We all love a picnic – takes us back to our childhoods! But have you thought about having a picnic at 30,000 feet? A novel idea that’s now a reality at Heathrow; passengers departing on flights can take their ‘on-board picnic’ with them! All 118 restaurants within Heathrow are taking part in creating bespoke picnic hampers for passengers, offering an alternative dining option to the less-admired on-board meals provided by the airlines.
Just imagine munching on pizzas by Heston Blumenthal’s The Perfectionist Café or delicious deli options from Gordon Ramsay’s Plane Food, not to mention fresh, healthy picnics from Pret a Manger, EAT, Caviar House and The Gorgeous Kitchen. Starting from around £5 and presenting a more affordable in-flight dining option, the hampers are collapsible and manageable in design and size so they can be easily stored in the overhead locker or under the seat, and some of the hampers are insulated to “ensure the food retains maximum taste and freshness” at 30,000 feet, such as the hamper from Caviar House which includes an ice compartment. Plus, return your insulated bag to Caviar House and you’ll receive a 15% discount on your next on-board picnic purchase!
Passengers are able to sample the on-board picnics in Terminal 2’s ‘pop-up park’ – launched this week – before they decide, ensuring their hampers are tailormade to meet dietary requirements. Developed in collaboration with the Royal Parks Foundation, the ‘park’ features lighting that emulates sunlight, park benches, street signs, lamp posts, freshly cut grass and birds chirping creating the perfect urban park-like environment.
With airlines, according to research, charging up to £2,600% more than supermarkets for in-flight food and drink last year – EasyJet passengers paying around £6.20 for a basic meal with a soft drink and £6.90 when adding a hot drink or soup – you can be confident that this new ‘on-board picnic’ option from Heathrow will prove popular. And BA (British Airways) have already welcomed the new picnic hampers, believing that they will take up little cabin space and not creating too much additional rubbish to be cleared once ‘picnic’ passengers depart.
Eating healthily and saving money? Now that’s an on-board dining option that deserves serious consideration!