Best Airline In-Flight Food

by Brooke Bobb

The Four Airlines with the Best In-Flight Food – from an Expert who’s tried it all

There are many things to loathe about traveling: mysterious flight cancellations, endless TSA lines, and the seat-kicker behind you. But on longer flights, the real killer can be the food. Even in first or business class, the meal options can be shockingly dull. More often than not, even countless glasses of cheap wine can’t mask the oversalted meats and watery sauces. Believe it or not, there is one expert who has long sought to debunk the bad rap of pre-packaged airline food.

Nikos Loukas worked in the airline industry for more than 15 years before starting a website in 2012 dedicated to reviewing and providing nutritional information on onboard meals. He is now a consultant for the airline catering industry in Europe, and he’s become a trusted source both within the travel industry and for the generally disgruntled traveling public.

Here, Loukas shares with us the four airlines, and specific dishes, that are making bad in-flight cuisine a thing of the past.

Korean Air
This airline carries the freshest organic food of any: It refers to its program as “from farm to fly,” and all of its proteins come from Jedong pastures in South Korea’s Jeju Province. While the top dishes are typically served in business or first class, economy has amazing offers as well. Try the signature cold bibimbap with rice and vegetables or the dongchimi noodles.

Turkish Airlines
While the service can often be hit or miss, the food is always great. The airline recently hired around 400 in-flight chefs to make sure that the food being prepared is presented and arranged perfectly. For breakfast, try the scrambled eggs with Turkish spinach pastry. The eggs will be fluffy, and the pastry melts in your mouth.

Virgin America
The airline has teamed up with Dean & DeLuca to offer delicious snacks like caramel popcorn and gummy bears, and the first-class menus this summer included dishes such as an arugula, beet, and orange salad with citrus mint vinaigrette, and a beef bulgogi bowl with julienned carrots, sautéed kale, and pickled watermelon radishes served on a bed of coconut jasmine rice.      @wbbrjp

Singapore Air
You can preorder your meal on Singapore Air, which is a relatively new thing in the airline business. I loved the business-class offering of grilled filet of beef with shallot tarragon sauce, French beans, and roasted pumpkin. It really was like dining in a fine restaurant.

“Do not go where the path leads, travel instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

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