Airline meal

An airline meal, airline food, or in-flight meal is a meal served to passengers on board a commercial airliner. These meals are prepared by specialist airline catering services and are normally served to passengers using an airline service trolley.

These meals vary widely in quality and quantity across different airline companies and classes of travel. They range from a simple snack or beverage in short-haul economy class to a seven-course gourmet meal in a first class long-haul flight. The types of food offered also vary widely from country to country, and often incorporate elements of local cuisine, sometimes both from the origin and destination countries. When ticket prices were regulated in the American domestic market, food was the primary means by which airlines differentiated themselves.

Daimler Airway pioneered the service of light refreshments. Their flight attendant, also known as the cabin boy, would procure food from the local markets before preparing and serving them in lunch boxes. Planes would often have to land at destinations even where no passengers were boarding or disembarking, just so that passengers could have their meals while the plane was being refuelled. At this early stage of aircraft meal service, the only heated refreshments were coffee and tea.

The first airline meals were served by Handley Page Transport, an airline company founded in 1919, to serve the London–Paris route in October of that year. Passengers could choose from a selection of sandwiches and fruit. In-flight menus were not often changed, as the low frequency of air travel meant that passengers would be less likely to notice the similarity of food served.

Only chewing gum was served on the inaugural Pan Am flight in 1929, in order to prevent airsickness. Flights in this era of air travel were extremely noisy and uncomfortable, with passengers often anxious about flying for the first time.

In the late 1920s, Western Air Express was one of the first airlines to serve in-flight meals in the United States, beginning with flights between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Food served included fried chicken, cake, fruits and sandwiches. Mealtimes served as a distraction from the unpleasant flight experience and helped ease nerves.

Dining areas got increasingly spacious, providing passengers with the freedom to move around and mingle while having their meals and for that reason, the 1930s were described as the "most romantic" era of air travel. Aircraft lounges were elaborately designed, accompanied with posh chinaware and white tablecloths.

United Airlines set up the first dedicated in-flight catering kitchen. Based in Oakland, California, this initiative provided passengers with a choice of either scrambled eggs or fried chicken as the main course. At the same time, improvements in flight technologies and aircraft capabilities posed a new set of problems for meal service. Flying at higher altitudes meant that eggs took a longer time to cook, and bread would spoil much faster.