Airline food has a terrible reputation. Inflight meals sadly often don’t reflect the quality and taste of the cuisine you’re about to eat when you touch down in your new destination. But some airlines are better than others.
We reviewed over 150 of the largest airlines in the world and analyzed what food they were offering passengers and how much they charge for snacks and drinks. As we wanted this to apply to the everyday passenger, we’ve only researched economy food. See our full comparison of airline meals below.
Key findings:
- Air Asia is the cheapest airline in the world for snacks and drinks where a Coca-Cola will cost $1.33, Pringles $1.77, and a beer $2.73.
- TUI Airways has the most affordable snacks and drinks in Europe with a Coca-Cola costing $2.06, Pringles $1.94, and a beer $4.90.
- Air India is the airline with the most vegan and vegetarian main meal options listed.
- Jet2, Virgin Australia, and JetBlue Airways were the only airlines to clearly label more than one gluten-free choice in their main meal options.
- Nutritionists recommend passengers look for meals made with simple ingredients as that’s usually the healthiest choice onboard a flight.
Most affordable airlines for snacks and drinks
Taking a selection of Pringles®, Coca-Cola, and a single beer (the brand varies by airline) we compared how much each airline charges passengers for an in-flight snack and drink (converted to USD). These products were chosen as we could compare the same item across multiple airlines.
Air Asia, headquartered in Kuala Lumpur had the most affordable options for snacks and drinks, while TUI Airways, based out of London Luton, had Europe’s cheapest snacks, followed by LOT Polish Airlines. Outside of Europe and Asia, Air New Zealand, based in Auckland, offered the most affordable options in Oceania.
The ranking below accounts for the affordability of all three items.
| Airlines | Continent | Pringles | Coca-Cola | Beer |
| Air Asia | Asia | $1.77/£1.49 | $1.33/£1.12 | $2.73/£2.30 |
| TUI Airways | Europe | $1.94/£1.63 | $2.06/£1.74 | $4.90/£4.12 |
| LOT Polish Airlines | Europe | $2.50/£2.10 | $2.50/£2.10 | $3.75/£3.15 |
| Air New Zealand | Oceania | $2.48/£2.09 | $2.48/£2.09 | $4.96/£4.17 |
| SpiceJet | Asia | $3.00/£2.52 | $2.00/£1.68 | $5.00/£4.20 |
| VivaAerobus | North America | $2.71/£2.28 | $2.79/£2.35 | $4.22/£3.55 |
| Volaris | North America | $2.95/£2.48 | $2.95/£2.48 | $4.13/£3.47 |
| Air Europa | Europe | $2.97/£2.50 | $3.25/£2.73 | $4.46/£3.75 |
| Jet2.com | Europe | $2.58/£2.17 | $2.97/£2.49 | $6.06/£5.10 |
| Ryanair | Europe | $2.75/£2.31 | $3.30/£2.77 | $5.50/£4.62 |
| TAP Air Portugal | Europe | $3.30/£2.77 | $3.52/£2.96 | $4.40/£3.70 |
| Virgin Australia | Oceania | $3.35/£2.82 | $2.68/£2.25 | $6.70/£5.63 |
| EasyJet | Europe | $3.23/£2.71 | $3.23/£2.71 | $6.77/£5.70 |
| Wizz Air | Europe | $3.85/£3.24 | $3.30/£2.77 | $6.05/£5.09 |
| Pegasus Airlines | Europe | $3.85/£3.24 | $3.85/£3.24 | $6.05/£5.09 |
Inflight meals recommended by a nutritionist
While we couldn’t accurately compare the cost of inflight meals across airlines, as it is most often included as part of a long-haul ticket, we could review the quality of the food.
Kerri Ferraioli is an expert nutritionist at food sensitivity and allergy experts, YorkTest, and she helped us review what was on offer 35,000 feet up in the sky. Unfortunately, we couldn’t send Kerri on every flight to taste test the food in-person, but she did review the menu information the airlines gave us.
“When looking at this list, I was looking to see if the meals contained a protein, vegetables, and for meals that looked simple. The simpler the meal, usually the healthier it is! The airlines that stood out had all three meals that fit the above criteria.”
The airlines for inflight meals Kerri recommended were:
- Cathay Pacific (based in Hong Kong)
- China Airlines (based in Taipei)
- Jet Blue Airways (based in New York City)
- Saudia Airlines (based in Jeddah)
The photo shows an example pasta meal from China Airlines from Flickr
Nutritionist recommended inflight meals
The four airlines the nutritionist recommended offer the following meals:
Our expert nutritionist also said that her personal favorite meal was from Saudia Airlines, because their meals were “made with simple ingredients and vegetarian based.”
