Security screening - done. Passport control - check. A cup of coffee, a magazine from
the duty-free store - and a short line later, I'm finally on board the plane. Now, just
let me buckle my seat belt, live through the take-off, and some 40 minutes later, I hear
my favorite phrase in the world: "Chicken or fish?" But it seems that the question really
is "to eat or not to eat?"...
I must admit that I'm a huge fan of airplane food! But you see, my best friend isn’t.
You can't imagine all the times we argued ourselves hoarse over the quality and taste
of airline food. Honestly, one day it started grating on my nerves, and I decided to find
out everything I could about the meals on airplanes.
It turns out that airline companies plan all their meals up to a year in advance! And when
I say "plan," I mean they count every single cherry tomato that you'll later find in your
salad. You've probably heard that famous story when American Airlines managed to save $40,000
after they removed an itsy-bitsy olive from each salad on their flights! Yep, it's all
about the right planning. And if you think airplane food is just some
frozen stuff cooked months in advance, think again! Wait-wait, don't say anything yet,
let me finish! Naturally, the food isn't prepared on the plane either because there's literally
no space to do it on board. Besides, there are particular safety standards that most
likely don't include sharp knives and open fire. Uh huh. Nope, airplane food is prepared
on the ground, not far from the airport. Large airline catering companies, such as LSG Sky
Chefs, can produce a whopping 15,000 bread rolls in an hour and more than 30,000 sandwiches
a day! And mind you, they work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
What’s even more unexpected for us simple passengers, is that most dishes are prepared
by hand, even though some processes are automated. For example, they say LSG Sky Chefs Frankfurt
hire 2,075 employees who cook 85,500 meals a day. Also, the menus get refreshed all the
time, according to modern food trends. At the same time, your airplane food isn’t
exactly super fresh. Typically, your meal gets prepared 10 hours before you take that
first bite. But you wouldn't be able to eat this food right after it's been cooked on
the ground! The trick is that, let's say, chicken usually leaves the kitchen only 60%
done, and steak - just 30% ready. After that, all the food gets chilled in special fridges
and transported to the plane in a peculiar state: not completely frozen, but not edible
either. And the final stage of hot dish preparation happens onboard.
Interestingly, the people responsible for creating meals usually test the dishes that
are about to appear on the menu right up in the air! Well, there's a serious reason for
that: when you're on the plane, your nose gets dry because of low humidity. This, along
with the pressure change during the take-off and even the constant noise from jet engines,
makes your taste buds not as perceptive as they are on the ground. In other words, you
perceive no more than 30% of the taste of your food. That's why chefs have to add extra
ingredients, such as extra spice, extra salt, extra sugar, to all the dishes they cook.
So, remember those chicken wings you were eating on your last flight? They would set
your mouth on fire if you munched on them in the terminal!
But let's get back to our trays with airplane food. If they can't board right away, the
meals wait in their own gate lounge. It's not unlike your lounge, but freezing cold
and resembling a massive refrigerator. Then everything depends on whether the plane is
ready to leave on time. If there’s a delay which is announced in advance, the food just
stays in its fridge-lounge. But what if it’s already been delivered on board?
In most cases, if the delay is too long, the airlines just dump the load and ask the catering
company for a replacement shipment. Oh my, what a waste! But I must admit, better that
than getting food poisoning mid-flight. So let's say that the plane leaves on time,
take-off goes smoothly, and several hundreds of passengers follow the flight attendants
with hungry eyes (no pun intended). That's the cabin crew's clue that it's time to reheat
the meals. Um, no, they don't shove food trays into microwaves. Probably because there are
no microwaves on board. Instead, they use convection ovens with fans that blow hot air
onto the meals. It helps to prepare the food pretty fast - in about 20 minutes.
While your meal is steaming in the oven, emitting mouthwatering smells, it's time for drinks.
Now, I never ever drink tomato juice on the ground. Guess it's just not my cup of tea.
But in-flight? Oh boy, give me two or better, three! And look at all those people who all
of a sudden decide to share my newly found love for tomato juice! Disappointingly, there's
no mystery here. As you remember, in the dry airplane air your sinuses get bogged-up, and
as a result, you start to crave salty and acidic stuff.
Eventually, you get your food and bite into your meal. After you finish, there are still
some cookies left on the tray. But you're so stuffed, you decide to leave them: after
all, they’re unopened, and surely the airline will be able to serve them on another flight.
Unfortunately, it's against the law to reuse anything a passenger has on their meal tray.
It may lead to spreading disease, and airline companies don't want to take chances. That's
why your cookies are going to be vacuumed into a special underground room and burned.
To avoid such unnecessary waste, share the cookies with your neighbors or hide them in
your carry-on to chomp on later. On the other hand, it was a great surprise
for me to find out that all the dishes I eat from during the flight - even plastic ones!
- are reusable. The same catering companies that prepare food for airlines also have huge
dishwashing areas where they wash and sanitize plates, cups, and cutlery. Interestingly,
every plane has three sets of tableware: one is used on board the aircraft, the second
is in the "dishwasher," and the third set is always ready to replace the stuff that
has been lost or broken. And now, last but not least, I want to warn
you about one thing. Airlines state that the water they use to make hot drinks is safe
to drink and meets all necessary regulations. But the fact is that the water tanks on planes
often become a playground for all kinds of bacteria. For example, when the Environmental
Protection Agency tested water taken from about 300 aircraft back in 2004, the researchers
discovered that 15% of all the samples contained coliform bacteria. And since these bacteria
are often found in feces, they are typically used to determine how sanitary the water is.
It goes without saying that nowadays, after new, stricter rules and regulations have been
introduced, the situation has significantly improved. But still, from time to time, routine
checks prove that the quality of water on commercial airplanes is still an issue.
If you’re still worried, boiling the water should destroy all the pathogens that could
be in it. But as they say, better safe than sorry. That's why I always try to get my daily
portion of caffeine in the terminal before the flight.
Do you like in-flight meals or do you prefer to bring your own food on board the plane?
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