The answer is:

- The flight to Vienna is operated by the Austrian airline, we are only a marketing partner within the code-sharing framework, the Austrian carrier independently sets tariffs on this route without the participation of Belavia. For our part, we do not have an agreement with AirBaltic on establishing a cost threshold.

The company recently announced an expansion of its fleet. In April, the new Embraer-175 arrived. As part of this delivery, two Embraer-195s will also arrive in Minsk in May-June. The above aircraft were purchased using loans from the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus and the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES). Loans must be repaid. Many believe this affects pricing policy companies.

- Ticket prices have not changed,- Belavia says. - A systematic renewal of the fleet is underway. Moreover, the E1 family aircraft fully meet the airline’s goals of further developing the route network and reducing transportation costs. This type of aircraft has high fuel efficiency. Belavia expects that the increase in the number aircraft This type will allow us to continue to implement the company’s strategy to systematically reduce prices for air transportation. We already noted this at the presentation of the new Embraer-175, which arrived from Brazil.

In general, conversations about the prices of the Belarusian carrier have recently reached a new level. Let us recall that in his April message to the people and parliament, the president stated: “Our geographical resource is not being fully used. This is an unforgivable waste. Why is it more profitable for our citizens to fly from Vilnius, Kyiv, Warsaw, but not from Minsk? When will Belarus become a truly attractive hub? This year the government must put on my desk a document that will force the world to see Belarus from this position.”

Belavia offers the “Advance seat selection” service on all regular airline flights, with the exception of flights to/from Beirut, Amsterdam, Karaganda, Manchester and Palanga.

General provisions for the provision of services

Business class passengers will be able to use the service of pre-selecting a seat in the aircraft cabin at no additional charge.

The service can be purchased on the website in the “Reservation Status” section if you have an air ticket with a confirmed reservation for BELAVIA’s own regular flight. other conditions and is displayed at the location selection step.

As part of the provision of the service, the passenger is given the opportunity to pre-select a seat in one of the following categories:

* Category 1 seats are offered if the flight is carried out on an aircraft with a designated business class cabin. The purchase of a category 1 seat does not entail the provision of any additional services(business class meals, separate check-in desk, etc.)

The service can be issued no later than:

24 hours before flight departure for category 5 seats;

3 hours before departure for seats of categories 1,2,3,4.

Category 5 seats become available for online check-in free of charge 24 hours before departure.

Attention! Purchasing the service does not mean checking in for the flight. The passenger must check-in for the flight in a convenient way for him - online, at a self-check-in kiosk (if available) or at the check-in counter at the airport on a first-come, first-served basis.

The terms and conditions for the provision of the “Preliminary seat selection” service to Belavia Leader elite level participants can be found.

Registration, payment and procedure for providing services

BELAVIA reserves the right to limit the provision of services for different types of aircraft and on different routes in accordance with flight safety requirements and technical capabilities, as well as depending on the category of passenger.

The service is provided on BELAVIA’s own regular flights. The service fee is charged per flight segment.

When changing the schedule, replacing an aircraft, or changing the cabin layout, in order to retain the ordered service for the passenger, BELAVIA changes the reserved seat within the selected category automatically, but does not guarantee the preservation of the assigned seat number. BELAVIA will take all possible measures to maintain the co-location of passengers who have booked the service in one booking. By ordering the service, the passenger gives his consent to change the seat within the paid category in the above cases.

The service is considered provided upon transportation of the passenger at the seat of the booked category, subject to payment for the service and issuance of an air ticket.

If it is technically impossible to provide a seat in the paid category, BELAVIA will refund the full cost of the service.

BELAVIA is not obliged to notify passengers about changes in the service related to the replacement of the type and/or layout of the aircraft without changing the aircraft schedule. The passenger can find out about changes in the service when viewing detailed information in the “Reservation Status” section on the BELAVIA website or during self-registration online.

draw your attention to that the sale of the service may be limited to certain categories of passengers. For example, a passenger choosing a seat in the row opposite emergency exit must be at least 18 years of age, be in good physical condition, travel without an infant and understand English language to assist the crew in case of emergency evacuation.

If, during the process of purchasing a service, a seat category is selected for which passengers have special requirements, the passenger will have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the requirements set by the airline before paying for the service. Purchasing such a seat means confirming that the passenger meets the requirements and agrees with them.

The flight crew, despite purchasing an exit row seat, has the right to require you to vacate your exit row seat if it is deemed necessary in the interests of safety or if you do not meet any other requirements.

However, the cost of the service is not refundable!

Change of service, return

Return Money, paid for the service, is made at the place of purchase of the service when the passenger contacts 3 hours before the scheduled flight departure.

The passenger cannot change the selected seat after paying for the service. To change the location, a refund is made and a new service is issued.

The method of receiving a refund for the cost of the service is determined in accordance with the method of payment for the service upon purchase.