How do airlines accommodate dietary requirements?
As part of our research, we reviewed what special meal options each airline had. We could only review options that were publicly disclosed on their website or on menus made available to us.
Many airlines indicated that they would make arrangements for passengers with dietary requirements, but wouldn’t disclose exactly what these options were. Therefore, this ranking prioritizes those airlines that have their options publicly available.
For those with allergies and dietary requirements, Kerri recommends people “take this into our own hands and prepare ahead of time, check online to see if ingredients are listed, if not you can contact the airline. If you have an allergy that can cause anaphylaxis; call the airline to let them know and ask what precautions you need to take. Ensure that you have an epi-pen and you may want to consider taking a flight in off-peak hours as well.”
Best airlines for vegetarian options
Air India had the largest selection of main meals labeled as suitable for vegetarians. Those who don’t eat meat can find meals such as ‘Vegetable Manchurian with Fried Rice’ or ‘Matar Paneer Bhurji with Aloo Paratha’ when flying Air India. American Airlines and LOT Polish Airlines were the joint-second-best choices for those looking for guaranteed vegetarian inflight meals.
| Airline | Region | Vegetarian main meal options listed |
| Air India | Asia | 5 |
| American Airlines | North America | 4 |
| LOT Polish Airlines | Europe | 4 |
| Jet2.com | Europe | 3 |
| Air Canada | North America | 3 |
| Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA | Europe | 3 |
Best airlines for vegan options
In our analysis there were only four airlines that clearly labeled more than one vegan main meal option online. From looking at the ingredients we can see that it is likely that many of the vegetarian meals served as inflight meals are vegan-friendly, however airlines appear hesitant to label them as such.
Air India, the best airline for vegans in our research, clearly labels their allergens and listed some ‘Jain’ meals that can be vegan-friendly. ‘Jain’ food will not always be vegan so we advise our plant-based readers to always check the ingredients or contact the airline directly.
| Airline | Region | Vegan main meal options listed |
| Air India | Asia | 5 |
| Delta Air Lines | North America | 2 |
| Jet2.com | Europe | 2 |
| Virgin Australia | Oceania | 2 |
Best airlines for gluten-free options
Jet2, Virgin Australia, and JetBlue were the only three airlines in our analysis that clearly list more than one singular gluten-free meal in their online menus. In 2019, Jet2 introduced two vegan and two gluten-free options as main meals for their passengers. Gluten-free options include a chicken dinner and an all-day breakfast.
| Airline | Region | Vegan main meal options listed |
| Jet2.com | Europe | 2 |
| Virgin Australia | Oceania | 2 |
| JetBlue Airways | North America | 2 |
Most common airline food
From our analysis of the largest airlines in the world, we found that the following were the most common food you would find in an inflight meal:
- Chicken dish (32.6%)
- Rice dish (11.8%)
- Beef dish (10.4%)
- Type of curry (6.3%)
- Pasta dish* (4.9%)
*Not including lasagne, which was the 6th most common meal (4.2%)
Inflight meals around the world
See the table below to explore how inflight meals change around the world with a sample of the data analysed for this research.
Meals are subject to change due to seasons menus and airlines frequently changing their offering to passengers.
Methodology
We researched the meal, snack, and drink options offered by the 157 largest airlines in the world as detailed in various online rankings. For some we were able to find menu and food information on their websites or promotional material, for some we contacted their customer support directly for more information. After this desk research, this list was reduced to 50 airlines based on the availability of menus or food information online. Every major airline where information wasn’t publicly available was contacted. Where a specific route was required to access a menu, we chose the most popular routes for each respective airline. If an airline did not provide information on inflight meals publicly, we also referred to guides from InFlightFeed.
Sources for airline food information
- https://www.airindiaexpress.in/meals
- https://www.airasia.com/aa/pdf/inflight-menu/ak-flight.pdf
- https://www.malaysiaairlines.com/content/dam/mas/pdf/eypoml-web-menu-aug-2022.pdf
- https://www.inflightfeed.com/saudiairlines/#:~:text=Most%20routes%20offer%20at%20least,your%20economy%20class%20meal%20tray.
