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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 3:09 p.m., Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Hawaiian Airlines adds $10 premium option to coach meal service

Advertiser staff

Hawaiian Airlines has added a premium meal option for coach class passengers on trans-Pacific flights as part of its Ono Bistro meal service.

Currently, Hawaiian's complimentary Ono Bistro meal includes preservative-free entree, dessert, and soft drink.

For $10, passengers can opt for the premium meal: a choice of healthy entrees, dessert, and bottled water.

Premium choices include:

Sushi Bento Box with California rolls, edamame, teriyaki chicken, ginger, wasabi, and a side salad;

Taco Salad with grilled chicken breast, diced tomatoes and onions, guacamole, salsa, sour cream and tortilla chips;

Chicken Caesar salad with grilled chicken breast, romaine lettuce and parmesan cheese;

Satay chicken on vermicelli noodles with snow peas, cabbage, and carrots.

A tapas-style menu created by award-winning chef and Maui restaurateur Beverly Gannon will continue to be served to first-class passengers.

Louis Saint-Cyr, Hawaiian's vice president of inflight services, said customer response to the new meal service during a three-month trial period has been overwhelmingly favorable.

"Our objective was to adopt a more natural approach to our onboard dining for

customers, while maintaining our longstanding policy of offering free meals in coach," he said.

The 'Ono Bistro meals are being presented in serving containers made from recyclable materials that are 100 percent biodegradable, including the cutlery and water bottle.

Saint-Cyr noted another key improvement of the new meal service is that Hawaiian is now investing most of its money on the quality of food and ingredients instead of the delivery and packaging, as was the case with the previous program. "More money is going into the quality of the food, which is what our customers value most in a meal," he said.