English: The chicken, the beef, the pasta.
French: Le poulet, le bœuf, les pâtes.
Let’s move on to to meal service. Of course, the service offered on a flight depends on the airline and the flight length. On longer, overseas flights, your flight may offer meal service. And what sort of meal you have to offer will again depend on your airline. A few common choices offered in economy class include a chicken plate, a beef plate, or a pasta plate, each one accompanied by a salad and a dessert perhaps.
Poulet (m)=Chicken
Boeuf (m)=Beef
Pâtes (f, pl)=Pasta
More formally, you can ask passengers “Hello, would you like the chicken, the beef, or the pasta?” “Bonjour, désirez-vous le poulet, le bœuf, ou les pâtes?’’
Notice that ‘’les pâtes’’ is always plural.
If you don’t have too many passengers to ask, for example if you’re offering meals in a smaller first class cabin, you may be more inclined to use the formal version above. But speaking from our own flight attendant experience, if you’re offering meal service in economy class in both French and English, it’s very repetitive and tiring to say “Hello, would you like the chicken, the beef, or the pasta? Bonjour, désirez-vous le poulet, le boeuf, ou les pâtes?’’ hundreds of times to all of your passengers.
You may want to shorten it to just “Bonjour. Le poulet, le boeuf, ou les pâtes?” You can still maintain politeness, friendliness, and professionalism through your smile, your voice, your body language, and proper eye contact.
Want to learn to speak the French you need to work as a flight attendant? Learn even more with Canadian French for Flight Attendants.
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