Han Ximin, Wang Suwan, Luo Yitong ximhan@126.com DOZENS of different types of in-flight offerings including meals, vegetables, drinks, tea and pastries and souvenirs were on display at the pantry hall of Shenzhen Airlines yesterday to show off the airline’s careful preparation for the upcoming flight that will link Shenzhen and London. The route, scheduled to open Oct. 30, will be the first intercontinental route operated by Shenzhen Airlines. Upon operation, the trip between Shenzhen and Heathrow Airport, the air transport hub in Europe, will take 13 hours. Diversified meals As a single trip between Shenzhen and London takes 13 hours, the food standard for intercontinental flights is higher than that of domestic flights and more complicated than that of flights to Southeast Asian countries. Besides dinner, breakfast and snacks, the airline company also innovatively added afternoon tea to the services. “The meals were made after nearly two years of preparation and researches,” Yao Jun, vice general manager with the Pantry Department of Shenzhen Airlines, said at a food display ceremony held in Shenzhen Airlines Base in Bao’an District yesterday. It generally takes about two months to take dish from research to completion. The food service department conducts thorough market research when preparing meals for passengers taking an international route. For business class, dinner includes braised tenderloin, pan-fried beef steak with black pepper, abalone and baked chicken meat, grilled orange rock fish. The breakfast features Canton-style foods and Western-style pastries. For economy class, dinner includes kung pao chicken, baked rice with sausage, braised beef, and fried chicken fillets, while breakfast has a variety choices like grapefruit and scrambled eggs, beef and salty sauce noodle, and fried rice noodles on offer. Considering the tastes of Western passengers, the company added cheesecake, peach cakes, chestnut cakes, salads and Western-style pantry options. The Canton morning tea is indispensable for flights departing from Shenzhen. With this in mind, rice noodle rolls, shrimp dumplings, steamed dumpling, and baked rice with sausages have also been added to the menu. The foods incorporate a choice of beef, pork or seafood, making personalization possible for passengers. The menus will change with the seasons, and everything is made with the seasonally available foods, which means some ingredients will be purchased globally. Through diligence and care, the airline has selected trustworthy, reliable and robust food suppliers. At present, the airline has accumulated a dearth of experience in providing meals from the seven international routes that it operates. Innovative gift boxes For passengers taking the maiden flight, the company has prepared gift boxes, which are innovative in design and rich in Chinese cultural elements. This gift box serves multiple functions and is an upgraded, innovative version based on the in-fight meal box design. Since September 2015, Shenzhen Airlines has introduced 13 culture-themed meal boxes. The designs of the meal boxes, either in the style of postcards, cartoons, bookmarks, origami or window paper cuts, center around the Chinese traditional virtues, 24 solar terms, and traditional holidays and festivals. The upgraded commemorative gift box also contains snacks, a photo frame, puzzles, graffiti cards for children, flight chess and a letter of gratitude. Biscuits, candies and snacks in the gift box were specifically made by Shenzhen Airlines in cooperation with well-known food companies in Guangdong Province. After eating the snacks, passengers can spend their hours in flight playing chess on the board that is placed at the bottom of the gift box and equipped with dice and wooden pieces. | 