Don't get snacked on by the airlines!

2010-05-12

Air travelling holidaymakers who fail to buy food before boarding their flight will page staggeringly inflated prices drinks and snack foods on some of the UK's top 'budget' airlines, reveals research from travelsupermarket.com. Up to 350% above supermarket prices, let alone wholesale prices! Travelsupermarket.com claims that Ryanair is the most pricey airline in the survey.

For example a family of four purchasing drinks, sandwiches, and a chocolate bar could end up spending the best part of an eyewatering £50 if buying onboard rather than stocking up before they fly. The travel comparison site examined supermarket, airport and onboard prices and found an average mark-up of food and drink on supermarket prices (not including hot drinks) of 374 per cent.

Bob Atkinson, who is a travel expert with travelsupermarket.com, said: "Airlines can get away with charging extortionate prices because once you're onboard there's nowhere else to go! Small savings can really add up, so holidaymakers who want a few extra pounds to spend whilst away need to get more savvy about eating and drinking onboard.

"Prices vary significantly across airlines so by bringing your own you can avoid having to think about it at all. You can take food through security, but there's no getting around the liquids ban, so then it's worth buying any non-alcoholic drinks in the departure area and ensure that you make savings versus on board costs as well as having far more choice available than from the airline trolley. Plus the 'healthy' eating options onboard are practically non existent."

Highest and lowest mark-ups
The highest onboard food mark-ups onboard are on smaller items like crisps and baked goods. Here are some examples of airline vs. supermarket prices:

Cup-a-soup - 1175 per cent more (£2.38 onboard average price); on Ryanair it costs £3.16 making it the highest individual mark up.

Pringles - 708 per cent (£1.42 onboard average price for a quarter size tub - equivalent to nearly two full-sized tubes from a supermarket)

Jaffa Cakes are marked up by 556 per cent (you get three cakes) a quarter of the normal box which costs £1.20

The lowest food mark-ups onboard are found on confectionery, although on average chocolate bars such as Kit Kats, Mars Bars and Twix are marked up by 150 per cent to 330 per cent. A Twix is free on bmibaby when you buy a hot drink.

Added Bob Atkinson: "Holidaymakers can avoid the whole 'buying food onboard' issue all together by flying with a scheduled carrier. British Airways offers a hot breakfast snack and drink on board all flights before 10am and drinks and a snack after that on short haul. Long haul flights always have a full meal and snack service, plus free drinks. Other short haul carriers like Lufthansa, Air France, KLM and Swiss offer a basic snack or small meal, but carriers like Iberia now charge for catering on short haul flights.

“Or take your own snacks with you or buy at the airport. We tested a couple of low cost carriers and took are own tea bags on board, requesting hot water from the cabin crew. Whilst staff were reluctant, we were given hot water for free and saved ourselves the price of our aiport transfer on arrival." (These were easyJet, bmibaby and germanwings)

travelsupermarket.com's top tips for saving money on airline food

Bring food from home - there are no restrictions on food going through security, just drinks and other liquid products such as yoghurts - 100ml limit for liquids. Alternatively buy from the airport shops after security where there is far more choice including meal deals than on board.
Buy drinks in the departure area - you can take drinks on board, including hot drinks, you just can't consume your own alcohol on board
If you want healthy food you'll definitely need to take your own as none of the airlines researched served fruit
If planning to have a meal on the plane, remember to pre-order to ensure you get the meal and save money; or look for the meal deals on board
If you want hot drinks on board you can take your own tea bags or coffee and just ask for hot water - although there is no guarantee airline staff will serve you this.