Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

'I miss airline meals so much I make them at home'

'I miss airline meals so much I make them at home'

Self-confessed aviation geek Nik Sennhauser misses air travel so much that he is recreating the inflight meals he once enjoyed to remind him of good times before the pandemic.

Before Covid, Nik, who lives in Glasgow, would spend much of his free time looking for flight deals.

He loved the airports and airlines experience so much he thought nothing of flying to the US for a weekend trip.

"I once got a flight from Edinburgh to Boston for £150 return," he told BBC Radio Scotland's Our Lives with Michelle McManus.

"I took the Friday off and on the Thursday after work got on a plane and flew there, had some lobster rolls and dipped my feet in the sea - and then got back on a plane."

A United Airlines' chicken and waffles meal
Nik's recreation of the United meal
Nik, from Glasgow, said some people were willing to spend the same amount of money going to the pub.

"Aviation was always part of my life before the pandemic," he added.

One of things he misses the most about international travel are the inflight meals he was served.

"I grew up between Thailand and Austria, so I spent a lot of my childhood on planes and in airports," said Nik.

"My dad was working in Thailand for a multi-national and we went to school in Austria, so every holiday, even if it was just for a weekend, we would fly to Bangkok to see dad.

"The plane was the one place I would eat food without questioning it. At home my mum had to force me to eat vegetables and other foods."

Singapore Airlines' Hainanese chicken and rice
Nik spends hours recreating the meals, serving them in inflight dishes bought online

Nik said the flights he took from Thailand back to Europe were always at night.

"I found it fascinating that you got on a plane at two in the morning and an hour later someone came round and served you a three-course meal.

"It was like a wee performance on the plane.

"It was like entertainment."

Nik's meal on a Japanese ANA flight
The ANA meal recreated in Nik and Graham's kitchen in Glasgow

These days the pandemic has drastically reduced Nik's chances of getting on a plane and tucking into an inflight meal.

"Then one Sunday I was making sausages, eggs and hash browns and thought it looked a bit like a plane meal," said Nik, a business support manager for a Glasgow-based e-commerce start-up.

It was the spark which gave him the idea to recreate meals he had enjoyed on flights all over the world.

"Being a plane geek I have a trolley filled with glasses, plates and cutlery," said Nik, who bought the authentic inflight items online.

Nik said he found desserts the hardest of the foods to make

He now spends Sundays recreating meals for himself and his husband Graham.

Nik bases his creations on photographs he took of inflight meals served on his travels to and from Europe, Asia and the US.

They include lobster thermidor, meat patty and gnocchi, and fried chicken with waffles, roasted potatoes and grilled peaches.

But Nik admitted he enjoyed the eating far more than the preparation of his meals.

"I don't like cooking. It's not my thing," he said.

Sitting down to another of Nik's homemade inflight meals

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
×