There are a couple of reasons why the food on planes is famously bad. There are problems with every step of production, storage, and serving. This is what produces that horrible plane food taste.
Airplane food production is more similar to McDonald's and Wendy's than your favorite restaurant. The sheer number of meals being made makes it difficult to produce quality when you're overwhelmed with quantity. Each plane needs hundreds of meals, and there isn't always enough time to focus on making a delicious product.
Imagine your fast food meal being mass produced, and then frozen and shipped to be reheated later on. All airlines freeze their pre-made meals to be reheated once you're up in the air. It makes sense, because there aren't kitchens on planes and it's not possible to produce food once you're in the air. Still, it makes for that distinct 'leftovers' flavor that comes with reheated meals.
Think about how much your skin dries out when you're flying. The reprocessed air is always damaging, and to combat that airlines drench their food in sauce to keep it from drying out. This tends to mask the food's flavor. Not only is the meal less flavorful, but it's actually more difficult to taste the food once you're in the plane. The dry air, pressurized cabin, and distinct location limits your ability to smell and taste the meal.
So it's a perfect storm of conditions where food does not thrive. What can you do about it other than pack your own meals or shell out the money to fly first class? Well there are a couple of airlines which are known for their terrible food and a couple known for being a step above the others.
Unfortunately, the extremely large and most common American airlines are pretty much known for having terrible meals. This is partially because of the mass production element that comes from being a big airline. Unfortunately, none of them really make the cut when it comes to food and flavor. With that in mind, let's dive into the best of the best.
Airlines Making Good Meals Happen
Japan Airlines
Cute and Delicious!Matt TWN
Unsurprisingly, Japan is taking it further than anyone else, producing stunning meals of every variety. The meals are large, varied, beautifully presented, and delicious. This is the food lovers airline.
Singapore Airlines
A big delicious nutritious mealHoward Pulling
Singapore airlines gets that planes change the way you experience food, and they're working to combat that. In order to get the right balance of flavors the meals are tested in a simulated pressurized cabin. Once the food is perfected they make sure there are plenty of options, and you can request a remarkable number of different kinds of meals depending on your dietary needs and preferences.
EVA Air
Pure beauty in business class.Matt TWN
EVA Air originating in Taiwan but offering flights globally, tries to mix up its selections. They rotate their flavors each month and offer passengers different treats based on their preferences. People across each type of cabin note the quality of the food, and their surprise at the number of food options available.
Turkish Airlines
The chicken option in flight meal.Sucram Yef
Turkish Airlines is ahead of the game with it's award winning food. They won the title of Europe's Best Inflight Catering Service and pledge their devotion to using fresh ingredients.
Qatar Airways
Chicken curry with sides.Sucram Yef
Known as a luxurious airline, Qatar Airways is also known for its delicious in-flight meals. They try to use global inspiration in the food and flavors but tend to focus on what they know best, Middle Eastern flavors.
If you're looking for airlines that go out of their way to produce delicious food for their in-flight meals, try out one of these great options. Hopefully these airlines are raising the bar and other companies will take the hint and up their game. There's no reason you can't see the world and eat good food along the way.
