All You Need to Know About Inflight Dining

No air travel is complete without an adequate inflight dining experience. Airlines serve the most scrumptious food in the sky including different cuisines and recipes to meet the culinary requirements of every passenger. These airlines offer inflight meals to all the passengers sitting in different classes to enhance their itinerary experience. 

History of Inflight meals

The first ever inflight meal was served long back in 1919 on the London to Paris route. It was the first inflight experience for the onboarded passengers at that time as it was a packed lunch of a sandwich and some fruit. 

Cabin Classes & Inflight Meals 

Most of the airlines have business class, premium economy, and economy class. All these classes are served with complimentary meals on many routes. The menu varies depending on the cabin class. Let’s explore which class gets served with what meal.

Business Class

This is the most exotic class among the three cabin classes mentioned above. In this class, the inflight experience of the dining is delectable as you are served 5-star restaurant-level food. You can enjoy a complete 3-course meal which is usually served in bone china cutlery. The meal starts with a welcome drink to refresh the passengers followed by different national and international cuisines to make the flyers satiated. Now comes the best part which is the dessert that arrives at the end of the meal.

Premium Economy

If you are traveling in the premium economy, there is a lot more that airlines offer. Just take your seat and let the airline serve you a series of luscious inflight meals. The menu starts with a salad that refreshes your taste buds for the main course. Now comes the second round of dining which includes both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes or snacks that are delectable enough to fulfill you.  Satisfy your sweet tooth with a delicious dessert at the end of your meal.

Economy

Are you worried that your cabin class will prevent you from enjoying delicious food? No, you are absolutely wrong. Airlines don’t discriminate their serving standards based on the class you are traveling to. Just take your seat and leave the rest to the cabin crew to handle. There is a long list of gourmet inflight meals that can satiate your culinary requirement. Both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options are there to choose from. 

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Inflight Taste Experience

Sometimes you may feel that your taste buds are getting confused on a flight. However, it’s normal. Flying at a high altitude may alter your buds and olfactory cells. Airlines nowadays, come up with developed menus that remove these peculiarities and make dining at 30,000 feet as enjoyable as possible. It’s a lengthy procedure to withstand cooking, cooling, and reheating and still serving tasty and healthy food.

Inflight Experience: Meals on Different Airlines

Gone are the days of getting free peanuts or cookies on the flight. Now, you get proper meals served by most of the flights on most of the international routes. Here are the types of meals served by different airlines.

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Low-Cost Airlines

European budget carriers, like EasyJet, Ryanair, and Monarch serving the short route don’t provide free inflight meals, food, or drink. If you feel like taking munchies along with you, and don’t want to pay extra or get noticed by the security check-in,  get something from the restaurants or shops in Departures. Make sure you consider the baggage restrictions of the airline you are flying with.

Mid-Range Airlines

Many airlines provide free meals on their long haul. And if you want to have an inflight experience of dining on a mid-range airline, feel free to contact the cabin crew. They will help you with the meal.

Top-End Airlines

Full-service airlines like Virgin Airlines, Singapore, or British Airways usually provide at least snacks, drinks, and one hot meal, whose prices are pre-included in the ticket fare on a long-haul flight. 

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Inflight Meals Menu

Economy Class

The classic inflight meals consist of basic vegetables or salad, fish or meat, a bread roll, and a pudding nicely packed and served. In longer hauls, you can expect complimentary snacks and drinks too.

Premium Economy

If you are more likely to expect basic inflight meals, there are menus designed by big chefs which consist of three-course meals and drinks whose bills are already included in your itinerary. 

First-class 

If you are boarded in this cabin class, you can expect indulgent inflight meals designed by the top-end chefs to give a full-fledged inflight experience to its passengers. These airlines also combine the complimentary choice of light cold meals and snacks throughout the itinerary along with wine and full bar service.  

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FAQ’S

Q1. Why are the inflight meals delicious?

A: It is only because of one reason that the airlines have developed their menus by opting for tomato-based dishes that can intensify your taste at 30,000 feet high in the sky. 

Q2:  What about the inflight meals for special diets? 

A: If you are conscious about your health, no need to worry about the thought of compromising with the inflight meals. You can ask for healthy items also if you have any of the below-mentioned issues.  You can specify it to the crew at the time of ordering. 

• Allergies
• Intolerance
• Religious belief
• Medical issues
• Individual requirements 
• Infants’ requirement. 

Q3: Is alcohol served on airlines?

A: Most of the airlines offer drinks on their journey. Some of the airlines charge you for their tickets or sometimes it’s complimentary with your first-class tickets for long-haul flights so that you can relish the exquisite inflight dining.