Trudeau Popularity - or not (various polling, etc.)

[rmc_wannabe]

Totally believe you.

How does it work out of curiosity? What are the logistical barriers to our transport aircraft carrying a stock of frozen meals onboard for reheating and service?

Not an expert on aircraft (former line cook), but I imagine there is a lack of refrigeration capability to keep meals food safe long enough to do that.

Also, large batch/small portion prep is massive ass pain for any caterer, let alone have to have them sealed for reheating God knows when. When youre the only game in town in some cases, you get to set the price.

It costs money to provide a warm, foodsafe meal while you're sitting in the literal sky. It's not the same as critiquing someone choosing the Keg over Dennys when on TD.

 

[dimsum]

Totally believe you.

How does it work out of curiosity? What are the logistical barriers to our transport aircraft carrying a stock of frozen meals onboard for reheating and service?

Food safe laws.

There are a certain number of hours those foods can be legally stored. Definitely not for days.

 

[brihard]

Food safe laws.

There are a certain number of hours those foods can be legally stored. Definitely not for days.

Including frozen?

 

[Czech_pivo]

Beef Wellington, $230 flowers: More details on how Governor General spent $99K on catering

Newly-obtained invoices from aircraft catering and ground handling providers in Ottawa, the U.K. and the Middle East reveal the excursion actually cost taxpayers $9…

nationalpost.com

So it made me look up the actual article where the $1500 Beef Wellington was mentioned. It was for a flight of 30 pax (probably not including crew) on the CC-150. So…34-35 pers?

I don’t think the prices were per person, although the “Quantity” column is blank in the receipt in the article.

What would be interesting is to see a comparison in cost/services for a comparable number of people flying into Toronto or Montreal for a foreign government jet. To see what these services cost in Toronto/Montreal for an Italian or German or Chinese or New Zealand government flight with 30 people against what our GG paid in London or Dubai.
If the costs are comparable then we are being petty and cheap in our thoughts/outrage - if Toronto/Montreal airport costs are substantially cheaper, then we are right to be outraged.

 

[dimsum]

Including frozen?

That’s what the flight feeding gave us. We had a convection oven on the Aurora. Still “allowed” to only eat them for the first few hours of the flight - remember, the clock started when they leave the base kitchen’s freezer, not when they get on the plane.

That being said, I don’t know how strictly us operational crews did it, but I bet “HEGG contracts food poisoning by month-long frozen meal” isn’t a good look.

Also, if we did bring a ton of meals, we would have to take them out every time the plane lands and shuts down. So we would need freezer space somewhere.

 

[dimsum]

What would be interesting is to see a comparison in cost/services for a comparable number of people flying into Toronto or Montreal for a foreign government jet. To see what these services cost in Toronto/Montreal for an Italian or German or Chinese or New Zealand government flight with 30 people against what our GG paid in London or Dubai.
If the costs are comparable then we are being petty and cheap in our thoughts/outrage - if Toronto/Montreal airport costs are substantially cheaper, then we are right to be outraged.

Absolutely - with one caveat. Those places can charge different prices than YYZ or YUL.

The best way would be ot compare how various govt Head of State flights got charged going to those places.

 

[Jarnhamar]

$526 for a redacted quantity of lemons and limes.

Why would the DND want to hide this information?

 

[OldSolduer]

Absolutely - with one caveat. Those places can charge different prices than YYZ or YUL.

The best way would be ot compare how various govt Head of State flights got charged going to those places.

And if you’re in Kazakhstan and need meals…..they have you over a barrel

 

[Cloud Cover]

“$526 for a redacted quantity of lemons and limes.”
There’s a whole other Ministry in the Federal Government that procures all kinds of offensively priced lemons for DND

Why would the DND want to hide this information?

 

[Furniture]

Why would the DND want to hide this information?

It's likely a case of the bill not specifically stating the numbers.

The people putting together the ATI info are often Wing Ops in Trenton, well after the events being ATI'd, so they can only give what information is in the bill they receive from the supplier.

 

[Jarnhamar]

So it made me look up the actual article where the $1500 Beef Wellington was mentioned. It was for a flight of 30 pax (probably not including crew) on the CC-150. So…34-35 pers?

So I mixed it up a little bit, thanks for holding my feet to the fire.

The steak I'm thinking of was someone expensing a $602 beef steak bourguignon with mashed potatoes, followed by a $238 mousse with crumble and strawberry sauce for dessert during Simons flight to Iceland for her 4 day trip.
Link
Invoice

So only $800 for a meal and not $1500.

I checked Icelandairs website and meals cost between $4–32 CAD, and snacks and sweets cost between $4–6 CAD".

I didn't find any $602 steak and $238 dessert options.

I'll stop beating this dead cow but to me it looks like someone on that flight billed tax payers $840 for a meal when food was available for $30. Hard to justify that in my books.

 

[lenaitch]

Including frozen?

Notwithstanding my male belief, spawned during many years of living single, frozen food is not forever, either in terms of food safety or palatability.

*****

Gad we are a parsimonious country. I wonder if people grizzle about the food on Air Force One. Some folks would only be happy if the Head of Government or Head of State flew Porter, stood in the security line with the rest of we unwashed and bagged their own food.

