A blogger flying easyJet's late-night Copenhagen to Basel route put the airline's buy-on-board "gourmet burger" to the test — and the verdict is more encouraging than you might expect from airline food at 10pm.
The context matters here. The traveller had just come off a nearly five-hour Air Greenland flight with no pre-arrival meal, so by the time easyJet pushed back he was properly hungry. easyJet's buy-on-board menu includes hot items, and a flight attendant proactively offered to reserve a burger and deliver it after takeoff — a small touch that apparently made the whole experience smoother.
The mechanics are worth knowing if you're considering ordering one. There's no fresh-cooking involved: the crew opens a freezer bag, pops the burger into the galley oven, and heats it through. The wrapper promises a flame-cooked beef patty with a "creamy American mustard sauce" in a rustic Vienna roll. The damage: CHF 8.50, roughly USD 10.30, payable with a contactless card tap. Nutritionally it clocks in at 513 calories with 24g fat, 48g carbs and 23g protein — not health food, but a more substantial option than crisps or sweets on a late flight.
The honest review? The patty had the grey, not-quite-fresh look you'd predict from a reheated airline burger, but it tasted better than it looked, and the Vienna roll held up well, especially with extra mustard. The main criticism was what was missing: cheese, pickles, and tomatoes would have elevated it considerably. Interestingly, the same blogger rates easyJet's croque monsieur as the stronger hot snack on the menu, so if you're choosing between the two, that's the tip.
The bigger point he makes is about service philosophy. easyJet is selling hot meals even on short nighttime flights under 600 miles — something he argues the big US carriers like American and Delta fail to match on many domestic routes. For a budget airline often caricatured as bare-bones, having a crew member offer to set food aside and heat it fresh after takeoff is decent evidence that the buy-on-board programme is taken seriously.
Why should a traveller care? If you're on a budget flight arriving late — say, landing in Basel or another European city well past dinnertime — knowing that hot food is genuinely available (and roughly what it costs and tastes like) can save you from landing starving with everything closed. Order early, ask the crew whether hot items are loaded on your flight, and keep a card handy for tap payment. And if the burger doesn't tempt you, the croque monsieur apparently has the edge.