The world's best airline meals

Expect nothing less than first-class food with these airlines.

Plane amazing

Plane food – love it or loathe it it's hard not to be impressed by airlines that take gastronomic quality to sky-high levels.

Image: JetBlue

JetBlue (domestic US)

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.

Image: Cathay Pacific

Cathay Pacific

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

Image: Virgin America

Virgin America (domestic US)

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.

Image: Etihad

Etihad

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

Image: Etihad

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.

Image: Austrian

Austrian

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

Image: Austrian

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.

Image: Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand

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

Image: Air New Zealand 

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.

Image: Hawaiian Airlines

Hawaiian Airlines

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.

Image: Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines

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.

Image: Singapore Airlines

This Asian carrier takes food very seriously. It tests meals in a pressurised 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.

Image: Qantas

Qantas

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.

Image: Qantas

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.

What's your favourite airline when it comes to food? Let us know in the Comments box below.

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