An airline meal or in-flight meal is a meal

Meal

A meal is an instance of eating, specifically one that takes place at a specific time and includes specific, prepared food.Meals occur primarily at homes, restaurants, and cafeterias, but may occur anywhere. Regular meals occur on a daily basis, typically several times a day...

 served to passengers on board a commercial airliner

Airliner

An airliner is a large fixed-wing aircraft for transporting passengers and cargo. Such aircraft are operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an aircraft intended for carrying multiple passengers in commercial...

. These meals are prepared by airline catering services.

The first kitchens preparing meals in-flight were established by United Airlines

United Airlines

United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...

 in 1936.

These meals vary widely in quality and quantity across different airline companies and classes of travel. They range from a simple beverage in short-haul economy class to a seven-course gourmet meal in long-haul first class.

Contents

The type of food varies depending upon the airline company and class of travel. Meals may be served as "one tray" or in multiple courses with no tray and with a tablecloth, metal cutlery, and glassware (generally in first and business classes).

The airline dinner typically includes meat

Meat

Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...

 (most commonly chicken

Chicken

The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...

 or beef

Beef

Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...

) or fish

Fish (food)

Fish is a food consumed by many species, including humans. The word "fish" refers to both the animal and to the food prepared from it. Fish has been an important source of protein for humans throughout recorded history.-Terminology:...

, a salad

Salad

Salad is any of a wide variety of dishes, including vegetable salads; salads of pasta, legumes, eggs, or grains; mixed salads incorporating meat, poultry, or seafood; and fruit salads. They may include a mixture of cold and hot, often including raw vegetables or fruits.Green salads include leaf...

 or vegetable

Vegetable

The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....

, a small bread roll

Roll (food)

Roll as a kind of food, snack, or candy may refer to:* Arctic roll* Black sesame roll* Bread roll* Breakfast roll* Bulkie roll* Cabbage roll* California roll* Cheese roll* Chiko Roll* Cinnamon roll*Croquette* Egg roll* Fritter roll* Kaiser roll...

, and a dessert

Dessert

In cultures around the world, dessert is a course that typically comes at the end of a meal, usually consisting of sweet food. The word comes from the French language as dessert and this from Old French desservir, "to clear the table" and "to serve." Common Western desserts include cakes, biscuits,...

.

Caterers usually produce alternative meals for passengers with restrictive diets. These must usually be ordered in advance, sometimes when buying the ticket. Some of the more common examples include:

• Cultural diets, such as French
  French cuisine
  French cuisine is a style of food preparation originating from France that has developed from centuries of social change. In the Middle Ages, Guillaume Tirel , a court chef, authored Le Viandier, one of the earliest recipe collections of Medieval France...
  
  , Italian
  Italian cuisine
  Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots as far back as the 4th century BCE. Italian cuisine in itself takes heavy influences, including Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, Jewish and Arab cuisines...
  
  , Chinese
  Chinese cuisine
  Chinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...
  
  , Japanese
  Japanese cuisine
  Japanese cuisine has developed over the centuries as a result of many political and social changes throughout Japan. The cuisine eventually changed with the advent of the Medieval age which ushered in a shedding of elitism with the age of shogun rule...
  
   or Indian
  Indian cuisine
  Indian cuisine consists of thousands of regional cuisines which date back thousands of years. The dishes of India are characterised by the extensive use of various Indian spices, herbs, vegetables and fruit. Indian cuisine is also known for the widespread practice of vegetarianism in Indian society...
  
   style.
• Infant and baby meals
  Baby food
  Baby food is any food, other than breastmilk or infant formula, that is made specifically for infants, roughly between the ages of four to six months to 2 years. The food comes in multiple varieties and tastes, can be produced by many manufacturers, or may be table food that the rest of the family...
  
  . Some airlines also offer children's meals
  Kids' meal
  A Kids' meal is a meal specified to children, usually to preteens, sometimes younger. Most kids' meals come in bags or cardboard boxes with a special themed promotion, containing activities on the bag and a small prize...
  
