Plane food unused due to coronavirus given away for $2 per meal

If you’re missing flying, an in-flight catering firm can bring the experience to you by offering airline meals to cook at home.

Many of us are missing flying right now. The excuse to sit back and watch trashy movies for hours on end; guilt free naps in the sky; the exciting destinations to look forward to. But maybe not the airline food, right?

Well, if you’re one of the vanishingly small number of people who actually likes the thought of teeny tiny chicken chunks served in a watery bland sauce with a side of green beans and carrots the consistency of soggy tissue all served on a bed of hard, lumpy mash – then breathe a sigh of relief. You now don’t have to fly to get your airline food fix.

With airline schedules drastically reduced due to the coronavirus pandemic, in-flight catering firms have found themselves with a surplus of stock.

To shift the food, one is offering frozen packaged food direct to the public for as little as $2 per dish.

Gate Gourmet supplies in-flight meals to scores of airlines operating to and from Australia.

Gate Gourmet, one of the world’s largest in-flight catering companies, is offering packs of frozen airline meals from its bases in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

The name may not be familiar, but Gate Gourmet is a provider of airline meals to Virgin Australia and a whole host of international airlines that fly into the country.

On its website, Gate Gourmet is offering a choice of breakfast, lunch/dinner and combo packs of at least 10 meals each.

It’s a bit of a lucky dip as to what exact meal or indeed meals you’ll get.

The breakfast pack is illustrated with an economy tray of scrambled eggs, mushrooms, potato and spinach.

The dinner pack could include chicken, potatoes and peas; lasagne; chicken curry and rice; beef and vegetables or noodles.

The only choice is between meat or vegetarian options. You also don’t appear to get any of the economy accompaniments – there is no bread rolls, little packs of cheese and crackers or Lindt balls to lose under the seat.

Yummy! An example of what you might get in the dinner pack.

Economy class breakfast is served.

With breakfast packs on sale at just $20 for 10, that’s $2 per tray. Dinner is only slightly more expensive at $2.50 per serve.

Many economy class meals are frozen and then defrosted and heated on the plane. But if you eat them at home, all you need do is microwave them for 2-5 minutes or bake them for 20.

Be warned, the food could taste slightly different to what you’re expecting. High altitudes dull the tastebuds so extra salt is often added to airline meals. In addition, the umami taste, that of rich flavours like tomato, can be enhanced in the air so they are often prioritised.

If you’re keen you can order online. But there’s no delivery, you’ll have to head down to the Gate Gourmet bases at each city’s airport to pick up your packs

And if you think people would run a mile from mile high food, think again. The company had been offering meals from Perth but they’ve now all sold out.

As Gate Gourmet said on their website: “Available … until stocks ‘fly’ out the door”.

Given Australians may not be able to travel internationally for months, perhaps now is the time to get some frozen airline meals. Then if you have a pang for some economy eats, you can satisfy you’re craving.