As airlines cut menus, luxury hotels step up

updated 7:24 p.m. ET March 19, 2006

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Pistachio-crusted blue fin tuna topped with shaved fennel and blood oranges. Prosciutto and burratta mozzarella on bone bread, garnished with arugula. Grilled chicken with avocado and chipotle aioli.

Luxury hotels around the country serve such gourmet entrees in their dining rooms.

Now, many are offering the meals in takeout bags or boxes to well-heeled travelers forced to fend for themselves as airlines scale back food service. It’s a way for the upscale hotels to attract repeat business and luxury travelers.

“I don’t want to be down on the airport, but once you get there, you’re limited to whatever fast food they have,” said Pamela Morris, 32, who travels frequently as special projects director for an economic development council in Colorado.

Morris recently ordered a poached chicken breast pita sandwich with tarragon mayonnaise from the flight food menu of the Ritz-Carlton, Pentagon City during a business trip to Washington, D.C.

“It was perfect for what we needed it for,” she said. “It was filling and fresh, and it was easy.”

The trend toward gourmet travel offerings by hotels began to take off when high fuel prices and competition from no-frills carriers forced many domestic airlines to trim costs by closing kitchens, industry observers said.

“You saw them starting to deal with the void of what domestic airlines have been offering,” said Albert Herrera, vice president for hotels and resorts at Virtuoso, a network of travel agents that specializes in luxury trips.

Airlines that haven’t cut out meals completely have started selling their passengers light meals. American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and other carriers offer cold sandwiches and snack boxes for about $5 on long flights.

“It’s your everyday turkey burrito wrapped in cellophane,” aviation consultant Jack Keady said.

By contrast, the posh Peninsula Beverly Hills sells takeout platters of blue fin tuna, poached salmon and Cobb salad in narrow cardboard boxes with suitcase-like handles for about $20.

Guests at the Hotel Plaza Athene in New York can order a chicken club or shaved roast beef sandwich packed with monogrammed cloth napkins and a reusable thermos from the hotel’s “Goodies to Go” menu.

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