Airlines Are Upgrading the In-Flight Meal

If you want to explore the latest Michelin-starred chef’s cuisine or take a heritage food tour, the only reservation you need these days is on an airline. Travelers can now look forward to a bit of culinary adventure at 35,000 feet, with menus highlighting regional specialties and partnerships with local chefs. Once merely an afterthought, the in-flight meal is now a centerpiece of the travel experience.

Amanda Mactas, a journalist who travels throughout the year, describes her recent in-flight experience sampling Michelin-starred chef Brandon Jew’s menu on Alaska Airlines—a carrier not historically well-known for catering—as “the most flavorful I’ve ever had aboard an airplane, and also cleverly representative of the destination I was flying to.” Indeed, Alaska’s attention to cuisine and partnerships such as the one with Jew have changed their fortunes—the airline was nominated for a Business Traveler Award in the Best In-Flight Food and Beverage category.

Initiatives by airlines to not only enhance onboard dining but elevate it to a completely new level are paying off in terms of flier satisfaction. Charlie Neville, CMO of bespoke European travel company JayWay Travel, notes, “As someone who travels long-haul for work from Europe, I’ve come to really appreciate the efforts airlines such as Air France are putting into the dining onboard—it’s like a small escape from the usual grind. It’s not just your average airplane meal. It feels carefully thought out, with great flavors and beautifully plated dishes.”

Michelin-starred Dominique Crenn partnered with Air France / Photo: Courtesy of Air France

Consider chef Jew’s menu for Alaska Airlines’ First Class cabin. Travelers not only get a taste of the ultra-premium ingredients Jew uses in his restaurant—such as Liberty Farms poultry featured at Mister Jiu’s as its trademark “Peking-style” whole roast duck—but they also enjoy dishes he created exclusively for dining in the sky.

`”Our chefs understand that dining at high altitudes is a unique experience,” says Mita Padhi, director of guest products at Alaska Airlines. “Flavors can be diluted at high altitudes, so chef Jew took great care to incorporate flavorful sauces, spices and ingredients that our guests can enjoy in the air. Additionally, our chefs worked closely with chef Jew to ensure these new meals retain their richness and flavor when served onboard.”

A Taste of the Michelin Stars

Even the finest chefs face challenges when designing dishes to be prepared and served on an airplane. The conditions at high altitude tend to dull the palate, presenting a unique set of issues when working with food. Many carriers look to Michelin-starred chefs—wizards at maximizing flavor under any conditions—to bring world-class expertise and inspiration to in-flight menus.

Michael Pelzer, spokesperson for Swiss International Air Lines, explains the constraints: “In Business and First Class, we serve more than a thousand people and dispense around 660 bottles of wine daily. So whether a dish takes five or ten steps to prepare makes a big difference.”

Pelzer adds that the airline’s menus “are finalized at least 24 hours before they are served. This means that sauces must not leak, herbs must not wither, and much more.” Meanwhile, Air France, known for its deep bench of culinary talent, has partnered with Dominique Crenn, America’s only female three-starred Michelin chef (at Atelier Crenn in San Francisco).

Crenn admits that she had to approach the creation of in-flight cuisine differently. “We were designing meals for an environment unlike any other,” she says. “The challenge was to deliver quality flavors in reheated dishes while still telling a story. It pushed us to be creative and find new ways to bring the same level of excellence to in-flight dining.”

Yet despite the limitations imposed by air travel, Crenn’s expertise shines through, says Neville. “The fact that Dominique Crenn, a Michelin-starred chef, is behind some of the menu really shows. She brings this creative, seasonal approach to French cuisine. It’s a far cry from what you’d expect on a plane.”

Passengers in the airline’s coveted La Première and Business cabins can sample Crenn’s inspired menu—think lobster with pico de gallo and tea sauce or root-vegetable mille-feuille with truffle sauce (La Première) and open ravioli with courgette, tomato, hazelnut and Parmesan sauce (Business). Over in Japan, All Nippon Airways (ANA) boasts a similar collaboration between its own chefs and 12 celebrity chefs and beverage specialists from Japan and beyond. This season, Japanese three-star Michelin chef Toru Okuda, owner of Ginza Okuda, offers Business Class travelers a menu that celebrates classic fall ingredients with grilled conger pike over boiled chrysanthemum petals soaked in a yuzu dressing and fatty seasonal barracuda wrapped around king trumpet mushrooms. Tomoji Ishii, executive vice president of customer experience management and planning at ANA, says, “The Connoisseurs collaboration reinforces ANA’s commitment to quality in-flight meal service, a key component to the passenger experience of flying with us.”

