World’s Best In-Flight Meals

Singapore Airlines: Exclusive Culinary Masterpieces

Singapore Airlines takes every opportunity to make dining special. Meals are dreamed up by a formidable panel of international chefs whose ranks include Suzanne Goin and Georges Blanc. In first class, passengers can choose route-specific dining experiences, including Japanese Kyo-Kaiseki, a meal elevated to an art form; Ming Jia Zhen Zhuan, which translates to "treasured culinary creations from a famed and reputable establishment"; and Shahi Thali, an Indian meal service that features "a dazzling spread of traditional Indian delicacies." And its Book the Cook service, available in first and business class, allows you to select in advance from a menu of the "most exclusive culinary masterpieces in the sky." The menu includes dishes such as lobster thermidor with buttered asparagus and braised quail with chestnuts and Chinese sausage. Amazingly, even babies receive three-course pureed meals.

Qatar Airways: Celebrity-Chef Menus

Had trouble getting a table at Nobu? Qatar Airways can help. To create its in-flight dining service, it recruited four master chefs—including Nobu Matsuhisa—from around the world to spend months creating menus and adapting them for dining at 30,000 feet. The result is a business- and first-class experience featuring on-demand meals in seats that have been specially fitted with table linens and fine bone china for a comfortable, upscale dining experience. Elaborate multicourse menus are as globally inspired as the airline itself. Dine around the world, starting with a classic Arabic mezze followed by, say, Indian-influenced salmon with dal or French crepes with spinach.

Etihad Airways: Onboard Chefs

When it comes to in-flight dining on Etihad Airways, the sky is the limit—perhaps unsurprisingly, given that Etihad is the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, known best for over-the-top Dubai. Pearl Business Class passengers select meals with the help of onboard food-and-beverage managers, professionals recruited from some of the best restaurants in the world and trained by chefs and boutique wine makers. And in Diamond First Class, meals are prepared—yes, prepared—by onboard chefs.

Malaysia Airlines: Chef-on-Call and Satay Service

Spare yourself the on-the-fly "beef or chicken" question on Malaysia Airlines by selecting your meal in advance from a menu of tantalizing options. Passengers in business and first class can take advantage of the Chef-on-Call menu, with 25 options featuring Malaysian favorites, chef's recommendations, and light and healthy choices. Order in advance and treat yourself to braised lamb shank, cod papillote, tandoori prawns, or dozens of other options. Onboard, don't miss the airline's signature satay service, which won top honors in the "Best Airline Catering: Signature Dish" category in last year's Skytrax World Airline Awards. The traditional Malay dish of grilled chicken and beef skewers in a spicy peanut sauce has long been a passenger favorite.

Austrian Airlines: In-Flight Sommelier and Viennese Coffeehouse Service

Austrian Airlines has just the thing to make sure you never choose the wrong wine to accompany your multicourse business-class meal: an in-flight sommelier. It's details like this—not to mention the onboard chefs—that have earned the airline a top-three spot in the Skytrax World Airline Awards' business-class-catering category for three years running. And its signature Viennese coffeehouse service, available to business- and first-class passengers, sets it apart from other airlines. Passengers can choose from 11 types of coffee and all sorts of sweet accompaniments. Unusually, Austrian extends the option of customizable multicourse meals to economy passengers as well. For €15, passengers can forgo the usual coach-class offerings and indulge in a three-course meal selected in advance.

Turkish Airlines: Award-Winning Meal Service

Turkish Airlines swept last year's Skytrax World Airline Awards, picking up a top-five spot in catering in three categories: economy, premium economy, and business class. Flying chefs create a restaurant-quality experience in business class, and even the back of the plane is treated with dishes such as olive-oil-poached artichokes and spiced-meat-stuffed eggplant. Another standout feature of the airline's food service is its incredible array of special meals (for those ordering in advance), including options tailored to raw-food enthusiasts, dieters, people with a variety of religious restrictions, and even gluten-intolerant individuals. Loyalty-club members can even preorder a special celebration cake for events such as birthdays or honeymoons. And what better way to finish a meal than with an authentic Turkish coffee and Turkish delight, standards in business class.

Lufthansa: Michelin-Starred Chefs

Lufthansa flights may stick to the stratosphere, but its Star Chef program aims considerably higher. First-class passengers and business-class passengers on some intercontinental flights are treated to menus created by a constellation of international chefs whose restaurants have earned Michelin stars. Lufthansa features new chefs every two months, which creates the sort of in-flight dining variety that's quite unusual among airlines. And in a move that would be unfathomable if the airline were simply serving up the usual mediocre in-flight fare, Lufthansa's website features recipes from each Star Chef, so if you find yourself craving, say, the confit of king prawns with marinated-asparagus salad that you enjoyed onboard, you can recreate it at home.

Qantas: Leisurely Tasting Menus

What better way to pass the time on the long flight to or from Australia than with an eight-course tasting menu, available to first-class passengers on select Qantas flights? Start with a crab-and-harissa tartlet before making your way through a procession of elegant dishes (including yellowfin tuna served with Moroccan eggplant and spiced lamb pancakes with salted chilli), decadent desserts, and a cheese course. On other flights, first-class passengers can choose from a dozen courses and then recruit a Sommelier in the Sky to find the perfect wine. Business-class passengers can indulge in multicourse, restaurant-style dining, with the option to order food at any time during the flight.

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