Thailand now has plane cafes for those who miss the travelling

Canceling our travel plans for this year is really saddening. After many months of being excited and planning the itinerary, it all goes to waste. Thai people seem to understand these feelings that they came up with a brilliant idea: plane cafes!

To give the customers the feeling that they’re up in the air

Most of the people nowadays are staying at home and unable to travel because of the ongoing battle against COVID-19. That’s why in Thailand, they open plane cafes to let their customers pretend they are up in the sky. And with the positive feedback, it seems the idea was a great hit.

In a retired commercial airplane in the coastal city of Pattaya, diners are comfortably sipping their coffee on first-class seats while others pose for selfies or groupies. Thipsuda Faksaithong (26-year-old) said, “With this cafe, I can sit in first class and also mess around in the cockpit pretending to be the captain of the plane. It’s a lot of fun.” Meanwhile, a 25- year old woman named Chalisa Chuensranoi mentioned that her visit was as good as any trip she had taken before the pandemic. She added, “Sitting right here in the first-class section… really gives me the feeling of actually being on a plane, cruising through the air.”

There’s also a cafe at the headquarters of national carrier Thai Airways in Bangkok. In this cafe, waiters and waitresses dress as cabin crew as they serve for those people who like plane food. Hungry customers ate their spaghetti carbonara and Thai-style beef on plastic trays happily. But Intrawut Simapichet, 38 years old, explained that the experience is about more than a meal. “Normally I’m a person who travels very often, and when we are forced to stay at home… it’s kind of depressing,” he said as fellow passengers posed with luggage by a fake airplane door. (The cafe) relieves what’s missing.”

Thailand was the first country outside of China to detect a coronavirus case. Also, it was able to manage the outbreak with a low toll of 3,400 infections and 58 deaths. However, their government is still imposing a travel ban that heavily affects tourism. Meanwhile, Thai citizens feel stuck because of the quarantine requirements in other countries. Currently, Thailand is planning to open travel bubbles with other countries with low tolls.

Do you think we should also have plane cafes here in the Philippines?