Low-cost airline Jet2, the fourth largest scheduled airline in the UK, has launched its first-ever inflight vegan meal.
The company will now offer plant-based penne arrabbiata on all flights, and will clearly mark its vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options on its menu card.
“Jet2.com and Jet2holidays customers constantly praise the extensive selection of food and drink on board our flights,” said CEO Steve Heapy in a statement. “Therefore we are always looking at how we best keep up to date with current tastes and trends.”
“In line with our ethos of delivering a VIP customer experience, we are always looking at how we offer a great choice for our customers on board,” he continued. “We have worked closely with our food suppliers to source a meal that is not only a delicious choice for our vegan customers, but is also a great meal option for everyone on our flights.”
Jet2 joins a number of airlines that have launched vegan inflight meals in response to demand and to fulfill sustainability commitments. Las November, Hawaiian Airlines introduced new vegan options on most of its international flights, and Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) trialed a new plant-based mushroom meat dish on its menu.
The executive vice president commercial for SAS, Karl Sandlund, said at the time, “Sustainability is a main focus for SAS and as we see an increasing interest in a plant-based diet in the society, it is important to have a vegan dish on a trial as one of the regular meals.”
Consumers are becoming more concerned about the health, environmental, and ethical impact of consuming animal products. Because of this, more and more people are seeking out vegan options when they travel. In the UK, nearly three million people attempted to ditch meat, eggs, and dairy this year for Veganuary, a global initiative which encourages people to go vegan for 31 days.
It’s not just British flyers who are becoming more conscious. According to Dubai-based airline Emirates, this month it experienced a 40 percent increase in orders for meat-free dishes, serving a total of 20,000 vegan meals to passengers.