  , containing foods that children will enjoy such as baked beans
  Baked beans
  Baked beans is a dish containing beans, sometimes baked but, despite the name, usually stewed, in a sauce. Most commercial canned baked beans are made from haricot beans, also known as navy beans – a variety of Phaseolus vulgaris – in a sauce. In Ireland and the United Kingdom, a tomato...
  
  , mini-hamburger
  Hamburger
  A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat usually placed inside a sliced bread roll...
  
  s and hot dog
  Hot dog
  A hot dog is a sausage served in a sliced bun. It is very often garnished with mustard, ketchup, onions, mayonnaise, relish and/or sauerkraut.-History:...
  
  s.
• Medical diets, including low/high fiber
  Dietary fiber
  Dietary fiber, dietary fibre, or sometimes roughage is the indigestible portion of plant foods having two main components:* soluble fiber that is readily fermented in the colon into gases and physiologically active byproducts, and* insoluble fiber that is metabolically inert, absorbing water as it...
  
  , low fat
  Fat
  Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and generally insoluble in water. Chemically, fats are triglycerides, triesters of glycerol and any of several fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at room temperature, depending on their structure...
  
  /cholesterol
  Cholesterol
  Cholesterol is a complex isoprenoid. Specifically, it is a waxy steroid of fat that is produced in the liver or intestines. It is used to produce hormones and cell membranes and is transported in the blood plasma of all mammals. It is an essential structural component of mammalian cell membranes...
  
  , diabetic
  Diabetic diet
  There is much controversy regarding what diet to recommend to sufferers of diabetes mellitus. The diet most often recommended is high in dietary fiber, especially soluble fiber, but low in fat . Recommendations of the fraction of total calories to be obtained from carbohydrate intake range from 1/6...
  
  , peanut free
  Peanut allergy
  Peanut allergy is a type of food allergy distinct from nut allergies. It is a type 1 hypersensitivity reaction to dietary substances from peanuts causing an overreaction of the immune system which in a small percentage of people may lead to severe physical symptoms. It is estimated to affect...
  
  , non-lactose, low salt
  Salt
  In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
  
  /sodium
  Low sodium diet
  A low sodium diet is a diet that includes no more than 1,500 to 2,400 mgs of sodium per day. People who follow a vigorous or moderate exercise schedule are usually advised to limit their sodium intake to 3,000 mg per day and those with moderate to severe heart failure are usually advised to...
  
  , low-purine, low-calorie
  Calorie restriction
  Caloric restriction , or calorie restriction, is a dietary regimen that restricts calorie intake, where the baseline for the restriction varies, usually being the previous, unrestricted, intake of the subjects...
  
  , low-protein
  Low-protein diet
  A low-protein diet is a diet in which people reduce their intake of protein. A low-protein diet is often prescribed to people with kidney or liver disease...
  
  , bland (non-spicy) and gluten-free
  Gluten-free diet
  A gluten-free diet is a diet that excludes foods containing gluten. Gluten is a protein found in wheat , barley, rye, malts and triticale. It is used as a food additive in the form of a flavoring, stabilizing or thickening agent, often as "dextrin"...
  
   meals.
• Religious diets, including kosher, halal
  Halal
  Halal is a term designating any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term is used to designate food seen as permissible according to Islamic law...
  
  , and Hindu, Buddhist and Jain
  Jain vegetarianism
  Jain vegetarianism is the diet of the Jains, the followers of Jainism. It is the most strict form of religiously-motivated diet regulation in the Indian subcontinent....
  
   vegetarian (sometimes termed Asian vegetarian) meals.
• Vegetarian and vegan meals. Some airlines do not offer a specific meal for vegetarians; instead, they are given a vegan meal.

Cutlery

Before the September 11 attacks in 2001, first class passengers were often provided with full sets of metal cutlery. Afterward, common household items were evaluated more closely for their potential use as weapons on aircraft, and both first class

First class travel

First class is the most luxurious class of accommodation on a train, passenger ship, airplane, or other conveyance. It is usually much more expensive than business class and economy class, and offers the best amenities.-Aviation:...

 and coach class

Economy class

__FORCETOC__Economy class, also called coach class , steerage, or standard class, is the lowest class of seating in air travel, rail travel, and sometimes ferry or maritime travel....

 passengers were restricted to plastic utensils (also known as "Sporks"). This restriction has since been relaxed in many countries.

