new york
CNN
—
If you flew on American Airlines in the 1960s, you were likely wined and dined in coach class. “Royal Coachman” menu. The meal started with beef consommé, followed by sautéed chicken breast in wine. How about a fruit tart for dessert?
Currently, when traveling by coach, you have to book a long-haul international flight or, if you’re lucky, a coast-to-coast domestic flight, to get a free meal. On short-haul flights, you may receive your choice of complimentary Biscoff cookies or pretzels.
In-flight dining is a far cry from the heyday of in-flight dining, when meals were served on white tablecloths. The stewardess scrambled eggs in the air. The disappearance of dining has joined the long list of pain points, inconveniences and cutbacks endured by today’s travelers. But industry cost-cutting isn’t the only reason Tartelette is gone. The elimination of in-flight meals for many passengers surprisingly resulted from major changes in government regulations, airplane design, in-flight movies, industry tax breaks, and even growing health and safety concerns.
Since September 11th, airline safety protocols and regulations have changed the types of cooking knives that flight attendants can use on board. Airplane galleys are smaller to accommodate more passengers. Airlines also do not serve some foods, such as peanuts, to protect people with allergies. Meals are often small, bland, or non-existent.
“Food service used to be a matter of pride,” said Henry Harteveldt, director of travel at Atmosphere Research Group. Now, “the quality is so poor that you wonder if airline executives really have taste buds.”
Peter Stackpole/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A Pan American flight attendant serves a tray of food to a passenger on a plane in 1958.
Airlines have long sought ways to reduce food production costs and reduce the time flight attendants spend preparing meals on flights. In a famous example from the 1980s, Robert Crandall, then president of American Airlines, 1 olive from every salad This saved the airline $40,000 annually.
Since then, cost and speed have become more important to airlines than taste. Airlines such as Singapore Airlines and Delta Airlines We work with famous Michelin-starred chefs. However, most businesses outsource their food to catering services, which may prepare the food several hours in advance.
“People are happy to get lower fares in exchange for food,” said Blaise Wagspack, an aviation marketing professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. “Your ticket secures your seat. And anything other than the seat you paid for.”
Charging passengers for in-flight meals, such as sandwiches, snack boxes, and cheese plates, even if it’s just a few dollars, is also a way for airlines to save on taxes. Domestic airfares are subject to a 7.5% federal excise tax, but that tax does not apply to: Baggage fees In-flight meals are also becoming more expensive.
caviar and free chewing gum
In-flight meals have been around for about a century, ever since the 1920s, when flight attendants handed out chewing gum to passengers to relieve pressure in their ears. According to , early airplanes bounced so much during flight that meals were served on paper plates. smithsonian museum.
For decades, as the federal government regulated airfares and routes, airlines sought to differentiate themselves with the kind of service, food and luxuries typically reserved for cruise passengers and Bond villains.
According to the Smithsonian Institution, until 1978, when the airline industry was deregulated, all passengers were required by law to receive an appetizer, two vegetables, a salad, a dessert, and a drink as part of their ticket price. It is said that he was
“Good food doubles the fun. Cooked in four galleys working simultaneously, food can be cooked in a five-minute oven,” Pan Am advertised in a 1958 ad. commercial.
In the 1960s and 1970s, airlines routinely installed sky-high kitchens onboard their planes and promoted their menus to attract customers. Beef was a business strategy.
“Airlines competed on service and amenities. Meal service was a big focus [competition] Because entertainment options were more limited,” Harteveldt said. “Airlines will have teams of chefs and their own catering kitchens. [and] This is an advertisement about food. ”
Rob Welham/Camera Press/Redux
British Airways in-flight meals in 2019.
As deregulation took hold, airlines lowered ticket prices.But to make up for lost revenue, they cut production. Meal selection and other services In the same way.
The September 11 terrorist attacks accelerated the decline in free in-flight meals. Airlines faced a significant drop in demand and responded by cutting back on in-flight meal service.Announcements from United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, etc. Significant price reduction for in-flight meal services Immediately after the attack.
Continental Airlines was the last to hold out, becoming the last major airline to end free domestic meals in economy class in 2010.
Airplane food has been the butt of jokes and criticism for decades, but now people are nostalgic for it. Few aviation industry experts see them returning to buses any time soon.
The reality is very different for business class passengers and first class passengers.
“The golden age of in-flight dining has arrived,” said Molly Brandt, executive chef of North American culinary innovation at in-flight catering company Gate Group. It depends on which airline you fly and which category you fall into. “They are categorized by cabin class,” she explained.
For example, if you’re flying first class on an American flight, your lunch options include a Mediterranean bowl, chicken breast with mojo sauce, poblano black bean rice and plantains, or a plant-based ragu and penne pasta with ricotta. For Delta, choose from a cheeseburger, spinach and cheese agnolotti, or Hempler’s smoked pepper chicken breast salad.
Some airlines offer caviar to first class passengers. But most flyers these days don’t even offer free chewing gum.
