Adapting its business to the current situation, caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Finnish airline Finnair offers as a consolation to all the people who miss traveling to buy its “business class airplane food” in supermarkets.

The goal of that carrier is to bring back some of the kitchen staff who were laid off when the pandemic hit.

The state-controlled airline said that in this first, pilot scheme, these handmade meals, called “Taste of Finnair,” would initially be offered at one store as of Thursday.

The ready-made dishes such as reindeer meatballs, Arctic char and Japanese-style teriyaki beef are suited for Nordic and Asian tastes and would cost about 10 euros, Finnair Kitchen said, part of a Finnair company that is one of the main airlines flying between Europe and Asia.

Airlines around the world try to employ their idled resources during the pandemic and tap into people’s desire to fly when most planes are grounded. Some offer simulated flights, fake travels in which the aircraft takes off and lands in the same location, or even just time to sit in the plane.

Takeaway food sales have boomed in Finland since spring after about 60% of the workforce started working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Finnair and the supermarket hope the meals will appeal to people yearning for travel.

Finer sent a large part of his 7,000 employees on forced leave, and his traffic dropped by 91% in September compared to the same month last year.

Source: Beta