If you often fly long distances, you know how much it can cost to eat at transfer airports — the so-called hubs. For example, when flying to San Francisco from Kiev (Kiev → Moscow → New York → San Francisco) I spent about $100 on food at airports and planes and it was a lame meal. Yes, I chose such a crooked route myself and saved about $ 500, but it's still a pity to spend a hundred dollars :) Below I will share with you tips on how I learned to save on food and drinks during my travels.
Choose carefully the airline you are flying. For example, I can say frankly — on international flights I try to choose Aeroflot. They literally feed on their flights and the food is of very good quality. The airlines of the Middle Oil East — Qatar Airlines, Royal Jordanian Airlines and others - also feed well. At the same time, Ukrainian airlines will bring you the most miserable grub imaginable! Eat on planes for free, then you don't need to eat at airports of transfer. By the way, in Aeroflot, when ordering tickets on the website, you can choose the type of food — these things are even tastier.
There is another life hack. You can order tomato juice almost indefinitely, which is very nutritious. A few glasses of it — and you won't want to eat for more than an hour.
Here Captain Obviousness advises to choose shorter transplants. But it's always a question of money — if you can sit for 6 hours instead of 2 hours and save, for example, $ 300, then why not arrange a party for yourself for part of this amount? :)
If you are traveling with children, then take M&M’s and other sweets with you. DutyFree sells everything they need, but only in giant packages and for a lot of money. For example, a 100g chocolate bar can cost from $5. At home, the same one costs $ 1 and does not weigh much — stock up in advance. You can also take sandwiches with you. But, please, forget about the stinky sausage and cheese. If you unpack such belongings on an airplane or in a stuffy terminal, then you really strain others. No, you are not envied, you are sincerely sorry for your lack of imagination and taste. You can make sandwiches with jam, butter and honey. They don't smell and are extremely nutritious. Don't forget about Nutella and peanut butter. By the way, kids just love such butricks.
Airport food is rarely worth the money, if you have it and you decide to spend it, then choose your place carefully. Foursquare and photos of users from catering outlets will help you with this. For example, I love the Greenport point at Istanbul Airport. Yes, the food there costs $30 with a glass of beer, but in addition you will get a comfortable armchair or sofa, fast Internet and a lot of beautiful girls and guys next to you ;) Obviously, such variations are convenient for independent travel. If there are three or four of you, then such a dinner will cost from $ 100. Think and plan family voyages especially carefully!
If you are a gourmet, an aesthete and just sort out food at home, then you should stop doing it at the airport. Look at the prices in fast food and compare with cafes/restaurants with seating. For example, in the New York terminal at Wendy’s, I was in the company of people engaged in self-destruction, but I had a mega-dense lunch for $6! On a Delta Airlines plane, it would cost me 20-30 dollars. In Moscow Sheremetyevo there is, for example, Burger King, which has very affordable prices. Russians will also be pleased to know that everywhere except Russia, McDonald's has such a concept of "menu" (Big Mac menu, Doublecheesburger menu) — a very economical offer that is worth paying attention to. You'll get a burger, fries and a sugary drink with gas for less than $10.
And also, avoid Russian food chains like Chocolatiers or Doublecofe — they are crazy in their pricing. Really.
The average price of 0.2 liters of plain water at the airports I visit is $3. In Russia, this price is $5. That is, it will cost $10 for three of you to get drunk. Given the dry air of the terminals, you want to drink constantly and a long wait immediately becomes expensive. Take an empty water bottle with you. You will not be able to carry water between the terminals, but on the drinkers you will be able to fill them and drink. Believe me, the water in them is tastier and better bottled with us. In general, know that the whole civilized world drinks tap water - Europe and America.
There are also special bottles with filtration of incoming water. For example, these are produced by Brita. They stand like a threesome having a drink at the airport :)
When I arrived in Bangkok, I checked out and saw 1002 people who did the same. After reading the tips in Foursquare, I found out where the most delicious food is and what time it is in a great Happy hour restaurant.
Share your tips in the comments.