 

[OldSolduer]

I'll stop beating this dead cow but to me it looks like someone on that flight billed tax payers $840 for a meal when food was available for $30. Hard to justify that in my books.

Or that is what was charged by the supplier.

 

[OldSolduer]

Gad we are a parsimonious country. I wonder if people grizzle about the food on Air Force One. Some folks would only be happy if the Head of Government or Head of State flew Porter, stood in the security line with the rest of we unwashed and bagged their own food.

We are a "holier than thou, wholesale only (especially Winnipeg" lot. Despite what we say, some are students of Marx and Engels and hate seeing success. But I digress...

Now lets get the hard working proletariat on board....

 

[Jarnhamar]

Or that is what was charged by the supplier.

I don't know. There was just a specific charge on the invoice for a $602 beef steak bourguignon and $238 mousse dessert. That's excessive when infight meals are available.

 

[dimsum]

So I mixed it up a little bit, thanks for holding my feet to the fire.

The steak I'm thinking of was someone expensing a $602 beef steak bourguignon with mashed potatoes, followed by a $238 mousse with crumble and strawberry sauce for dessert during Simons flight to Iceland for her 4 day trip.
Link
Invoice

So only $800 for a meal and not $1500.

I checked Icelandairs website and meals cost between $4–32 CAD, and snacks and sweets cost between $4–6 CAD".

I didn't find any $602 steak and $238 dessert options.

I'll stop beating this dead cow but to me it looks like someone on that flight billed tax payers $840 for a meal when food was available for $30. Hard to justify that in my books.

Icelandair also likely has a different (monopolistic) supplier than whatever FBO (term escapes me but basically the place that exec jets land) that 412 landed at.

For context, VIP jets don’t land and park at the international airport’s terminal. So they likely don’t use the same contracted services.

Reaching back a few decades to my university days, the reason why they don’t land at the international airport terminal is most likely because they aren’t a scheduled service, so the terminal won’t “hold” a gate for them. Also, probably security reasons too.

Anyway, so they land at an FBO at the terminal which provides all sorts of services, one of which is usually catering. That FBO’s service prices is what the comparison should be, not Icelandair’s contract.

Back to the NaPo article, I did find it funny that they highlighted that the meals were on China, like:

a) business class and especially first class pax on all carriers don’t already do that and

b) 412 or 437 don’t have a stock of China dishes already

That was probably a case of the Flight Steward re-plating from the heating dish (those planes likely have convection ovens) to something they already have.

Anyway - is it expensive? Yeah. But that’s the cost of doing VIP business.

 

[brihard]

Notwithstanding my male belief, spawned during many years of living single, frozen food is not forever, either in terms of food safety or palatability.

*****

Gad we are a parsimonious country. I wonder if people grizzle about the food on Air Force One. Some folks would only be happy if the Head of Government or Head of State flew Porter, stood in the security line with the rest of we unwashed and bagged their own food.

Nah, I’m not saying they should not generally have good quality fresh stuff. I’m just trying to feel out the logistical realities for when they’re really in a bind. Our troops and our dignitaries should all be fed well.

 

[Halifax Tar]

Icelandair also likely has a different (monopolistic) supplier than whatever FBO (term escapes me but basically the place that exec jets land) that 412 landed at.

For context, VIP jets don’t land and park at the international airport’s terminal. So they likely don’t use the same contracted services.

Reaching back a few decades to my university days, the reason why they don’t land at the international airport terminal is most likely because they aren’t a scheduled service, so the terminal won’t “hold” a gate for them. Also, probably security reasons too.

Anyway, so they land at an FBO at the terminal which provides all sorts of services, one of which is usually catering. That FBO’s service prices is what the comparison should be, not Icelandair’s contract.

Back to the NaPo article, I did find it funny that they highlighted that the meals were on China, like:

a) business class and especially first class pax on all carriers don’t already do that and

b) 412 or 437 don’t have a stock of China dishes already

That was probably a case of the Flight Steward re-plating from the heating dish (those planes likely have convection ovens) to something they already have.

Anyway - is it expensive? Yeah. But that’s the cost of doing VIP business.

Did the RCAF retain flight stewards ? How exactly is this being staffed and managed ?

 

[Halifax Tar]

Notwithstanding my male belief, spawned during many years of living single, frozen food is not forever, either in terms of food safety or palatability.

*****

Gad we are a parsimonious country. I wonder if people grizzle about the food on Air Force One. Some folks would only be happy if the Head of Government or Head of State flew Porter, stood in the security line with the rest of we unwashed and bagged their own food.

I think the issue is a sanctimonious political class that will tell the unwashed masses to make cuts and tighten our belts and then get 600$ meals on flights.

Right, wrong or lack of other choices the optics is terrible.

 

[mariomike]

A business class or even a first class meal from any of the airline suppliers should be more than sufficient and I can almost guarantee that they don't cost 1500 a serving

My daughter is an AC flight attendant on the Germany run.

This shows their Executive Class long-haul meal service,

Air Canada Food | Inflight meal reviews | Pictures & flight reviews | Airreview

Inflight food on Air Canada is dependent on your destination. In economy there is good complementary hot food for Long Haul on TransAtlantic & Pacific services, although it tends to be of a hot-meal-on-takeoff, snack on landing type of affair.

www.airreview.com