- https://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/sg/flying-withus/dining/economy-class-meals-for-short-haul-flights/
- https://www.thaiairways.com/en_JP/experience_my_thai/in_the_air/PreSelectmealsEco.page
- https://www.aireuropa.com/us/en/aea/aexperience/services/onboard-menu.html
- https://www.flytap.com/en-us/on-board/meals-on-board/meals-economy-class
- https://www.inflightfeed.com/lufthansa-economy-class-a-la-carte-dining-options/
- https://www.lot.com/cy/en/journey/on-board/food-on-the-plane/my-onboard-meal/sandwiches-salads-wraps https://www.lot.com/cy/en/journey/on-board/food-on-the-plane/my-onboard-meal/gourmet-meals
- https://www.jet2.com/en/travel-essentials/meals
- https://www.ryanair.com/content/dam/ryanair3/2021/inflight/magazines/07/GETAWAY_CAFE_V2.pdf
- https://lxm-group.aflip.in/Wizz_Europe_April_May_2023_Cafe.html#page/4
- https://www.flypgs.com/en/travel-services/flight-services/pegasus-cafe https://cdnp.flypgs.com/files/pdf/pegasus-cafe-dis-hat-menusu.pdf
- https://www.norwegian.com/en/infourl/pre-order-meal-menu/
- https://www.inflightfeed.com/finnair-inflight-meals-finnair-catering-helsinki-tour/
- https://www.inflightfeed.com/air-france-a-la-carte-meal-economy-class-meal-business-class-meal-review/
- https://wwws.airfrance.us/information/prepare/repas-a-bord
- https://www.inflightfeed.com/turkish-airlines-economy-class-meals-2022/ https://www.inflightfeed.com/turkish-airlines-2018-meal-review-business-and-economy-class/
- https://flywith.virginatlantic.com/in/en/economy-cabin-and-seats/food-and-drink-economy.html
- https://www.easyjet.com/en/inflight/preorder
- https://www.inflightfeed.com/aegean-airlines-food-review-2022/
- https://www.westjet.com/en-ca/inflight/food-and-beverages#special-meals
- https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/experience/dining/main-cabin-food.jsp
- https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/travel/inflight/dining/beverages.html https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/travel/inflight/dining/bistro.html
- https://www.aircanada.com/content/dam/aircanada/portal/documents/PDF/bistro_menu_en.pdf
- https://www.jetblue.com/magnoliapublic/dam/ui-assets/p/mint-menus/2023/Apr23/CharlieBird_TATL_Westbound_LSB_AprJul_2023.pdf
- https://cms.volaris.com/globalassets/pdfs/esp/menu-entre-nubes-volaris-v25-2021.pdf
- https://content.vivaaerobus.com/Upload-VB/flight/viva-menu-2017.pdf
- https://www.alaskaair.com/content/travel-info/flight-experience/main-cabin/%20%20food-and-drink#reserve
- https://www.traveloffpath.com/delta-launches-new-menus-and-build-your-own-ice-cream-sundaes/
- https://www.inflightfeed.com/aeromexico-airline-food-review-economy-and-business-class-nov2017/
- https://www.virginaustralia.com/content/dam/vaa/docs/va-onboard-menu.pdf
- https://www.airnewzealand.co.uk/economy-menu
- https://www.csair.com/us/en/tourguide/flight_service/tour/gongwucang/
- https://www.emirates.com/uk/english/experience/dining/economy-class/
- https://www.goindigo.in/add-on-services/food-menu.html
- https://resources.etihad.com/etihad/inflightmenus/20191030_878_Y.pdf
- https://www.cathaypacific.com/cx/en_GB/flying-with-us/inflight-dining/dining-menus.html#economy
- https://corporate.spicejet.com/content/pdf/Spice-International-Menu.pdf
- https://www.inflightfeed.com/qatar-airways-economy-class-meals-review-2020/
- https://static.flygofirst.com/book/boardingpass/MENU_CARD.PDF
- https://livefromalounge.com/jet-airways-jet-bistro-buy-board-menu/
- https://www.garuda-indonesia.com/in/en/garuda-indonesia-experience/in-flight/book-your-meals
- https://www.koreanair.com/uz/en/in-flight/onboard-service/dining/first
- https://www.cebupacificair.com/meals
- https://calec.china-airlines.com/emenu_dot/R00_ALL_ML.aspx
- https://www.tui.co.uk/editorial/editorial-downloads/the-eatery-menu-november-2012.pdf
- https://www.flyuia.com/ua/en/services/pre-order-meal#main-dishes