Before the SARS outbreak in 2003, many airlines offered metal cutlery in all classes. During the outbreak, several airlines used plastic/metal cutlery (plastic on the tip, metal on the handle), and several airlines used all plastic cutlery. This is because the virus transfers from person to person easily. To prevent infection, plastic cutlery was needed. They can be thrown away after use, handling the spread on-board. Those airlines switched back to metal cutlery.

In May 2010, concerns were raised in Australia and New Zealand over their respective flag carriers, Qantas

Qantas

Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...

 and Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand Limited is the national airline and flag carrier of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 26 domestic destinations and 24 international destinations in 15 countries across Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania, and is...

, reusing their plastic cutlery for international flights between 10 and 30 times before replacement. Both airlines cited cost-cutting, international quarantine, and environmental reasons for the choice, and said that the plastic cutlery is commercially washed and sterilized before reuse.

Other non-food items

Condiments (typically salt

Edible salt

Salt, also known as table salt, or rock salt, is a mineral that is composed primarily of sodium chloride , a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of ionic salts. It is essential for animal life in small quantities, but is harmful to animals and plants in excess...

, pepper

Black pepper

Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...

, and sugar

Sugar

Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...

) are supplied in small sachets. For cleanliness most meals come with a napkin

Napkin

A napkin, or face towel is a rectangle of cloth used at the table for wiping the mouth while eating. It is usually small and folded...

 and a moist towelette

Wet wipe

A wet wipe, also known as a wet nap, wet towel, or a moist towelette, is a small moistened piece of paper or cloth that often comes folded and individually wrapped for convenience...

. First and business class passengers are often provided with hot towels and proper salt and pepper shakers.

Breakfast

During morning flights a cooked breakfast

Breakfast

Breakfast is the first meal taken after rising from a night's sleep, most often eaten in the early morning before undertaking the day's work...

 or smaller continental-style may be served. On long haul flights and (short/medium haul flights within Asia) breakfast normally includes an entrée

Entrée

An entrée is a dish served before the main course, or between two principal courses of a meal.The disappearance in the early 20th century of a large communal main course such as a roast as a standard part of the meal in the English-speaking world has led to the term being used to describe the main...

 of pancakes or eggs, traditional fried breakfast

Full breakfast

A full breakfast is a meal that consists of several courses, traditionally a starter , a main course, tea with milk, toast and marmalade or other preserves. Many variations are possible....

 foods such as sausages and grilled tomatoes, and often muffins or pastry, fruits and breakfast cereal

Breakfast cereal

A breakfast cereal is a food made from processed grains that is often, but not always, eaten with the first meal of the day. It is often eaten cold, usually mixed with milk , water, or yogurt, and sometimes fruit but sometimes eaten dry. Some cereals, such as oatmeal, may be served hot as porridge...

 on the side. On shorter flights a continental-style breakfast, generally including a miniature box of breakfast cereal

Breakfast cereal

A breakfast cereal is a food made from processed grains that is often, but not always, eaten with the first meal of the day. It is often eaten cold, usually mixed with milk , water, or yogurt, and sometimes fruit but sometimes eaten dry. Some cereals, such as oatmeal, may be served hot as porridge...

, fruits and either a muffin

Muffin

A muffin is an American English name for a type of quick bread that is baked in small portions. Many forms are somewhat like small cakes or cupcakes in shape, although they usually are not as sweet as cupcakes and generally lack frosting. Savory varieties, such as cornbread muffins, also exist...

, pastry

Pastry

Pastry is the name given to various kinds of baked products made from ingredients such as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder and/or eggs. Small cakes, tarts and other sweet baked products are called "pastries."...

, or bagel

Bagel

A bagel is a bread product, traditionally shaped by hand into the form of a ring from yeasted wheat dough, roughly hand-sized, which is first boiled for a short time in water and then baked. The result is a dense, chewy, doughy interior with a browned and sometimes crisp exterior...

