Saveur Picks the Best Airline Meals

Saveur, probably the most credible of the surviving culinary magazines, has just published its 2014 Culinary Travel Awards, including its expert panel’s picks of the best in inflight dining.

The inflight meal awards were broken down by class of service (first or business class, and economy) and by quality (Best, Outstanding, and Notable).

The results:

First & Business Class

First/Business Class – Best

• Emirates

First/Business Class – Outstanding

• Delta
• Etihad Airways
• Singapore

First/Business Class – Notable

• Air New Zealand
• Korean Air
• Lufthansa
• Qantas
• Qatar Airlines
• South African Airways
• Thai
• Turkish Airlines
• Virgin America

Economy Class

Economy – Best

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• Singapore

Economy – Outstanding

• Korean Air
• Turkish Airways
• Virgin Atlantic

Economy – Notable

• Air France
• British Airways
• Cathay Pacific
• Delta
• Emirates
• Etihad Airways
• JetBlue
• LAN Airlines
• United
• Virgin America

Standbys and Surprises

It’s no surprise that Emirates and Singapore made strong showings. They usually do well in rankings like this.

And it’s encouraging to see that Virgin America was among the airlines singled out for their meal service in both the front and back of the plane.

Surprising and encouraging is Delta’s strong showing in premium-class meals, and its appearance on the Notable economy-class list as well. Perhaps there’s hope for so-called full-service carriers in the U.S., after all?

Reader Reality Check

Surprises?

This article originally appeared on FrequentFlier.com.