Plane food – love it or loathe it it's hard not to be impressed by airlines that take gastronomic quality to sky-high levels. Here are 13 of the best carriers for cuisine, ranked by how well they fared across seven awards (we gave 5 points for 1st place and 2 points for runner-up for international; and 4 points for 1st and 1 point for runner-up for domestic US).

Domestic carrier JetBlue, which flies mainly to destinations in the USA and the Caribbean, came 3rd in Travel + Leisure's Best Domestic US Airlines for Food 2015.

JetBlue's reputation has gone from strength to strength. All passengers get free snacks and non-alcoholic drinks, while on some flights the carrier's Premium Class, 'Mint', offers seasonal tapas menus courtesy of hip NYC eatery Saxon + Parole. Past dishes have included Burrata-stuffed ravioli and, on the Caribbean menu (pictured), ginger-marinated shrimp with sweet potato salad.

Runner-up in the Saveur Good Taste Awards 2015: First-Class Airborne Eats, Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific often partners with Michelin-starred chefs from renowned hotels, such as the Mandarin Oriental group, to produce five-star quality, prepared-to-order meals for First Class passengers.

Unsurprisingly, Asian dishes feature heavily: First Class and Business Class guests are treated to more than a dozen regional noodle soup options.

Winner of Travel + Leisure's Best Domestic Airlines for Food 2015, Virgin America currently offers gourmet snacks from grocer Dean & DeLuca to First Class passengers. In 2014, the Diet Detective named the carrier's food the "healthiest in the air". VA makes a point of providing nutritional information.

All cabins' menus contain fresh, sustainable ingredients; recent dishes include the Korean Chicken Sandwich with salad and gochujang sauce (pictured).

Middle Eastern carrier Etihad won World's Best First Class Onboard Catering at the 2015 Skytrax World Airline Awards for its sumptuous dining experience.

First Class passengers can sit back and enjoy a seven-course tasting menu, or dishes from other menus, all cooked by a personal chef whenever they choose to eat. Examples include grass-fed beef tenderloin followed by a signature XO Cognac. There's also a boutique wine list.

Austrian won the World's Best Business Class Onboard Catering at the 2015 Skytrax World Airline Awards.

Austrian offers the Flying Chef service, where onboard cooks rustle up dishes for Business Class passengers, while the Flying Coffee House offers a range of Viennese specialities.

New Zealand's national airline is well respected for its culinary offerings and the excellent in-flight wines available.

In 2015, Air NZ won Skytrax World Airline Awards' World's Best Premium Economy Class Onboard Catering prize. Dishes such as seared hapuka in miso coconut broth with steamed shitake rice, gai lan and fresh coriander salsa, and white chocolate and rosewater panna cotta with pistachio cream have featured.

Air New Zealand's Business Class menu (there's no First Class) is curated by world-renowned chef Peter Gordon and stays faithful to the country's fantastic produce. Dishes include parsnip and yellow split pea soup with blackened corn and mustard seed relish, and a gourmet dessert of strawberries and cream ice cream with strawberry compote and meringue.

Proving that cattle class can provide fabulous fare too, Korean airline Asiana offers the delectable national speciality bibimbap and other delights. As a result, it won the World's Best Economy Class Onboard Catering award at the 2015 Skytrax World Airline Awards.

In Business Class and First Class, diners have the option of a Western or Eastern menu. There are Italian, Japanese, Chinese and Korean dishes, such as bulgalbi, and premium Champagne and eco-friendly coffee are served.

Joint winner in the Business Travel Awards 2016: Best Airline Food, Virgin Atlantic is known for making an effort to impress guests.

British TV chef Lorraine Pascale (pictured) has created a menu for Upper Class, including dishes such as Thai beef salad with roasted pine nuts and chilli dressing, and a kids' menu for all cabins. Economy passengers can eat the likes of Beef Burgundy and indugent Gu puds while afternoon tea is served to everyone on certain flights.

Joint winner in the Business Travel Awards 2016: Best Airline Food, Hawaiian Airlines is garnering quite a reputation for its First Class Pacific Rim menus masterminded by featured chefs.

Hawaiian, which was also a runner-up in Travel + Leisure's Best Domestic US Airlines for Food 2015, is the only US domestic carrier to offer complementary meals to all passengers.

Turkish Airlines is fast becoming a gastronomic paradise. At the 2015 Skytrax World Airline Awards the carrier came away with three runner-up awards, and a runner-up award from Travel + Leisure's Best International Airlines for Food 2015.

Business Class diners get offered tea from a traditional samovar (pictured). One Travel + Leisure voter declared the food to be restaurant standard.

Overall winner of the 2015 Apex Passenger Choice Awards, and runner-up in both the Saveur Good Taste Awards 2015: First-Class Airborne Eats and Travel + Leisure Best International Airlines for Food 2015, Emirates maintains its position as a provider of memorable in-flight food.

What Emirates does particularly well is Middle Eastern-inspired dishes, and First Class passengers are treated to a Champagne-pairing menu and exquisite canapés.

Winner of two coveted awards: the Saveur Good Taste Awards 2015: First-Class Airborne Eats, and Travel + Leisure's Best International Airlines for Food 2015, as well as finishing runner-up in World's Best First Class Onboard Catering at the Skytrax World Airline Awards 2015, Singapore Airlines' cuisine remains top of the class.

This Asian carrier takes food very seriously. It tests meals in a pressurized tasting room to compare it to dining at 30,00 feet. It also offers Book the Cook, a service where passengers in Premium Economy upwards can pre-order from an eclectic range of dishes.

Sharing the top spot with Singapore Airlines is Qantas, which continues to offer superlative dining. As well as winning Best Catering at the AirlineRating.com World’s Best Airlines Awards 2016, Qantas was a joint winner at the Business Travel Awards 2016: Best Airline Food, and a runner-up at the Skytrax World Airline Awards 2015 for World's Best Premium Economy Class Onboard Catering.

Passengers in Premium Economy, Business and First Class can choose from menus created by famed Australian restaurateur Neil Perry. Past dishes include cassoulet of Murraylands lamb fillet with white beans (Business), and on some flights there's a Tasting Menu available in First. Diners can also take advantage of the award-winning wine cellar and, as of 2015, Qantas has introduced a team of mixologists and sommeliers.