When people are asked about airline food, their answers are usually "its okay" or "it was bad", however, these days' airline companies are trying to improve their menu in order to make their passengers have a great experience in the flight.
According to CNBC, one of the biggest airline company in the United States, Delta Airlines is one of the many companies that are doing a revamp on their dishes for their transoceanic flights that will shift to seasonal rotation with their regionally-influenced menus starting next month.
This decision affects the Delta One cabins where restaurants and other food companies push aggressively to change the products to cater to the wide variety of passenger taste and the increasing focus on the ingredients being used. However, this is not an easy move, these dishes are served thousands of feet in the air which makes the situation more complex.
Beatriz Sims, the one who oversees Delta's international menu and product development said that airline food has already have a stigma that is linked with the truth that they don't have a full working kitchen. There are times where the taste buds of those who prepare the food becomes a little bit dull, so they are trying to strike the right balance so that these flavors are not overpowering but also can withstand the conditions.
She added that there is a misconception that goes into preparing food to be airplane-ready that can withstand the conditions is to only add salt. The dishes that are served in Delta adds ingredients like sriracha, olives or herbs that add flavor that can stay up to 35,000 feet.
Last month, one of their competitor, United Airlines also changed the lunch and dinner options for their first and business class customers for flights going to Canada, Mexico, Carribean, and all over the United States. To make the flavor stay at higher altitudes, their executive chef Gerry McLoughlin uses added spices and aromatic herbs.
In the coming year, Delta also plans to debut menus inspired by the group's other restaurants on a rotating basis, to offer more variety to customers on some trans-Atlantic flights out of New York.
"It's not your typical standard airline fare," Sims said. "It feels more like a restaurant and less like an airplane."
