Eating While Airborne: Maintaining Health & Nutrition While Travelling

Checking in

Aisle seat or window seat? How do you prefer to fly? We’re often far too busy worrying about the ins and outs of organisation to even begin to think about what we might eat at the airport. Unfortunately, airport food outlets have earned a reputation for being overpriced and unpleasant. Cater Care’s Retail arm is determined to turn that around, and provides a wide range of options so you can meet your nutritional needs while airside. 

Flying high on health

Despite the difficulties involved with eating healthily while flying, the benefits make it more than worth the trouble. Protecting your health and nutrition with a positive diet can set you up for the best possible travel experience, whether you’re headed on holiday, out for a business trip, or just making a short interstate jaunt. 

Our levels of energy are impacted by our diet, and when your only options are highly processed and saturated affairs you’re likely to experience a ‘crash’ once the sugar wears off and the food coma begins to set in. In turn, travelling while exhausted means you’re more likely to make mistakes and suffer a shortened attention span.

Conversely, staying energised and hydrated with a healthy intake will set you up for success. Better nutrition will lead to better levels of energy, ensuring that when you arrive you’ll be refreshed and rested even if you’ve been penned up in economy seats. 

Picking a landing zone 

If you’re at one of a number of major airports on the East Coast, you’re in luck! Cater Care Retail operates a range of offerings aimed at setting us apart from the airport competition. Where airport food service is usually focussed on speed and convenience, our Retail offerings are every bit as committed to our promise of looks good, tastes good as other industries we cater for. You can find our offerings in: 

• Cairns Domestic and International Airports
• Mackay Airport
• Rockhampton Airport
• Sunshine Coast Airport
• Newcastle Airport
• Brisbane Domestic Airport
• Brisbane International Airport
• Sydney Domestic Airport

No matter where you land, Cater Care’s Retail team has airport food outlets to suit your needs. Below, we’ll touch on a few of our best and brightest cafes and kiosks you can find up and down the east coast. 

Cairns International Airport 

For those landing at Cairns International and looking for a taste of Indigenous Australian culture, Waddi Specialty Coffee has everything for you. Evoking the feeling of being on country is at the heart of the Waddi brand experience, and enjoying locally and sustainably sourced coffee beans while surrounded by beautiful dot paintings is a perfect way to dip a toe into the flavours and cultures of Indigenous Australia. 

Sunshine Coast Airport

Sunshine Coast Airport boasts The Glasshouse Bar, a comfortable combined bar and cafe. Located close to the viewing area of departing flights, The Glasshouse Bar offers delicious freshly cooked meals, paired with a wide range of beers, wines, and non-alcoholic beverages sourced from across the Sunshine Coast and its hinterlands. 

Newcastle Airport 

Nestled in the Departures of Newcastle Airport, Valley & Vine offers our guests a chance to enjoy an upscale dining experience before boarding their flights. Valley & Vine uses locally sourced produce across its varied menus, and serves only regional wines from the nearby Hunter Valley with its meals. 

Sydney Domestic Airport

Cater Care’s franchise partners in Sydney Airport include choices such as the varied fresh fruit and vegetable filled options of Mad Mex, the clean, freshly grilled chicken of Oporto, and the broad range of health salads from Sumo Salad. These jointly operated offerings are located across all terminals in both secure and insecure areas, ensuring that no matter where you might be in your journey through Kingsford Smith, you won’t go hungry. 

Making healthier choices

If you aren’t able to stop by one of Cater Care’s airport food outlets for a high quality dining experience, there are still some practical tips you can bear in mind to make flying a little easier and a little healthier. Consider these steps before the aircraft doors are sealed: 

• Hydration, hydration, and hydration! Hydration plays an important role in both our mood and levels of energy. You won’t be able to take your filled water bottle through airport security if you’re headed abroad, so try and refill on the other side if you can. If you can’t, consider grabbing a larger bottle of water for the flight ahead rather than something like a soft drink.
• Start thinking about your nutrition before you even get to the airport. Make sure the last meal you have before your flight is hearty, nutritional, and balanced – it might need to sustain you for some time!
• If you’re feeling hungry again once you’re at the airport, try and resist the temptation to go for what’s quickest and easiest. A packet of chips from an airport newsagent might be cheapest and fastest, but opting for a healthier snack or small meal from a food-focused provider is far more likely to give you the nutrients and energy to last through your journey. 

Wheels up

The nutritional value of what you eat before your flight might not be the first thing to come to mind when you start packing your bags, but protecting your nutrition will stand you in good stead for the travels to come. Ensuring an adequate and balanced intake can help set you up for success at the other end, and Cater Care’s varied range of unique airport offerings have the meals, menus, and friendly staff to help you do just that.

Rob Rutter 

Chief Operating Officer – Retail 

Ph: 0424 190 565

rob.rutter@catercare.com.au