INTRODUCTION
TUI, a UK-based holiday airline formerly known as Thomson, primarily serves vacation destinations.
It had been a while since I last flew with them on a short-haul route, so I decided to check out their latest buy-onboard menu.
You can read my previous review here.
WHAT TO EXPECT
If you’re flying with TUI on a short-haul flight, don’t expect any complimentary meals.
However, meals are always included on their long-haul flights (7+ hours).
On long-haul flights, you can expect the following service:
- After takeoff, drinks are provided (but no Prosecco or Champagne).
- A hot meal service is offered, along with a choice of red, white, or rosé wine.
- A second meal service, usually breakfast or afternoon tea, is provided a few hours before landing.
- A range of sweet and savory snacks such as Pringles, Cadbury products, and Kit Kat are available for purchase inflight.
TUI SHORT HAUL
My flight from London to Malaga on TOM flight 4760 was about 2.5 hours.
Onboard, I found the “Cafe & Shop Guide” in my seat pocket, detailing the available food and drinks.
The menu included:
- Ham and cheese toastie for 4.50 GBP
- Water for 1.90 GBP
- Orange juice for 2.50 GBP
- Chunky chips for 3.50 GBP
- BBQ Bourbon Beef pies for 4.50 GBP
- Tortellini for 6.50 GBP
- Bacon roll for 4.50 GBP
THE MEALS
Ten minutes after takeoff, the cabin crew moved through the cabin to take hot food pre-orders from passengers.
Using iPads, crew members started at row 1 and row 15 to take orders.
I observed that there weren’t many takers on this flight.
Twenty-five minutes after takeoff, the cabin crew commenced the inflight service.
Two crew members worked on each cart, with one cart starting at row 1 and the other starting from the back.
It took the crew 35 minutes to complete the service and meet in the middle of the aircraft.
For a short-haul flight, I thought the food offering was quite good, with plenty of choice between hot and cold dishes.
The crew offered tomato sauce and mayo (for free, which some airlines charge for) to accompany the pie and chips.
The chips were great—I’m usually quite skeptical of deep-fried products being reheated at 35,000ft, but they were crunchy and delicious.
The portion wasn’t huge, but the chips were on the larger side. The packaging was a bit challenging to open.
The pie pastry was flaky, and the BBQ Bourbon Beef was an excellent flavor combination. I’m not a huge fan of pies and was pleasantly surprised at how good these tasted.
Rubbish was collected immediately once the food carts were stowed away in the galleys.
A second service was not completed on this flight; however, the crew did offer Tax-Free Inflight Shopping.
I spent a total of 9 GBP inflight with TUI and felt I received great value for money, considering it was an inflight meal purchase.
The TUI UK menu offers plenty of meal deals, and the prices are quite reasonable.
They regularly change their onboard offerings, usually at the start of the winter season and the beginning of the summer season.
