Airline: Austrian Airlines
Launched: July 2022
Elements: Catering • CRS
Austrian Airlines is bringing its distinctive local cuisine onboard with its new Tastefully Austrian concept
The Tastefully Austrian service and menu concept was designed for passengers on continental flights and in response to their needs, wishes and demands.
Austria’s capital, Vienna, is the only city in the world to give its name to a distinct style of food, Viennese cuisine. The first Viennese cookbook was printed as early as 1768, and to this day, Austrian cuisine remains an important part of the nation’s culture. Austrian Airlines is now bringing a piece of this Austrian tradition to the skies in an authentic and contemporary way. Viennese cuisine is the focus of the menu concept and includes seasonal elements changed weekly in eight cycles to ensure variety for even the most frequent flyers. The regional, fresh and artfully presented food is adapted in different levels depending on the flight, time of day and route.
The new concept aims not only to reduce the amount of waste, but also to reduce the use of single-use plastic waste.
Catering
The catering concept combines individuality, culinary experience and Austria’s contemporary and authentic style. In Service Level A, the ‘One move service’ the packaging allows individual’s the freedom to eat at once or take away. Service Level B is a significant upgrade. It includes cold dishes, colourful breakfast bowls and delicious desserts as well as gourmet hot dishes. Service Level C offers international dishes outbound and classic, Austrian dishes inbound. And Service Level D brings restaurant flair to the service with a dip and bread trio and warm pastries. Dishes can be personalised according to the customers’ wishes or served as individual items.
The Tastefully Austrian service is an holistic concept, tailored to the needs of passengers and delivered with warmth by confident hosts onboard. The offer is adapted to the changing demands of passengers taking account of trends and issues such as sustainability, health priorities and lifestyle choices. The dishes are easy to understand, colourful, high-quality, fresh, seasonal and regional. The concept aims to combine tradition, craftsmanship and modern elements into a coherent passenger experience. Taking account of healthy lifestyle priorities, the menus are designed to be elegant and at the same time ‘kind of fancy’. They have been created to be easy to understand and easily digestible. What is offered is tweaked to suit the flight and time of service. Selected fresh, regional and colourful ingredients and products of high quality are used throughout. Bread and pastry culture is given new attention, on medium-haul flights where the bread trio is served in its own basket alongside highlights of Viennese pastry cuisine.
On the shortest flights, ‘hand pastries’ have been developed and are offered in specially developed packaging. Passengers can decide spontaneously when they would like to eat their fresh muesli or a handmade sandwich filled, for example, with cheddar cheese, tomato and onion chutney or smoked salmon and rocket.
On the longer routes, cold or hot dishes are offered according to the length of flight. For breakfast perhaps a poached organic egg or raspberry pancakes; later in the day, hand-cut leg ham may be offered with fresh horseradish, or inspiring poke bowls, a classic beef goulash or juicy salmon fillet with mountain lentils.
The diverse desserts come from the houses of K. u. K. Hofzuckerbäckerei Demel and DO&CO. Among them are Sachertorte, panna cotta coffee, apple strudel or K. u. K. Hofzuckerbäckerei Demel’s raspberry yogurt tartlet.
On medium-haul flights, guests are offered a two-step concept. The two-course menu with bread trio and a light spread, is reminiscent of elegant restaurant dining and can be personalised and offered at different times if requested by the guest. As a main course, guests can expect delicacies such as the classic Viennese Tafelspitz or traditional Schlutzkrapfen. This is followed by Austrian apple strudel or the famous Kaiserschmarrn from the warm Viennese pastry kitchen.
CSR
Sustainability is an important part of Austrian Airlines corporate philosophy and the airline is committed to ensuring its contractual partners also live up to its ideals. In collaboration with its partners it is customising each departure to take account of regional supply and freshness, and as a result 80% of the food processed by DO&CO comes from local suppliers. In this way, the airline is directly supporting local communities while helping to reduce emissions in a natural way.
To achieve its less waste goals, high-quality chinaware, glassware and metal cutlery are used in Business Class for flights of 60 minutes or more. For flights under 60 minutes, recycled, unbleached cardboard is used to serve a breakfast bowl. The packaging is designed so that passengers can easily take their bowl or sandwich with them after the flight and enjoy it later if preferred. On all intercontinental flights, Business Class drinks are served exclusively in real glass and with cloth napkins.
Crew/service
The Tastefully Austrian concept, created in partnership with Austria’s best food brands such as DO&CO and K. u. K. Hofzuckerbäckerei Demel, is designed to give guests a wonderful, relaxed and satisfying flying experience. The concept aims to show that Austrian cuisine can be sophisticated and down-to-earth at the same time.
It is delivered by crew renowned for their natural friendliness and charm. Tailoring the offer to the length of the flight, ensures the concept is easily prepared and served with love and care by the crew, in a way that has become a trademark of Austrian Airlines experience.
Will Austrian Airlines win Cabin Concept of the Year 2023? Join us in Hamburg on June 6 2023 as we unveil winners at the Onboard Hospitality Awards ceremony at the World Travel Catering & Onboard Services Expo (WTCE).
