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How airplane meals are made: inside look at preparation processes

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How airplane meals are made: inside look at preparation processes
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Tom Boon Content Manager | Simple Flying

The airline food industry is valued at $6 billion, with a single meal costing airlines up to $100. Major airlines employ culinary teams dedicated to deciding what food to serve onboard. Most airplane food is prepared in large kitchens near airports by catering companies. Various rules dictated by bodies such as the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) regulate what food items can be served on board, including restrictions on certain alcohol or fresh produce.

Recently, there have been incidents of food poisoning involving aircraft meals. "A couple of weeks ago, the news stormed that 24 people got sick after it was found that Delta Air Lines had served spoiled food to passengers." Additionally, "a couple of months ago, news surfaced that flight crew onboard the United Airlines Flight 806 had contracted food poisoning." Some reports state that airline food “may have been in a freezer for a month.”

However, incidents involving food poisoning due to aircraft food are rare. Many travelers look forward to tasting the most delectable items served by different airlines, such as Honolulu cookies from Hawaiian Airlines and the Aotearoa menu from Air New Zealand.

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According to Vox, the airline food industry is worth over $6 billion. The Points Guy reports that meal costs for airlines are approximately $4 for an economy-class meal, $25 to $30 for a business-class meal, and upwards of $100 for a first-class meal. How and where the food is prepared may differ depending on the class of air ticket purchased.

Different airlines have varying strategies for their onboard menus. On major U.S. carriers like American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines, menus change with seasons or routes. Raphael Girardoni, managing director of food and beverages at American Airlines, commented: “We’re constantly changing out individual items... if there’s a particular entree that isn’t doing well from a customer service standpoint... we’ll replace it with something else.”

Historically, economy class passengers were served multi-course meals in the 50s and 60s. However, following financial losses post-9/11, many airlines cut costs related to in-flight food service or stopped serving meals altogether in economy class.

Most airplane food is cooked in large kitchens near airports by catering companies like LSG Sky Chefs or Gate Gourmet. Staff adhere to strict hygiene protocols including wearing hair nets and protective garments and using air showers to remove foreign objects before preparing meals.

Patricia Green reported on pre-flight preparation: “The caterer prepares the food by part cooking and flash chilling the meals... When the cabin crew arrive at the aircraft... they will check that the numbers from the passenger list and the catering match.” For short flights under 90 minutes, crews pre-heat meals on the ground.

Once onboard an aircraft, meals are reheated in convection ovens located in galleys. While microwave ovens were once used on Boeing 747s operated by Trans World Airlines (TWA), they are no longer common.

Some premium services include onboard chefs who prepare certain ingredients freshly during flights. Carriers like Austrian Airlines and Turkish Airlines offer this service on select flights. Mustafa Can Aydoğdu from Turkish Airlines stated: "Our premium dining service... allows us to source the freshest seasonal ingredients."

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