Airline food , airline food , plane meal or in-flight meals are meals served for passengers on board a ship commercial aircraft. These foods are prepared by airline-specific catering services and are usually served to passengers using the flight service trolley.
These foods vary greatly in quality and quantity across different airlines and travel classes. From simple snacks or beverages in short-range economy class to seven-course gourmet dishes on a first-class long-haul flight. When ticket prices are set in the American domestic market, food is the primary means that distinguishes the airline itself.
Video Airline meal
Histori
The first airline food was served by Handley Page Transport, an airline company established in 1919, to serve the London-Paris route in October of that year. Passengers can choose from a selection of sandwiches and fruit.
Maps Airline meal
Contents
The types of food vary depending on the airline and the travel class. Meals can be served on a tray or in some non-tray programs and with tablecloths, metal cutlery, and glassware (generally in the first class and business). Often food reflects the culture of the country that the airline aims for.
Airline dinners usually include meat (most often chicken or beef), fish, or pasta; salad or vegetables; small bread; and dessert. Spices (usually salt, pepper, and sugar) are supplied in small sachets or shakers.
Caterers usually produce alternative food for passengers on a strict diet. It usually has to be booked in advance, sometimes when buying tickets. Some of the more common examples include:
- Cultural diets, such as Turkish, French, Italian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese or Indian.
- Baby and baby food. Some airlines also offer children food, which contains foods that children will enjoy like baked beans, mini hamburgers and hot dogs.
- Medical diet, including low/high fiber, low fat/cholesterol, diabetes, peanut free, not lactose, low salt/sodium, low purine, low calorie, low protein, tasteless (not spicy) and gluten free food.
- Religious food, including halal, kosher, and Hindu food, Buddhist and vegetarian Jain (sometimes called Asian vegetarian).
- Vegetarian and vegan food. Some airlines do not offer special food for non-vegan vegetarians; instead, they were given vegan food.
Halal food
For some Islamic airlines (eg EgyptAir, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Garuda Indonesia, Batik Air, Malindo Air, Gulf Air, Iran Air, Mahan Air, Iran Aseman Airlines, Oman Air, Yemenia, Kuwait Airways, Iraqi Airways, Qatar Airways, Saudia , Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Royal Brunei Airlines, Royal Air Maroc, Libyan Airlines, Afriqiyah Airways, Tunisair, Air AlgÃÆ'Â © rie and Turkish Airlines), according to Islamic custom, all classes and dishes on the plane are served by a Muslim eating with halal certification - without pork and alcohol. While Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar still provide bottles of wine for non-Muslim passengers, cabin crew do not provide alcoholic drinks to violate Islamic customs, unless non-Muslim passengers request it. As Iran and Saudi Arabia implement strict Sharia regulations, airlines do not ship pork or alcoholic beverages, and all airlines flying to or from Iran or Saudi Arabia are prohibited from serving well. However, Garuda Indonesia still serves alcoholic beverages (whiskey, beer, champagne and wine) for non-Muslim passengers.
Halal food
In the case of Israeli airlines El Al, Arkia and Israir, all the food served is halal certified by Rabbis. Even destinations outside of Israel, the sky chef must be watched by rabbis to make halal food and load their aircraft.
Cutlery and tableware
Prior to the September 11, 2001 attacks, first-class passengers were often given a full set of metal cutlery. After that, ordinary household items are evaluated more closely for their potential use as weapons on the plane, and first-class passengers and class trainers are limited to plastic equipment. Several airlines switched from metal to plastic or plastic tableware during the SARS outbreak in 2003, as SARS viruses move from person to person easily, and plastic cutlery can be removed after use. Many airlines then switch back to metal cutting tools. However, Singapore Airlines continues to use metal appliances even in economy class by 2017.
