AirAsia opens restaurant inspired by its in-flight meals, Santan, in Kuala Lumpur mall
- Santan serves Southeast Asian dishes for around US$3, with about 30 per cent of the menu coming from AirAsia’s in-flight offerings
- The airline hopes to have over 100 locations operating globally in the next five years, with the ‘dream’ to have one in New York’s Times Square
“I wish I could order this even when I’m not flying,” is probably not what most air travellers think when tucking into their in-flight meal. But AirAsia, a low-cost carrier based in Malaysia, is hoping that’s exactly how its customers feel.
This week, the airline opened the first restaurant inspired by its in-flight food offerings at a mall in Kuala Lumpur. Executives have ambitious plans for expansion, with a goal of opening five owned restaurants and 100 operated by franchisees “in global markets” in the next three to five years.
The restaurant, Santan, is named after coconut milk in Malaysia; that is also the name of the airline’s in-flight menu brand.
The restaurant opened in conjunction with T&Co, a cafe. Catherine Goh, general manager of Santan and T&Co, told Reuters that 30 per cent of the restaurant’s menu comes from the menu that is served in the air.
“We have seen a significant appetite for our in-flight menu offerings beyond our flights across the region and this is our answer to that demand,” she said in an announcement. “We are very proud to extend what started out as an in-flight menu into new markets and reiterate our support for local and Asean producers, suppliers; apart from creating new job opportunities with affordable franchising.”