Vistara reacts after passenger compares in-flight meal with ‘hostel food’

Vistara was embroiled in a controversy after a food vlogger compared the in-flight meal served to him with hostel food. Food vlogger Kripal Amanna, shared a post on X on March 7 to express his dissatisfaction with the meal.

Along with a photograph of the meal, Kripal gave a sarcastic comment drawing comparisons to “near-inedible meals served in a badly-run hostel mess by indifferent cooks”.

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The photograph showed an aluminium foil container filled with rice and side dishes, alongside a wrapped bun and a chocolate dessert, which did little to appease the disgruntled passenger.

“Wow! Vistara, your main meal aboard UK820 this evening evoked a sense of nostalgia! That of near inedible meals served in a badly-run hostel mess by indifferent cooks! Insipid flavours, the sort of texture that would indicate the chicken should have ideally been consumed hours ago, and the chocolate dessert, benchmarked perhaps to a kindergarten cookery project. Amazing,” reads the caption of his post.

See the post here:

Responding to the situation, Vistara addressed Kripal’s concerns in a series of posts. In its first post, the airline said that they were “disheartened” to find out about his disappointment with the meal.

In a follow-up response, Vistara requested Kripal to send his details for them to address the matter.

Kripal, however, reacted to Vistara’s post and asked the airlines not be “lazy”.

In another post, Kripal said, “Well, Vistara. It’s quite apparent that your ‘highest standards’ aren’t high enough to serve a basic satisfactory meal. And btw, I am disheartened too, extremely, given the culinary lineage of your brand. Sad,” Kripal said.

The post rapidly went viral, with over 1 million views. Social media users resonated with the post and shared similar experiences.

“Completely agree. I was served some chicken curry rice on my flight from Singapore to Mumbai. It was like chewing some raw masala. Suffered heartburn for the rest of the day, a user said.

“Every time Vistara requests feedback, I always highlight the poor tasting food as an area of improvement. Pressure for cost reduction, I suppose,” another user said.

Earlier this week, a passenger criticised Vistara over the absence of non-vegetarian meal options on a short flight.