With airlines using their highest fare classes to show off just how gourmet they can go with everything from rare liquors to caviar, it can be hard to stand out for travelers who are used to being served fine foods.
As a result, some will go the other way and use the time that they have the passengers in the air to tap into very specific carvings.
At the end of 2024, Delta Air Lines first tried serving the smashburgers sold at New York chain Shake Shack on first class routes longer than 900 miles and originating in Boston. American Airlines followed shortly after with Los Angeles condiment brand Smash Kitchen while United Airlines also went the route of New York classics with a period during which its served the viral banana pudding from Magnolia Bakery.
Swiss International Air Lines starts serving Bastardo hot dog on first class flights
While the airline is insisting that the dish it serves is not fast food but gourmet, Swiss International Airlines has started offering a “Bastardo” hot dog that comes from a popular stand in the suburbs of Zürich.
The hot dog developed in partnership with Winterthur-based Frau Hund is made from a Puntbier sausage topped with red coleslaw, apple chutney, sour cream, roasted walnuts and cress on a Swiss multigrain roll.
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The “Bastardo” hot dog has been available since June 3 and will remain on the menu throughout the summer until September 1. It is meant to both highlight local Swiss ingredients and core memories of grabbing a hot dog at a stand that transcends the summer experience across many countries.
“We chose a product that has a bit of a bad reputation in society, or at least one where quality offerings have been hard to find,” Chris Maurer, one of the chefs who founded Frau Hund alongside Alex Prack in 2021, said of the dish.
The hot dog is presented as a warm snack alongside other warm and cold options as well as main dishes like linguine with lobster sauce and Zürich-style sliced veal served on international routes that have first rather than simply business class.
Swiss International Air Lines
Why the hot dog being served on Swiss Air is suddenly going viral
Over the three weeks that the “Bastardo” has been served on Swiss flights, it caught the attention of social media users drawn in either by the appealing combination of toppings or the fact that a hot dog is being served in a class where guests normally eat fine foods.
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“If I’m in first and you bring me a hot dog, there’s gonna be a problem,” one commentator wrote under the Instagram post in which Swiss presents the “Bastardo.”
“I’ll stick to my Sprüngli [famous Swiss chocolate brand] menu in my economy light seat,” another wrote.
But as others pointed out, the hot dog is one of many options which guests can choose should they get a hankering for it on a long-term flight rather than the replacement for a main meal.
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