In May 2010, concerns raised in Australia and New Zealand over their respective flag carrier, Qantas and Air New Zealand, reusing their plastic cutlery for international flights between 10 and 30 times before replacement. Both airlines mention cost savings, international quarantine, and the environment as the reason for the choice. Both also say that plastic tableware is washed and sterilized commercially before being reused. Reusing plastic tablewares though is a common practice among many airplanes and caterers.
For cleanliness, most of the food comes with napkins and wet towels. First class business passengers and often provided with hot towels.
Breakfast
During morning flights, cooked breakfast or smaller continental style can be served. On long haul flights (and short/medium haul flights in Asia) breakfast usually includes pancakes or egg dishes, traditional fried breakfast foods such as sausages and roasted tomatoes, and often muffins or pastries, fruits and breakfast cereals on the side. On shorter flights breakfast is continental style, generally including a box of miniature breakfast cereals, fruits and muffins, cakes, or bagels. Coffee and tea are also offered, and sometimes hot chocolate.
Cost
In-flight food is usually free on full-service Asian airlines and on most long-haul flights, while they may incur additional charges on low-cost carriers or full European airline flights. Quality can also fluctuate due to a shift in the aviation industry's economy.
On international long-haul flights in first class and business class, most Asian and European airlines serve gourmet food, while US-based heritage operators tend to serve multichannel food including snack cocktails, appetizers, soups, salads, entrÃÆ'Â © e ( chicken, beef, fish, or pasta), cheese with fruit, and ice cream. Some long-haul flights are in first business class and offer delicious food like caviar, champagne, and sorbet (intermezzo).
The cost and availability of food at US airlines has changed considerably in recent years, as financial pressures have forced some airlines to start filling food, or leaving them altogether for small snacks, as in the case of Southwest Airlines. Eliminating free pretzels saves $ 2 million annually. Currently, major US carriers (America, Delta and United) have suspended full-service economy class services on short-haul domestic US and North American flights while retaining them on most intercontinental routes; and at least one European airline, Icelandair, follows this policy on an intercontinental line as well.
Starting 2016, all four major US airlines are now offering free snacks in economy class. United Airlines reintroduced free snacks in February 2016. Beginning in April 2016, American Airlines will fully refund free snacks on all domestic flights in economy class. Free food will also be available on certain domestic routes. Delta and Southwest have been offering free snacks for years.
Hawaiian Airlines is the only major US airline that offers free flight meals for its domestic flights.
Air China has reported that every domestic flight food requires RMB50 (US $ 7.30) while international flights require RMB70 (US $ 10). However, this figure varies from airline to airline, as some have reported the cost to be as low as US $ 3.50. Air China also minimizes costs by loading only 95% of all food to reduce food waste and store non-perishable food for emergencies.
In 1958, Pan Am and several European airlines entered a legal dispute over whether certain airline sandwiches were counted as "food".
Get started
Food should generally be prepared on the ground before taking off. Guillaume de Syon, a history professor at Albright College who writes about airline food history, says that higher altitudes change the taste of food and functionality of the taste buds (though that does not happen to the Dreamliner or A350); According to de Syon, food can feel "dry and tasteless" as a result of air pressure and passengers, feeling thirsty due to air pressure, drinking lots of alcohol when they have to drink water. Tests show that the perception of salty and sweet fell 30% in height. Low humidity in the flight cabin also dries the nose which reduces the olfactory sensors that are important to taste the flavors on the plate.
Food safety is very important in the airline catering industry. A case of mass food poisoning among passengers on an aircraft could have catastrophic consequences. For example, on February 20, 1992, shrimp littered with cholera were presented at AerolÃÆ'neas Argentinas Flight 386. An elderly passenger died and another passenger fell ill. For this reason catering and airline companies have worked together to provide a set of industry-specific guidelines for airline catering needs. The World Food Safety Guidelines for Catering Airlines are offered free of charge by the International Aviation Services Association.
See also
References
External links
- Media related to airline food on Wikimedia Commons
- The flight menu from 1929 to now at Northwestern University
Source of the article : Wikipedia