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London Stansted Airport on future business travel expectations

A slice of beef just about hid the slab of ham, all topped off with a healthy chicken fillet

VEGGIE OPTIONS ON BOARD ➜ BEYBRIT

With more people adopting plant-based diets, I’m always surprised how airlines don’t get it right. Air China managed to serve me the same identical hot dish four times in three flights (yes, twice on one flight). But as vegetarianism isn’t rampant in China, I didn’t expect anything transcendental. The main problems I repeatedly have with VLML (vegetarian lacto-ovo meals) across airlines from all parts of the globe are:

▪ The bread is never the same as the non-veggies, and they always serve margarine (not butter);

▪ Salad is rarely served with dressing;

▪ Dessert is always fruit salad;

▪ Treats are never choccie bars or biscuits, more likely to be boxes of raisins, and cheese is never served;

▪ There’s never a choice of main course and it’s mostly inappropriate to service time (I often get dinner when everyone else gets breakfast).

Has anyone had better experiences? I travel economy or premium economy, thanks to employer policies, so please don’t tell me that the business class options are better.

➜ LUGANOPIRATE

I just did four legs with Austrian Airlines and every meal was vegetarian. Even in the lounge there was no meat option. I’m a meat eater, dislike vegetables (having been force-fed them as a child) and wanted nothing more than a nice pair of wienerli (Vienna sausage), which they used to have in the lounge, with sweet mustard and a roll. No such luck!

➜ BEYBRIT

Just more proof that airlines and food are rarely a winning combo. If they were all short-haul sectors then it may

be easier to “do a KLM” and give a cheese sandwich to everyone.

➜ CANUCKLAD

Long ago I was a supervisor for an in-flight catering company at Edinburgh airport. I recall being asked to organise, at late notice, a vegan lunch for a Sabena business class customer. There was no spec for such a request, but I doublechecked with the caterer that she knew what she was doing – “Of course I know; I’m not an idiot,“she said. At the next quality meeting, the meal was the subject of great concern and humour in equal measure. Visualise a vegan roll with vegan butter, vegan cheese with crackers, a vegan cake, and a main plate adorned with boiled jerseys, built into a tiered salad with shredded carrots, etc. To finish it off she had plonked on… a lovely slice of beef that just about hid the slab of ham, all topped off with a healthy chicken fillet! Safe to say, the passenger was not impressed when they removed the lid somewhere over the North Sea.

➜ MARKCYMRU

If you can, fly Air India. The default meal option [on domestic flights] is VLML. I order vegan which is more hit and miss. Stick to Indian food; you’ll be delighted.

➜ MARTYNSINCLAIR

I don’t eat meat and prefer a veggie diet. I am constantly amazed by the Cathay Pacific food offering on my regular Hong Kong-Bangkok-Hong Kong route. Generally out of three mains, it is beef/ beef/pork or chicken. Sometimes there is a fish dish. I know you can order special meals but usually there is a veggie option.

➜ MARKIVJ

I’m veggie and request the Hindu-veg option on most flights (I fly business and economy). The only time I have a problem is if the food contains egg or gelatine. Most US carriers combine vegetarian and vegan, so their food is a problem. My favourite Hindu veg meal is from British Airways.

➜ GREGD75

In the past three years flying Aeromexico, the vegetarian option has never changed. For dinner, you get rice with broccoli and for breakfast a couple of tortillas filled with canned mushrooms – disappointing every time. And you can’t order a veggie meal when booking – you must phone and speak to a rep. You’d think there could be a more user-friendly way to handle it. Or maybe even allow frequent flyers to set default meal requests. For shorter international flights there is a sandwich – always ham and cheese; never a veggie option.

➜ GOLD-2K

I pre-order the Asian vegetarian option, which is always good on BA. I had one on a Delta US domestic flight last week and it was surprisingly good. But I was surprised there was no vegetarian option on a recent BA First afternoon flight. The sandwiches were either red meat or chicken. I ended up with a cheese plate and fruit left over from lunch service.

Situated in a growing catchment in the UK Innovation Corridor (UKIC), demand for business travel is high at London Stansted Airport, with over half of all UK searches for key longhaul destinations including New York and Beijing originating from within its large and affluent catchment area of 25 million people. Facilitating passenger connections and business links between the UK and the rest of Europe, the airport offers more direct destinations across Europe than any other UK airport with over 200 destinations across Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa. With this fast-growing community of professionals using London Stansted, it is easy to see how the airport is well-placed to understand the ever-changing needs of today’s business travellers.

PASSENGER STREAMLINING

London Stansted Airport is investing in new technologies and facilities to vastly improve the business passenger experience. FastTrack Plus is a new premium service that provides a quick and seamless journey through the airport. Created with business travellers in mind, FastTrack Plus offers customers the most efficient route through the airport, offering a dedicated lane straight to the security check point and the quickest route to the Departure Lounge, allowing customers to by-pass the shops and save valuable time to respond to work emails or relax in the Escape Lounge ahead of the flight.

HIGH-TECH SERVICE

There is a growing demand for sophisticated and high-tech business travel solutions from those who regularly travel for work. This demand is being met – a great example of this is the new interlining technology which London Stansted Airport will be introducing this year to enable passengers to have a completely seamless transfer.

This will cut out the need for multilateral airline agreements and could enable a passenger flying from Cork on Ryanair to connect via Stansted airport onto an Emirates flight to Dubai. This technology will provide welcome relief for any business traveller looking to get from A to B with as little stress as possible.

BEST FOR BUSINESS

London Stansted’s terminal and runway capacity and continued investment in passenger experiences is enabling future growth and the airport expects to serve 43 million annual passengers in the coming years.

Boasting unrivalled access to the region’s network of businesses, academic institutions and financial firms alongside exceptional proximity to the City of London, the UK Innovation Corridor accounts for more patents-per-head than technology capital Silicon Valley and is one of the fastest growing regions in the UK. With significant untapped demand for long-haul business travel, the UKIC also offers an attractive prospect for carriers – one that is unserved by any other major airport.

London Stansted is committed to creating better experiences and delivering excellence for its business traveller community.

Unlock sustainable growth in the UK’s fastest-growing region. Download our report at stanstedairport.co.uk/ G2Greport