If there’s one person who knows what it takes to create a seamless inflight menu, it’s Richard Neo. As Singapore Airlines’ food and beverage manager, he regularly scouts hawker centres, working with local aunties and uncles to bring the authentic flavours of Singapore’s diverse and rich food heritage to passengers onboard the national carrier’s flights. The program, which has, to date, seen 12 hawker brands come on board – including cult-favourite Boon Tong Kee’s Michelin-plated chicken rice and Beach Road Prawn Noodle House – is just one way the airline is seeking to entice passengers back onboard following the big C. 

And it’s working.

The airline was once again voted as one of the world’s best (coming in second, just behind Qatar Airways) in the latest Skytrax awards based on customer satisfacting ratings. It has also consistently been voted one of the best when it comes to wine, having won the Best Overall Cellar award three times as part of the Cellars in the Sky awards – and it’s not hard to see why.

Onboard, you’ll find selected cabin crew members who have been trained as sommeliers (just look for a grape badge on a crew member’s uniform) willing to help you find a wine of your liking – a service available to all cabin classes. But it’s hardly the only thing the airline has been working on. Building a culture of innovation, the airline has, in recent years, launched several initiatives designed to improve the inflight experience, including a partnership with Singapore-based COMO Shambhala to create dishes rich in nutrients and antioxidants. More recently, it joined forces with US-based Golden Door, widely recognised as one of the world’s best wellness spas (look out for inflight exercise videos promoting wellbeing while in the sky).

But beyond improving the inflight experience, the airline is also firmly focused on achieving net zero emissions by 2050. In late 2020, working with SATS (the airline’s Singapore-based catering partner), the airline launched a new eco-friendly meal concept for economy class passengers travelling on flights of less than three-and-a-half hours. The move sought to reduce the use of plastics and waste that would otherwise end up in landfill through the use of uniquely designed eco-friendly packaging. The concept has been a success, particularly in the wake of COVID, during which the use of plastics exploded across all industries. The new serving boxes are specially designed using Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper, and include leakproof boxes (reminiscent of classic takeaway containers) along with bamboo cutlery sets. 

The move has meant Neo and his team have been able to develop a larger range of comforting, wet-style meals such as laksa, congee and other Singaporean favourites not currently possible with the more traditional casserole-style containers. The design also allows food to remain hotter for longer, while also being resistant to overheating when cabin crew prepare meals. 

On a recent short-haul flight from Singapore, we tested the concept and genuinely couldn’t fault it. At first glance, you might think the new boxes hold less than the previous casserole dishes, but as is often the case, looks can be deceiving. The new packaging holds the same amount of food as the previous dishes, but more importantly, the unique deeper shape means that when it comes to eating, it’s far easier to handle without the awkwardness usually experienced when trying not to stain that white shirt you decided was a good idea to wear. We were also pleasantly surprised to find that meals such as a dreamy congee, which would have been notoriously tricky previously, are a complete breeze to enjoy. The comforting rice-based dish is a true heaven-sent delight when at 38,000 ft, remaining more than warm for the entire meal service.

According to the airline, the new packaging reduces 80 percent of single-use plastics (by weight) from a single meal tray. And when it comes to leftovers, Neo reveals they’re brought back, along with the used packaging, to Singapore, where an eco-digester processes everything (like a giant stomach) and converts it into pellets that can be used as refuse-derived fuel – a move that generates 60 percent less catering waste overall. 

And because seeing is believing, Neo demonstrated, mid-conversation, the packaging’s durability and leakproof features, confidently turning a container filled with laksa upside down. We were waiting for an imminent disaster to unfold, but the inverted packaging didn’t leak a single drop of liquid. Back on our flight, I built up the courage to put it to the test while in the air, to the disbelief of onlooking passengers expecting a complete mess. I was astounded by the magic of the simple paper box, which manages to keep all of its contents intact and in a presentable fashion.

However, that’s hardly the most impressive feature of the new packaging and concept. 

The most noticeable difference we found was the space saved on your tray in comparison to traditional meal service – a luxury that’s truly welcome when flying economy. The neatly arranged boxes mean there are no stray plastic wrappers or sheets of aluminium foil dripping with condensation to contend with while trying to eat with at least some sense of decorum. The difference was even more apparent when, on a long-haul flight to Sydney with a competitor airline, I clocked more than five individual single-use plastic-wrapped items, not counting the usual aluminium foil covering and the traditional plastic casserole dish, in an economy class meal. 

While the airline doesn’t have any immediate plans to bring the eco-friendly packaging to longer-haul economy-class flights, including those to and from Australia, it’s one we’d warmly welcome. 

This writer was a guest of Singapore Airlines.