. Coffee

Coffee

Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...

 and tea

Tea

Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...

 are offered as well, and sometimes hot chocolate.

Quality

Food on board the flight ranges in price from free (typically on full-service European and Asian airlines, and on almost all long distance flights) to as much as ten dollars on low-cost airlines.. Quality may also fluctuate due to shifts in the economics of the airline industry, with private jet passengers receiving the equivalent of five-star food service.

On the longest flights in first class

First class travel

First class is the most luxurious class of accommodation on a train, passenger ship, airplane, or other conveyance. It is usually much more expensive than business class and economy class, and offers the best amenities.-Aviation:...

 and business class

Business class

Business class is a travel class available on many commercial airlines and rail lines, known by brand names which vary by airline or rail company. In the airline industry, it was originally intended as an intermediate level of service between economy class and first class, but many airlines now...

, most Asian and European airlines serve multicourse gourmet meals, while airlines based in the US tend to serve large, hearty, meals including a salad, steak or chicken, potatoes, and ice cream. Some long-haul flights in first and business class offer such delicacies as caviar, champagne, and sorbet. The cost and availability of meals on US airlines has changed considerably in recent years, as financial pressures have inspired some airlines to either begin charging for meals or abandon them altogether in favor of small snacks (Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines Co. is an American low-cost airline based in Dallas, Texas. Southwest is the largest airline in the United States, based upon domestic passengers carried,...

). Eliminating free pretzels saved Northwest $2 million annually. The carrier lost nearly $3.3 billion since 2001. Air China

Air China

Air China is the flag carrier and one of the major airlines of the People's Republic of China. Based in Beijing Capital International Airport, Air China is the world's 10th largest airline by fleet size. The airline ranked behind its main competitors China Southern Airlines and China Eastern...

 has reported that each domestic flight's meal requires RMB50 (US$7.3) while international flights require RMB70 (US$10). However, this figure varies from airline to airline, as some have reported costs to be as low as US$3.5. Air China is also minimizing costs by loading only 95% of all meals to reduce leftovers and storing non-perishable foods for emergencies.

Taste

Meals must generally be frozen

Frozen food

Freezing food preserves it from the time it is prepared to the time it is eaten. Since early times, farmers, fishermen, and trappers have preserved their game and produce in unheated buildings during the winter season. Freezing food slows down decomposition by turning water to ice, making it...

 and heated on the ground before takeoff, rather than prepared fresh. Guillaume de Syon, a history professor at Albright College

Albright College

Albright College is a private, co-ed, liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1856 and is located in Reading, Pennsylvania, United States.-Overview:...

 who wrote about the history of airline meals, said that the higher altitude

Altitude

Altitude or height is defined based on the context in which it is used . As a general definition, altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The reference datum also often varies according to the context...

s alter the taste of the food and the function of the taste bud

Taste bud

Taste buds contain the receptors for taste. They are located around the small structures on the upper surface of the tongue, soft palate, upper esophagus and epiglottis, which are called papillae. These structures are involved in detecting the five elements of taste perception: salty, sour,...

s; according to de Syon the food may taste "dry and flavorless" as a result of the pressurization and passengers, feeling thirsty due to pressurization, many drink alcohol when they ought to drink water.

History

In 1958 Pan Am and several European airlines went into a legal dispute over whether certain airline food sandwiches counted as a meal.

Food safety

Food safety is paramount in the airline catering industry. A case of mass food poisoning amongst the passengers on an airliner could have disastrous consequences. For example, on February 20, 1992, shrimp

Shrimp

Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...

 tainted with cholera

Cholera

Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...

 was served on Aerolíneas Argentinas

Aerolíneas Argentinas

Aerolíneas Argentinas , formally Aerolíneas Argentinas S.A., is Argentina's largest airline and serves as the country's flag carrier. Owned in its majority by the Argentine Government, the airline is headquartered in the Torre Bouchard, located in San Nicolás, Buenos Aires...

