# Tags
#Aviation

In-flight meals over time

Most airlines are working hard to develop and improve their services, International Air Transport Association (IATA) predicted a double of airline travelers by 2035. One of the most important ways is to offer premium in-flight meals. Through this article, we will see some important developments in the in-flight meals over time.

Credit: https://par-avion.co.za/a-brief-history-of-airline-food/
Advertisements

The first flight ever to serve food was on a Handley-page flight from London to Paris on October 11, 1919, was priced at three shillings each meal contains sandwiches, fried chicken, and fruit salad.

Kitchens appeared for the first time on aircraft in 1930, The United airlines was a pioneer in this field having introduced the first airline kitchen in 1936 and served hot meals and the other airlines followed this. In 1940 airlines began to follow new logistics of serving food to potentially all passengers as serving frozen meals on flights.

Credit: https://travelelog.com/
Advertisements

The Golden Age

In 1950 the time which is known as the golden age of air travel, new welfare and promotions appeared in airline foods. Pan Am developed their meals by ovens, and delicious food adds to the enjoyment, where dishes can be cooked in five-minute.

Credit: https://samchui.com/

The Iconic Concord

The first flight of the Iconic Concorde was on 2nd March 1969 which was so distinctive about food. British Airways and Air France became very putative for their cuisine at this time. Champagne, lobster with saffron, caviar, black truffle, and foie gras was served. The last flight of the Concorde was in 2003.

  • In 1970 some airlines saw that tickets price starts to fall as serving cheap food became more important than serving the best food and service. Southwest Airlines, the world’s first low-cost carrier, starts flying in 1971.
  • In 1973 the French airline Union de Transports Aériens employed chef Raymond Oliver to reorganize the food menu.  Airlines begin to favor spicy, rich, and salty food that is suited to reheat and retains its flavor. Then the quality of planes meals was unstable as expensive in spite of poor quality.
  • After realizing how the flight meals are basic in the in-flight experience, many airlines ask for the assistance of renowned chefs to organize the food menu.
  • The airlinemeals.net website was launched in 2001 and allowed the passengers to discuss the plane’s food and post photos of in-flight meals. About 30,000 images have been uploaded since.
Credit: https://www.airlinemeals.net/
Advertisements

In 2002 after the 11 September terrorist, many airlines started to use plastic cutlery on flights. 2013: Air Baltic unveils a novel new food ordering system that allows customers to choose every aspect of their in-flight meal when they book their seats.

With the global connections through the internet and social media, airlines started to be careful about the quality of service due to it will be recommended as bad or good feedback.

Advertisements

Sources:

Discover more from Aviation for Aviators

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading