Tigerair food: A simpler menu with no hot options
Here's what's on the new Tigerbites menu.
For most of this year, Tigerair Australia has removed in-flight catering from its services while it revamps its Tigerbites menu. I wrote about this earlier in the year, noting that while no-one was taking a Tigerair flight for the food, it made sense for the budget airline to try and increase its profitability by offering it.
This week I flew Tigerair from Coffs Harbour to Sydney, and the Tigerbites menu was finally back. What was noteworthy was that all the meal options had disappeared. No more toasted sandwiches or meat pies. Instead, what was on offer was essentially a snacking menu, divided into three categories.
For $3, you can have a tea, a coffee or a soft drink. If you want booze, the choices are much the same as before: beer for $8, spirits for $8.50 or wine for $9. You can also get a spirit/soft drink "combo" for $11.
On the food front, you can choose from a Kit Kat or cookie for $3.50, crisps for $5, nuts for $6 or beef jerky for $7. The sole hot food option is a chicken noodle cup for $5.
From an operational point of view, this all makes sense. Taking out the hot options means less time for the crew messing round with heating them up. Anything you want to order is available immediately. The expiry dates on these options will also be much longer, so there should be less waste.
Tigerair's drive this year is to become more profitable. That means fewer rock-bottom fares, and it also means fewer food choices it seems.
Tigerair has now confirmed to me that this menu will be standard across the board for now, with no pre-order options available. That applies whether the flight is short-haul (like mine) or long-haul (such as Perth to the East Coast).
Regardless, for frugal travellers, packing your own snacks is still the way to go. $7 for beef jerky is definitely over the odds.
Angus Kidman's Findings column looks at new developments and research that help you save money, make wise decisions and enjoy your life more. It appears regularly on Finder.
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