 Flight 386

Aerolíneas Argentinas Flight 386

Aerolíneas Argentinas Flight 386, sometimes referred to as the Valentine's Day flight, refers to an incident onboard a scheduled flight of that carrier in which food contaminated with cholera was distributed to the passengers.- Description of the occurrence :...

. An elderly passenger died and other passengers fell ill.

Technical crew meals

Food safety with technical crew meals (pilots and flight engineers) is sometimes even stricter than for passengers. Many foodstuffs are banned completely from crew meals, including all egg products and often any dairy that has not been ultra-heat treated

Ultra-high-temperature processing

Ultra-high temperature processing, ultra-heat treatment , or ultra-pasteurization is the sterilization of food by heating it for an extremely short period, around 1–2 seconds, at a temperature exceeding 135°C , which is the temperature required to kill spores in milk...

. The meals supplied on some airlines are labeled with the position of the crew member for whom they are intended, and no technical crew member eats any of the same products as his or her colleague. This ensures that each pilot eats a different meal to minimize the risk of all pilots on board being ill. This situation was a key part of the plot of the movie Airplane!

Airplane!

Airplane! is a 1980 American satirical comedy film directed and written by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker and released by Paramount Pictures...

See also

• Kosher airline meal
  Kosher airline meal
  A kosher airline meal is an airline meal that conforms to the standards of kashrut. Many airlines offer the option of kosher meals to passengers if ordered in advance...
  
  
• TV dinner
  TV dinner
  A TV dinner is a prepackaged frozen or chilled meal that usually comes as an individual portion...
  
  
• Bento
  Bento
  is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine. A traditional bento consists of rice, fish or meat, and one or more pickled or cooked vegetables, usually in a box-shaped container. Containers range from disposable mass produced to hand crafted lacquerware...
  
  
• LSG Sky Chefs
  LSG Sky Chefs
  LSG Sky Chefs is the brand name of LSG Lufthansa Service Holding AG, which is the world's largest provider of airline catering and in-flight services. It is a subsidiary of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. A part of the company was formerly owned by AMR Corporation, parent company of American Airlines...
  
  
• Cara Operations
  Cara Operations
  Cara Operations Limited is a Canadian company that provides catering services to airlines and operates several restaurant chains including: Harvey's, Swiss Chalet, Kelsey's, Milestones and Montana's. Its headquarters are in Vaughan, Ontario. It was previously headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario...
  
  
• Dnata
  Dnata
  Dnata is one of the largest suppliers of combined air services in the world offering ground handling, cargo, travel, and flight catering services across five continents. With a global footprint of 37 countries, Dnata employs over 20,000 employees for its operations worldwide.-History:Dnata was...
  
  
• Gate Gourmet
  Gate Gourmet
  Gate Gourmet is an airline catering firm with headquarters on the grounds of Zürich Airport, Switzerland, near Zürich.Gate Gourmet was founded in 1992, and is the world's largest independent airline catering, hospitality and logistics company...
  
  
• Servair
  Servair
  Servair is a subsidiary of the French airline Air France, specialised in airline catering. Servair has its head office in the Continental Square complex in Roissypôle, Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and in Tremblay-en-France....
  
  
• Singapore Airport Terminal Services
  Singapore Airport Terminal Services
  SATS Ltd. , commonly abbreviated as SATS is the chief ground-handling and in-flight catering service provider at Singapore Changi Airport. SATS controls about 80% of Changi airport's ground handling and catering business....
  
   (SATS)
• Chelsea Food Services
  Chelsea Food Services
  Chelsea Food Services is an airline catering company based at Continental Center I in Downtown Houston, Texas. The company is a subsidiary of Continental Airlines, Inc., making it currently the only airline catering company to be operated in-house by a United States-based airline Chelsea Food...
  
  

External links

• AirlineMeals.net, 22,000 airline meal photos from approx. 600 airlines, searchable by airline, flight class, date and route, updated daily
• AirplaneFood.net - The Best Airline Meal, Cabin, Amenity Kit, and Airline Menu Photos. An Online Inflight Experience.
• In-flight food fight - MSNBC
  MSNBC
  MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...