When flying around India, I am always up for new and exciting options to explore all sorts of interesting takes of the various airlines flying around in India. While IndiGo has been known for its on-time performance and has made quirky communication its hallmark, Vistara wanted to recreate the glory days of Indian aviation. SpiceJet focuses on connecting the hinterland, and so on. They are all trying to find and keep their niche!
Amongst all of this, one of the airlines which have gone through a bit of restructuring over the past year and coming up with a new lookout is AirAsia India. AirAsia India first became a 51:49 shareholding between the Tata Group and AirAsia Bhd. Then, the Tata Group bought a 32.6% stake from AirAsia and is on course to acquiring the remaining stake in 2022 to take its ownership to 100% of AirAsia India.
Separating from the AirAsia group meant the airline had to do things anew, such as creating a new website rather than keeping with the earlier AirAsia website. Now, one of the other initiatives they quietly launched during the holidays of 2021 seems to be very exciting. Partnering up with Taj SATS airline catering, AirAsia India launched a new menu for inflight dining, which has all sorts of exciting options.
With Gourmair, AirAsia India has brought up some unique gourmet experiences for its passengers. AirAsia India offers passengers up to 21 regional and international favourites to try from, which can be pre-booked on the airline’s website.
The new menu offers a wide range of hot meals in distinct sections, including MasterChef Specials, World’s Finest, Regional Favourites, All-Day Breakfast, Healthy and Diabetic options, Seasonal Fruits; Lite Bites (Sandwiches and Rolls) and Delectable Desserts.
The MasterChef Specials section is curated exclusively for AirAsia India by MasterChef India winner Kirti Bhoutika. It features an innovative Vegan Moilee MasterCurry, a unique take on the famous Kerala-style moilee curry prepared with tofu, cherry tomatoes, and zucchini, served with raw mango and coconut rice. It also includes an innovative fusion dessert – Shôndesh Tiramisu, with hints of espresso and dark chocolate, layered with mascarpone cheese.
The Pioneer Picks section has some of JRD Tata’s favourites being recreated, such as Herb Grilled Fish Fillet and Cheddar & Chives Omelette. While you can check out the full menu here, here is a quick look. The images are from the website of AirAsia India.
Herb-Grilled Fish Fillet
Vegan Moilee Curry With Coconut Rice
Spinach & Feta Stuffed Chicken Breast
Shôndesh Tiramisù
However, all of these options are only available if you book before you get on the plane (12 hours before the flight). So, if you look forward to booking any of these fantastic meals on the plane, you will be given the usual options of buying some noodles or cookies onboard only.
At INR 400 a pop, the meals don’t come cheap. But for those who book the Flexi fares, or a corporate fare with the airline, they indeed come inclusive in the price.
And kudos to AirAsia India for the forward-thinking. The airline has an oven-onboard aircraft, and these meals do full justice to the extra weight being lugged around.
Bottomline
AirAsia India has launched a fabulous new in-flight dining menu that offers some great meal options for those who like to eat on the road, including some Indian and western dining options. They also signed up MasterChef India winner 2016 to design some exclusive meals for them, which indicates how serious they are about catering on board.
Has anyone flown with AirAsia India recently and tried the new meal options onboard?
Liked our articles and our efforts? Please pay an amount you are comfortable with; an amount you believe is the fair price for the content you have consumed. Please enter an amount in the box below and click on the button to pay; you can use Netbanking, Debit/Credit Cards, UPI, QR codes, or any Wallet to pay. Every contribution helps cover the cost of the content generated for your benefit.
(Important: to receive confirmation and details of your transaction, please enter a valid email address in the pop-up form that will appear after you click the ‘Pay Now’ button. For international transactions, use Paypal to process the transaction.)
We are not putting our articles behind any paywall where you are asked to pay before you read an article. We are asking you to pay after you have read the article if you are satisfied with the quality and our efforts.
Interesting. Wonder if it’s part of a larger strategy to eventually integrate AirAsia India with Air India Express and have a superior low-cost soft product in the regional international sector.
Interesting times for Indian aviation.
I have to agree entirely. I fly the Mumbai Jaipur sector almost weekly and in the absence of any viable full service (Air India flies middle of the day, Vistara has no flights) I have to fly low cost. Flew Air Asia a couple of weeks back and was blown away with the meal. Have booked Air Asia since for every week, return leg (onwards flight being middle of the day too).
Also just the overall service is so much superior to Indian low costers!