Revealed: Why you should always take your own sandwiches to the airport
It's a classic case of Catch 22: almost all airlines on short-haul routes have long stopped serving free food. . Yet buying a meal at airports before flying can cost an arm and a leg.
Our study of three major food outlets in Stansted: Pret a Manger, Leon and Itsu — found that prices can jump up to 42 per cent compared to main branches. Overall, the prices of a basket of offers increased by a fifth.
The largest increase was for a loaf of bread with chocolate at Léon, going from £2.10 to £2.99 (a 42% increase) – while a cheddar and pickle baguette at Pret which sold for £4.50 in the trade was £6.20 in Stansted (up 37%) and their Chicken Caesar and Bacon Baguette, £7.20 instead of £5.99. (up 20%).
Other significant price hikes took place at Itsu, where its Itsu Classics set, including sashimi, salmon, shrimp sushi, wasabi and soy. sauce, sells for £11.99 in Stansted, while the same product costs £8.95 in stores, a rise of a third. Meanwhile, its lemon-flavored Zen water cost £2.49 a can, compared to £1.99 at other off-airport stores.
However , the fast food chain Leon was found to have marked up prices most consistently, with the average being more than a quarter on a basket of items including its pain au chocolat, butter croissants (in up 39 per cent from £2 to £2.79) and its turmeric honey, banana and bee pollen. yoghurts (up 33% from £2.99 to £3.99).
Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel said: “Markes at airport shops, cafes and restaurants can be really shocking.
'A Once passengers are airside, they're essentially a captive audience, but it's outrageous that companies think they can get away with such a blatant price...
It's a classic case of Catch 22: almost all airlines on short-haul routes have long stopped serving free food. . Yet buying a meal at airports before flying can cost an arm and a leg.
Our study of three major food outlets in Stansted: Pret a Manger, Leon and Itsu — found that prices can jump up to 42 per cent compared to main branches. Overall, the prices of a basket of offers increased by a fifth.
The largest increase was for a loaf of bread with chocolate at Léon, going from £2.10 to £2.99 (a 42% increase) – while a cheddar and pickle baguette at Pret which sold for £4.50 in the trade was £6.20 in Stansted (up 37%) and their Chicken Caesar and Bacon Baguette, £7.20 instead of £5.99. (up 20%).
Other significant price hikes took place at Itsu, where its Itsu Classics set, including sashimi, salmon, shrimp sushi, wasabi and soy. sauce, sells for £11.99 in Stansted, while the same product costs £8.95 in stores, a rise of a third. Meanwhile, its lemon-flavored Zen water cost £2.49 a can, compared to £1.99 at other off-airport stores.
However , the fast food chain Leon was found to have marked up prices most consistently, with the average being more than a quarter on a basket of items including its pain au chocolat, butter croissants (in up 39 per cent from £2 to £2.79) and its turmeric honey, banana and bee pollen. yoghurts (up 33% from £2.99 to £3.99).
Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel said: “Markes at airport shops, cafes and restaurants can be really shocking.
'A Once passengers are airside, they're essentially a captive audience, but it's outrageous that companies think they can get away with such a blatant price...
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