気分だけでも「空の旅」、旅客機をレストランに　シンガポール航空

【シンガポールＡＦＰ＝時事】シンガポール航空は24日、空港に駐機されている旅客機の機内で、期間限定のレストランを開いた。旅行がしたくてたまらない数百人が機内でランチや映画を楽しんだ。（写真はシンガポールのシンガポール＜チャンギ＞国際空港に駐機された、シンガポール航空の旅客機内に期間限定で開かれたレストランで食事を楽しむ人々）
　新型コロナウイルスのパンデミック（世界的な大流行）で航空業界が深刻な危機に陥る中、航空各社は遊覧飛行「どこにも行かないフライト」や旅客機の見学ツアーを実施するなど、さまざまな方法で収入を補っている。
　今年、数千人の従業員を削減し、ほぼ全ての旅客機を地上待機させてきたシンガポール航空は、世界最大の旅客機、エアバスＡ３８０型機２機の機内で食事する機会を設けた。
　シンガポール（チャンギ）国際空港で２４日、４００人以上が搭乗手続きを行い、通常通りの保安検査を通ってＡ３８０型に搭乗し、機内でランチをとった。
　エコノミークラスに乗ったゾウ・タイ・ディさん（１７）は食事を楽しみながら、「料理はとても素晴らしい。フライト中に出されるものよりおいしい」とＡＦＰに語った。
　料理が出てくるまで昼寝をする人もいれば、機内エンターテインメントシステムで映画を鑑賞する人もいた。ソーシャル・ディスタンシング（対人距離の確保）のガイドラインを踏まえて、座席のおよそ半分は空席だった。
　また、乗客の一部は機内の見学を許され、操縦室の中で操縦士らとセルフィー（自撮り写真）を撮影することができた。
　３２１シンガポール・ドル（約２万４８００円）を支払い、ビジネスクラスで全６品のコース料理を食べた航空ファンのカルビン・テオさん（２９）は、空の旅ができなくて寂しいので、せめてその気分を味わいたかったと語った。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/10/26-12:17）

Hundreds of travel-starved diners ate lunch and watched seat-back films aboard two parked Singapore Airlines jets turned into pop-up restaurants on Saturday.
With the aviation industry in deep crisis due to the coronavirus pandemic, airlines have turned to alternative ways to raise cash, from offering flights to nowhere to tours of aircraft.
Singapore's flag carrier, which has cut thousands of jobs and grounded nearly all its planes this year, offered passengers the chance to dine on board two A380 superjumbos -- the world's biggest passenger jet.
On Saturday more than 400 diners checked in at Changi Airport and went through the usual security checks before arriving at the aircraft for lunch.
The food is pretty amazing, it's better than the one they serve during the flight, Zhou Tai Di, a 17-year-old student in economy class, told AFP as he tucked into his soy sauce-glazed chicken with spicy fried eggplant and rice.
Some settled in for a nap while waiting for their meals to be served, while others watched movies on the seat-back entertainment systems.
About half the seats were left empty, in keeping with social-distancing guidelines.
Calvin Teo, a 29-year-old civil servant and aviation buff, paid Sg$321 ($236) to be served a six-course meal in business class, saying he missed flying and hoped to recreate the experience.
Of course the feeling of actually flying will be better, because there's the excitement of going to a new destination, to explore a new destination, and even though we can't do it now due to Covid, this is a good substitute for now, to recreate the feels of taking a long-haul flight, he told AFP.
The most expensive option is a Sg$642 eight-course meal in a first-class suite, while the cheapest costs Sg$53 and consists of a three-course meal in economy class.
A limited number of diners were also able to tour the double-decker aircraft and take selfies with pilots in the cockpit.
The tarmac meals proved surprisingly popular -- the airline announced six additional sessions after more than 900 lunch tickets sold out within 30 minutes of bookings opening earlier this month.
The airline is also offering home deliveries of plane meals, but it has ditched plans for flights to nowhere -- short journeys starting and ending at the same airport -- following an outcry over the potential environmental impact.