For many people, plane food is the highlight of their journey. Even if the food is not the best, the novelty of the experience brings a strange joy.
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The Background
That was not the case for one passenger who took a flight on Japan Airlines from Jakarta to Tokyo and was very disappointed when his vegan meal arrived. Instead of a hearty vegan meal, perhaps some vegetable noodles or a nice rice dish, he was presented with a banana. A solitary banana, along with a pair of chopsticks for him to eat it with.
At First, He Believed The Banana Was A Snack
The passenger Kris Chari headed to FlyerTalk to talk of his disappointment that the airline thought that a single banana would satisfy him on his 7-hour flight. Initially, Chari believed that the banana was a snack ahead of his breakfast as he had been on flights that offered this type of thing before. When he discovered that the banana was his actual meal, he could not believe it, especially as he had paid for a business class ticket.
Chari explained that “Before takeoff today, my flight attendant confirmed that I ordered VGML and that my breakfast was a banana, by which I mistakenly assumed she meant that breakfast included a banana,”
He Felt Very Insulated
The disgruntled passenger felt that he was mistreated as other passengers enjoyed a more substantial meal.
He went on to say that in this day and age, when there are lots of vegans and vegetarians, airlines must offer good meals for all of their customers. Admitting that he did enjoy the tasty banana, he felt that he was right to complain about his poor treatment and believed that a banana could in no way be considered a meal. He also mentioned how cute the airline staff was to hand him chopsticks to eat his banana!
Lunch Consisted of Bland Spaghetti
After the disappointing banana, Chari was looking forward to his vegan lunch but was quickly frustrated once again when a bowl of “barely seasoned spaghetti” arrived.
While it may seem that the passenger is ungrateful, he did pay to enjoy onboard meals and could see he was worse off than his non-vegan traveling companions, who enjoyed items such as grilled beef tenderloin and grilled salmon. It is also noted that the airline shows images of far more substantial meals on its vegan menu.
The airline responded to Chari’s post by saying, “We apologize for not being able to meet expectations.”
Lots of People Loved The Presentation
Many people looked at the funny side of the story, and others were enamored by the delivery of the banana. One person commented, “I like the understated presentation of your meal. Very delicate and very Japanese!.” Another person joked that “Hah, maybe they were very serious about maximizing sleep on both our flights!”
Nevertheless, people agreed with Chari that they would have expected more as a paying customer. One person said, “Not that I ever would either, but, in my view, those who order a vegetarian meal should be accorded more than just a banana, an albeit a very appetizing and high quality one.”
The story freaked out some people, with one person saying, “Wow, I’m on JL726 in a few weeks… guess I’ll have to load up at the lounge! ”
Something tells us that Japan Airlines will be reviewing their in-flight vegan meals!
