Airline opens fast food restaurant serving dishes from its in-flight menu

Plane food doesn't have a reputation for being delicious, but one airline is convinced its in-flight menu is so strong, it's opened a fast food restaurant serving the same dishes.

AirAsia has just opened new restaurant Santan in Kuala Lumpur, where foodies can order food from the same menu as passengers.

There's quite a range of food on offer, including dishes inspired by popular Asian cuisines such as Pineapple Fish Noodle from Cambodia or Chicken Inasal with Garlic Rice from the Philippines. 

There will also be a café where visitors can tuck into coffees, teas, snacks and desserts.

General Manager of Santan Restaurant and T&CO Cafe Catherine Goh explained that the company has "seen a significant appetite for our in-flight menu offerings beyond our flights across the region and this is our answer to that demand".

The restaurant also features a smart menu that's equipped with AI technology, so it can recommend popular dishes based on a host of factors including the time, ordering patterns and general taste.

Santan opened its doors in December so it's still too early to determine if the idea has taken off.

Still, the company has revealed it plans to open five Santan restaurants by the end of 2020 – and a further 100 franchise-operated restaurants and cafes within the next three to five years.

AirAsia announced earlier this year that it planned to open up an eatery, because it felt so confident that its in-flight menu was a cut above the rest.

During an interview on Larry King Now, AirAsia group CEO Tony Fernandes said: "Our food is fantastic. We believe in it so much that we’re going to start a fast-food restaurant out of it. It’s called Santan."

For those of us who aren't convinced by plane food, the good news is that there are easy ways to make those in-flight meals a little tastier.

For example, there's an easy £2 hack a lot of passengers swear by for adding flavour, not to mention you can always try requesting in-flight extras like extra meals which most people don't think to ask for (this could even turn your economy flight into a first class experience).

Intrigued? You can find out more on the Santan website.

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