Singapore Airlines' New Menu Wants to Make Long-Haul Flights Less Painful

The wellness-focused meals were created to help passengers arrive at their best

By

Published on 04/04/22

Fact checked by

Singapore Airlines Long-Haul Menu — Courtesy of Singapore Airlines

On the heels of its recently relaunched long-haul flight from Newark Liberty International to Singapore Changi Airport (currently the second-longest flight in the world), Singapore Airlines is making sure passengers arrive in the Lion City feeling healthy and refreshed after over 18 hours in the air.

The airline initially announced a partnership with Golden Door, one of the world's most exclusive destination spas, in October 2021, calling on the California-based wellness retreat to curate wellness-oriented food and beverage menus for the long flight. Now, the exclusive menu has finally debuted: its first appearance was aboard the airline's Los Angeles to Singapore route in February of this year, with the meals recently rolled out on the relaunched A350 long-hauls from John F. Kennedy Airport and Newark Liberty International.

"We're seeing a lot of elements of health and wellness options being introduced in-flight, and a lot of customers explaining to us that they want to see these sorts of options in-flight," said Antony McNeil, Singapore Airlines' director of food and beverage. "So we're tailoring our meal design to meet that demand."

The menus were designed to provide fresh and healthy dining options and reduce indigestion and insulin spikes, curb water retention, and make travelers feel fuller longer. All ingredients included in the meals have been chosen with passengers' comfort on long-haul flights in mind, such as the use of turmeric, which reduces heartburn, inflammation, and acid reflux.

Singapore Airlines Meal — Courtesy of Singapore Airlines

The new menu will be served with slight variations in business class and premium economy. Business-class meal options include miso-marinated cod over forbidden rice served with stir-fried vegetables and basil edamame puree, as well as citrus grilled shrimp salad with honey-glazed mushrooms, blackberries, sourdough croutons, and balsamic ginger dressing. Premium economy meal options include braised pork or tofu with couscous and vegetables and portobello meatballs with risotto heirloom tomato sauce.

Singapore Airlines Portobello Meatballs — Courtesy of Singapore Airlines

With a heavy focus on locally sourced ingredients, all food for the new JFK and Newark menus is supplied by AeroFarms, a New Jersey-based indoor vertical farming company. Founded by Marc Oshima, AeroFarms works closely with Singapore Airlines, Golden Door, and the caterers at Flying Food Group to monitor inventory and ensure the freshest ingredients will be available when needed. According to McNeil, the farthest location the food on New York and New Jersey-based passengers' plates has been sourced from is Boston.

The new menu will be available in addition to the airline's existing line of dishes from Book the Cook and other programs. For passengers who may want to take a break from the healthy options, mix-and-matching individual dishes from any Singapore Airlines dining program is allowed and encouraged.

Article Sources

TripSavvy uses only high-quality, trusted sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial policy to learn more about how we keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.