Why Is Airline Food So Bad?

Ask a seasoned airline traveller, who has been jetting the skies since the days of TWA, BOAC and Pan Am, and they will tell you that the quality of airline food has nose-dived over the last few decades.

Certainly (and perhaps thankfully given the security risks), the days of seat-side carving and flambeaus are gone. However when you consider the hurdles that need to be overcome to produce an airline meal, it's a wonder that we aren't just given a bag of crisps and an apple.

One charge always levelled at airline food is that it is bland. It's hard to dispute this but the reasons are pretty obvious. Passengers usually only have a choice of two types of meal, so the airline needs to offer the sort of food that is likely to appeal to as many of the people on the plane as possible.

Also airline meals have to be made as cost effective as possible because of the razor thin profit margins involved in commercial aviation, they have to be able to withstand being cold stored and quickly heated, and it is imperative that they are hygienic and not too heavily spiced (grandma having a Vindaloo-induced 'funny turn' could result in an unscheduled stopover in Nova Scotia!).

On top of these obstacles, airline food planners have to contend with the fact that, after breathing dry recycled air in a pressurized aircraft cabin at altitude, the average passenger's taste buds are fairly blunted by the time the meal service is served!