Cost of Food and Drinks at Airports

maman

nearlyrich wrote: »

We work on the premise that we don't penny pinch on holiday, if we have an early flight we have breakfast at the airport, there are a number of good places at Manchester if you are in the right terminal.


I suppose doing a lot of motorway miles I am used to ridiculous prices for food and drink.

IMO there's a difference between choosing not to penny pinch and allowing yourself to be ripped off.

BillLucas

NicksTheMan wrote: »

We usually take sandwiches through security as it is only liquid that is banned not food. We buy a bottle of water airside. You must remember the airports charge either high rents or take a percentage rake off of the turnover from the retails outlets which pushes up the prices. Also we nearly got caught once when there was a long wait for our meal and we only just caught our flight, so if eating at all we get a Mcdonalds or other quick food takeaway but that is only when our flight in delayed. Airports are not for "Fine Dining"

We also take sandwiches. Apart from the exhorbitant prices often there are queues for some of the food outlets so you may risk either not eating or missing your flight. For us eating at the airport is not part of our holiday and we will try and avoid which is easy when flying from the UK but not always possible on the return journey.

mentaljessie

I always go for the Boots meal deal if travelling budget in europe. I refuse to pay stupid money for a coffee, tea or water. Having been stranded at Dubai airport for over 18 hours we did spend and believe me I budget around £35.00. This included a main meal at Burger king and 3 beverages at costa or equivalents. For 2 adults this was in November 2013.

We did once get a pizza from Pizza Hut and take this through security from Paphos to Gatwick with no problems on a flight which was charging us for a meal circa 2009. In Paris CDG we ate at Mcdonalds, for less than £10 in March 2013.

The thing we which me and Mr MJ laugh about the most was the backpacker asking for hot water for his pot noodle in Dubai, he was very honest about this and Starbucks dutifully did this for him.

shaun_from_Africa

angelil wrote: »

According to this link (https://www.gov.uk/alcohol-licensing), the law dating from 2010 states that if a UK premises sells or supplies alcohol, it is mandatory to provide free tap water

Any premises that does not serve alcohol is just being kind to you if they give you tap water for free, though - although post 34 on this thread makes for interesting/encouraging reading: http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g186338-i17-k3560201-o30-Free_tap_water_in_restaurants_It_s_now_law-London_England.html

Alcohol serving establishments do have a couple of get outs to avoid them having to serve water.

The first is they are legally entitled to refuse to serve anyone and they don't have to give a reason, but more importantly, the law that refers to them having to supply tap water states:

3. The responsible person shall ensure that free tap water is provided on request to customers where it is reasonably available.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/860/schedule/made
I suppose that all they would have to say is that they don't have a tap that is "reasonably available" for dispensing drinking water.

HarryLong

Departure lounges are usually overcrowded and unpleasant. We also take sandwiches and would avoid eating at the airport unless it is absolutely a last resort due to delays. There is no option but to buy bottles of water airside where they have a captive market thus the inflated prices charged

[Deleted User]

I travel around Europe and expect have to ditch water before security, but went to India recently and I asked at security about water and he waved me through and we took it on the plane. Is this usuall outside of europe?

maman

HarryLong wrote: »

Departure lounges are usually overcrowded and unpleasant. We also take sandwiches and would avoid eating at the airport unless it is absolutely a last resort due to delays. There is no option but to buy bottles of water airside where they have a captive market thus the inflated prices charged

In UK airports I've found buying water in Boots (using points when possible) is the best bet. I generally take my own food but a meal deal from there can be good value.

Doshwaster

maman wrote: »

In UK airports I've found buying water in Boots (using points when possible) is the best bet. I generally take my own food but a meal deal from there can be good value.

I can think of much more exciting ways of spending Boots points than on a bottle of water.

Personally, airport food and drink costs don't bother me that much as they are easily avoided if you want. I just treat them as an optional cost of travelling. If I really wanted to save money then I'd just stop at home.

Penny pinching can sometimes go too far. A pre-flight pint or glass of wine (or few) is part of my airport routine so I really don't care how much they cost - though I tend to draw the line at the price of a pint of Guinness during a stopover at Dubai

OnMyTodd

It is a matter of individual choice whether you eat at the airports or take your own grub. Where ever you eat "Airside" you will pay more than the high street. Sometimes if we have an early flight we will buy a breakfast an English breakfast at Wetherspoon,s but even there allow time to queue to place your order and the waiting for the food to be served at your table. Once you have paid that is it so if in any doubt about your available time, then another possibilty is McDonalds which is available in some UK Airport departure lounges.At least you receive your food when you reach the front of the queue and the tea and coffee is cheaper as well.

Frugalsod

As has being pointed out how many times do most of us fly each year and so it does not impact us too much, it might be a lot compared to home prices or elsewhere but then we can either do it on the plane or at the airport.