‘It’s a plane, not a restaurant’ — TikToker unhappy that his preferred meal on SIA flight gets schooled by others

SINGAPORE: A TikTok user received a lot of attention recently after his unhappy post about his preferred meal having run out during a Singapore Airlines flight from London to Singapore.

In his post, @hanxooy wrote that he had been seated in the final row of the plane and was served the meal last. He added that while he had seen that there were two options for the main course—chicken and fish—before the flight, there was no more chicken by the time he was served.

The post author added that he “only ate a portion of the food because I have no appetite for the fish meal for breakfast.”

“I could’ve chosen the chicken meal, but to no avail, we are the last to be served, it’s a sorry for us. I did not know that these seats at the last part of the plane [are] the most disadvantaged place,” he added.

He also wrote that he had an upset stomach throughout the flight and that he was hungry and could not sleep; therefore, his rest was ruined.

“To those travelling a long-haul flight, consider and prepare for these possible unfortunate things when flying on this airline,” the TikTok user wrote.

He titled his post, “Bad Experience on a Long Flight,” and while he wrote that he had “no problem with the service of this airline,” he added, “I am just frustrated because they have all the time to prepare the meals as they already knew how many passengers were on board ahead of time.”

Asking others to respect his post and opinion, he asked those who’ve had “unfortunate” flying experiences to share them.

According to a report in MustShare News, SIA apologised to the post author, although it is fairly common for carriers to run out of a specific meal option toward the end of a meal service, as airlines estimate the number of meals each flight will need, in order to prevent food wastage.

In such cases, the customers who have not been served are simply given the meal option that remains. This is why it’s important that passengers with special preferences, such as vegetarians or those with food allergies, tell the carrier ahead of time.

The post author was schooled by TikTok users commenting on his post.

“That’s how it is. You always have the option to pre-order a special meal, especially if you’re picky with food, or you can pay to choose a seat in the front row so you get first pick. It’s a plane, not a restaurant, so stop complaining.

“The airline can’t carry double the number of meals to cater for everyone. Reserve your meal in advance next time.

It’s a transportation, not a restaurant. If there are 100 pax, then there’ll be 70 chicken – 30 fish. They can’t cater 100 chicken – 100 fish for everyone. Be considerate as well; it’s not your fault, it’s not the cabin crew’s fault, it’s not the airline’s fault, it is how it is. Even when u go to a restaurant, food gets sold out as well.

In another comment, the post author wrote that during the second meal service, he did get to have a choice for meals, though he maintained that the situation was still “unfair.” /TISG

Read also: Leak in overhead bin on Singapore Airlines flight sparks online buzz; airline says no safety risk