Alaska Airlines Makes Change That Some Travelers Will Appreciate

One of the many small perks that distinguishes a first-class flying experience from an economy one is the food you get served. 

Luxury-forward airlines such as Emirates and Qatar Airways are known to serve guests extensive menus designed by star chefs to feature local ingredients from the destination to which the plane is going. In this regard, Singapore Airlines  (SINGF)  also shines with a selection of both Western dishes such as lobster thermidor and beloved local classics such as laksa, nasi lemak and nasi biryani.

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Over in the U.S., it is common for airlines to launch special menus for particular routes. This week, Alaska Airlines  (ALK)  announced a new menu for first-class passengers taking the airline's flight between San Francisco International Airport and New York's John F. Kennedy Airport from Aug. 28.

These delicious things will be in Alaska Airlines' new menu

The menu is designed by Brandon Jew, a chef whose restaurant Mister Jiu became a San Francisco staple and earned a Michelin star for its take on "Cantonese cuisine with a California take" fusion.

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The new menu will feature a breakfast congee (the flight of rice, soy cured eggs and braised pork belly served with some pickled turnip and cauliflower on the side for morning flights and lunch/dinner options of braised duck leg, sesame egg noodles and gai lan or roasted black cod topped with ginger-scallion sauce and silken tofu and mapo sauce on a bed of farro and quinoa for the day meal.

The ingredients are sourced through a number of partnerships with local California, Alaska and other West Coast suppliers including Sonoma Valley's Liberty Farms for the duck.

"Luxury begins with quality ingredients, which underscores our shared values," Chef Brandon Jew said in a statement. "At Mister Jiu's we are always evolving and defining Chinese American cuisine in the Bay Area while advocating for the global recognition of Chinese food — the partnership with Alaska Airlines elevates Chinese cuisine from coast to coast."

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Sound good? The bad news is that you need to pay first-class ticket prices

The new menu will launch on Aug. 28 and will, according to Alaska, be available on flights between the two cities for at least a year with some seasonal variations.

This specific menu is available exclusively to Alaska's first-class passengers; on the airline's website, a one-way ticket from San Francisco to New York at the start of September currently goes for $1,004 while the "Saver" fare class shows up as $429. 

Back in May, the airline announced that it would bring back the hot entree options to its for-purchase menu for economy flights after repeated customer requests; the hot menu items had been cut during the pandemic to bring down the staff time needed to heat it up as well as crowding in the back of the plane.

The new hot items added to the menu include a Monte Cristo breakfast sandwich, a carnitas breakfast bowl, a panang curry chicken entree and pretzel roll sliders with a side of chips that economy passengers on longer flights with a full food cart service can purchase.

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