Airlines with the worst plane meals named – as 1 serves ‘best food in the world’

Often dried out, microwaved and unrecognisable, plane food gets a seriously bad reputation, but there are a few airlines that are serving up culinary delicacies if you know where to book.

Of course, no meal consumed at 30,000 feet is ever going to be incredible.

As the plane rises, moisture in the cabin drops and our sense of smell and taste drop with it. Lower air pressure can also affect the sensitivity of taste buds, so things will start to taste bland.

On top of this, due to food safety standards, all meals must be cooked on the ground then packed, blast chilled and refrigerated before it’s reheated in the air. So, even a five-star Michelin meal would probably taste a bit off after all that.

Luckily for the picky eaters who love to travel, there are some airlines which have been voted to serve better meals than others.

MoneySuperMarket’s travel insurance team analysed over 27,000 passenger reviews of meals across more than 100 airlines to find out which ones would come out on top.

At the top of the global list is Kuwait Airways, which serves the best meals of any airline in the world, earning an average score of 8.6 out of 10 across all cabin classes.

This airline offers a “Royal Class” service, serving up lobster, prawn and beef specialities, and serveal courses for their economy seats.

In the top five were Oman Air, Middle East Airlines MEA, Air Algerie and airBALTIC.

For UK travellers, Virgin Atlantic (6.7) gained the highest score among frequent flyers with British Airways (6.7) scoring nearly identically.

As budget airlines like Ryanair and EasyJet don’t provide a meal on flights (unless you shell out extra cash) they did not appear on the list.

But if you want to snack on these flights, you can always bring on a snack from the airport.

Just make sure you dispose of it before security on the other end to avoid a possible fine for bringing in undeclared food items.

The top 20 airlines with the best meals