8 Excellent (Non-First Class) Airline Meals

When flying international First Class, the meal service is designed to be a luxurious, multi-course dining experience. But you don’t necessarily have to be flying First to get great food on board!

Because airline meals are generally produced on a mass scale and are often reheated from frozen, they can at times be quite awful. Luckily, there are exceptions.

There are some airlines out there that put a lot of effort into their Business Class and even Economy meals. On other airlines, you might also get lucky with a great meal out of the blue.

Airline food doesn’t need to be pretentious to be good – just doing the basics well or serving fresh food instead of ambient snacks reheated frozen meals can make a big difference.

My favourite type of airline meal is one that pays homage to the cuisine of the airline’s home country. I love it when I’m flying on an overseas airline and they serve traditional local dishes from that country. When done well, this can be an absolute delight and a treat – even in Economy.

Over the past decade or so, there are a few airline meals I’ve been served – outside of First Class – that have been memorable for all the right reasons. Here are 8 that come to mind…

Fresh barramundi in Qantas Business Class

If you’ve flown Qantas international Business Class out of Australia recently, there’s a good chance you’ve seen the Humpty Doo barramundi on the menu. While that’s nice, the best fish I’ve ever been served on the plane was actually on a domestic Qantas flight from Broome to Perth.

This probably isn’t the case any more as I took this flight some years ago, but at the time, Cable Beach Resort was providing the catering for Qantas Business Class flights out of Broome.

While the Economy snacks were double-catered in Perth, the 12 lucky Business passengers got fresh food that had just been prepared by one of Broome’s best caterers. I remember being hugely impressed with being served freshly-caught barramundi with crispy potatoes and broccolini. The freshly baked cake was nice, too!

This was one of the few times I’ve asked if I could have a second meal on a flight. Sadly, the fish was just as popular with everyone else… so there was none left.

Turkish Airlines, where you’ll always get a good meal

Turkish Airlines is one of my favourite airlines because they consistently provide great food. I’ve flown Turkish Airlines in Economy on short flights and Business on long flights, and at no time have I ever gone hungry. In long-haul Business Class, Turkish Airlines even has a dedicated chef!

This is just one example of a breakfast I was served in Turkish Airlines Economy Class (this was actually the second of two courses). It was fresh and flavoursome.

On my most recent Turkish Airlines Economy flight, we were served a hot meal of Turkish lamb koftas with rice and vegetables. It was just as good as anything from my superb local Turkish restaurant – the only reason I didn’t finish it was that I’d already eaten so much good food in Turkish Airlines’ top-notch Istanbul lounge!

Turkish Airlines catering is provided by Do&Co, which is universally regarded as one of the best airline caterers in terms of food quality.

Austrian Airlines Business Class

Do&Co also does the Business Class catering for Austrian Airlines and British Airways, and it rarely disappoints.

On a recent Austrian Airlines long-haul flight, for example, I was served a traditional Austrian chicken dish that was simply delightful.

The only way that meal could have been made better was by finishing off with a great dessert and the option to enjoy a traditional Austrian coffee in the sky. And that’s exactly what happened.

Local delights in Finnair Business Class

With its Business Class menus, Finnair makes a point of showcasing the best of Finland on its flights out of Helsinki. And on flights back to Finland (which are catered by overseas kitchens), Finnair serves menus featuring local dishes from its overseas destinations – taking full advantage of the expertise of the local catering provider at each airport.

I unfortunately haven’t yet had a chance to try the famous reindeer on Finnair, but I was impressed with the below breakfast spread on a short intra-Europe hop from Helsinki to Vienna!

Middle Eastern fare in Qatar Airways Business Class

Qatar Airways has one of the world’s best Business Class seats with its Qsuites product (unless you’re one of those people who considers British Airways First Class to be the world’s best Business Class product 😝).

The airline also has excellent catering, with the added bonus of being able to dine whenever you like in Business Class.

Like on many of the Middle Eastern airlines, an excellent Arabic mezze plate appears regularly as an appetiser on Qatar Airways’ menus.

But one of the best dishes I have been served on a Qatar Airways flight was kibbeh meshwi and mint raita. Yum!

A fresh, delicious salad in Qantas Economy Class

Economy Class catering on Qantas (or any airline) can be quite hit-and-miss, but you do sometimes get a hit. It seems simple, but I loved the duck salad pictured below which was served for lunch in Economy on a Qantas trans-Tasman flight. It was fresh, healthy and had all the right flavours!

Sampling Lufthansa’s “a la carte” menu in Economy Class

Before the pandemic, Lufthansa offered a special “a la carte” menu for passengers in Economy and Premium Economy. (On Lufthansa, Economy and Premium Economy passengers are served the same menu.)

For an additional fee of around €15-20 (~AU$23-46), you could upgrade to a more substantial and better quality meal that would be served during the first meal service in lieu of the usual option.

There were seven high-quality meals available to pre-order, and on one flight I tried out the “Aroma of Asia” option. It was just as good as a Business Class meal on a top-quality airline, if not better!

Sadly, as of 2022, Lufthansa no longer offers this service. I hope they (and other airlines) bring it back!

The famous United Airlines ice cream sundae

United Airlines is certainly not renowned for its catering, and I’ve had my fair share of terrible Economy Class meals on this airline. But one thing United (as well as certain other US-based carriers) does really well is their ice cream sundaes in international Business Class.

The cabin crew roll a trolley down the aisle with “build-your-own sundae” stations, where you can choose to add all sorts of delicious toppings to your vanilla ice cream. It’s a delicious and satisfying way to end your meal – if not a healthy one.

Some honourable mentions

I’ve also found the catering on Aegean Airlines to be consistently good, with hot meals served even in Economy on short flights like Athens-Istanbul.

And although I haven’t personally tried this yet, I’ve heard that Ethiopian Airlines serves delicious traditional Ethiopian food directly from the trolley in Business Class on its flights catered out of Addis Ababa. That must be a real treat!

Over to you… What’s the best (non-First Class) meal you’ve been served on a plane? Share your photos and stories on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum!

P.S. If you’re interested in seeing what Australia’s airlines are currently serving in Business Class, check out our Qantas, Virgin Australia and Rex Business Class meals threads.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 70 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.