A Taste of Place

Spotlighting heritage cuisine and regional dishes and ingredients also helps airlines redefine their meal service. Bobby Bitton, cofounder of O Positiv and a Forbes 30 under 30 entrepreneur who travels extensively, says, “Menus have expanded not only to accommodate a variety of dietary preferences but also to reflect the culture of their routes. This blend of authentic, regionally inspired cuisine enhances the travel experience and gives passengers a taste of the destination before they land. It’s a thoughtful touch that more airlines are wisely embracing.”

Turkish Airlines’ The Oldest Bread / Photo: Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines, which enlists signature flying chefs on long-haul flights to oversee the preparation and service of Business Class cuisine, sources 80 percent of its products from regional and local producers across Turkey. Now it has gone a step further, bringing heritage cuisine to the forefront with its newest offering, The Oldest Bread, developed by award-winning chef Ömür Akkor and culinary historian Çetin Şenkul.

“The Oldest Bread was developed in collaboration with culinary historians,” says the airline’s chief operations officer, M. Akif Konar. “This bread connects our passengers to the Neolithic origins of wheat domestication in the Taş Tepeler region about 12,000 years ago.” Made from a blend of ancient wheats—einkorn and emmer—from the historic Turkish region of Anatolia, the bread is served warm and accompanied by butter and olive oil to passengers in the Business Class cabin.

Passengers can also explore regional highlights onboard Swiss flights. “Both in the air and on the ground, we attach great importance to Swiss quality products, and wherever possible prefer to work with Swiss producers,” says Pelzer. “Around 85 percent of the products offered by Swiss Saveurs, the catering service for our Economy Class passengers on European flights, also consist of Swiss products.”

The current menu features a variety of specialties from Confiserie Sprüngli, including the classic Bircher muesli and a cold platter of Swiss meats. Meanwhile, on Cathay Pacific, travelers can savor a taste of Hong Kong’s heritage with cuisine from Michelin-starred restaurant Duddell’s. First and Business class menu highlights include savory dishes such as wok-fried lobster seasoned with ginger or premium ibérico pork belly lacquered in a sweet, sticky soy sauce glaze, with a chrysanthemum and longan jelly for the dessert finale.

A Taste of What’s Next

With the flurry of partnerships with Michelin-starred chefs, one might think that the summit for onboard catering has been achieved—but airlines are still pushing the boundaries regarding cuisine. Take, for example, the latest extraordinary offering from Qatar Airways. Renowned for its on-demand dining option that lets passengers choose when they want to eat, the airline now provides caviar service in the Business Class cabin.

Qatar Airways’ full caviar service / Photo: Courtesy of Qatar Airways

“Qatar is unique because no other airline serves caviar in Business Class,” says Henry Harteveldt, travel industry analyst and president of Atmosphere Research Group. “Qatar is serving a full portion of caviar, garnishes and blinis. This is something normally only served by a handful of airlines in first class—and then only on certain routes.” According to Harteveldt, this is “a very expensive experiment.”

Yet even with gastronomic meals and top-class caviar servings, flying over extended hours takes a toll on the body, and blending culinary artistry with wellness is another new frontier for carriers. Singapore Airlines, which flies some of the world’s longest routes, teamed up with legendary Golden Door resort chef Greg Frey, Jr., to bring healthy offerings to the in-flight meals. With dishes such as miso-marinated cod over forbidden rice with stir-fried vegetables and basil edamame puree, Frey focuses on flavor and fresh, anti-inflammatory ingredients.

Golden Door’s Greg Frey, Jr., created a wellness-based menu for Singapore Airlines / Photo: Courtesy of Singapore Airlines

“When you fly,” says Frey, “your body swells and builds up inflammation. I try to counteract those effects by sourcing specific ingredients and limiting salt and fat. You don’t want to offer foods that are too rich or hard to digest. I rely heavily upon spices and herbs instead of salt and fat.” Vegan and vegetarian offerings are also a specialty of Korean Air, which currently offers seven vegetarian meal options: Korean vegan, vegetarian lacto-ovo, vegetarian vegan, vegetarian Hindu, vegetarian Jain, vegetarian oriental and raw vegetarian.

Its Korean-style vegan meals are inspired by traditional temple cuisine, using a range of vegetables and seasonal ingredients. Passengers in all classes can sample dishes such as steamed barley rice with burdock, roasted shiitake mushrooms, mung bean jelly salad, and roasted tofu with plum salsa sauce. Meals will vary based on seasonality and route. The airline also recently refined its wine program with the guidance of renowned sommelier Marc Almert, introducing more than 50 new wines to its award-winning collection.

What was once a spare, arguably bland, uninspired offering limited by small galley kitchens, turbulence, temperature control, altitude and dry cabin air has become an experience to anticipate. Now passengers can enjoy the thrill of flight paired with fine wine, caviar tastings, impeccably prepared dishes by star chefs, and experiential menus reflective of a carrier’s nationality—making any hours-long journey memorable in the best way possible.