And then there were the glory days of in-air dining, when, back in the 50s and 60s, they offered several courses that included entrees such as lobster, caviar, cornish game hens and ham, and took a leisurely two hours to serve.
Over the last couple of years I’ve been lucky enough to fly business class on international long haul a couple of times. The food is tasty (I’ve had eggs benedict at the end of a 12-hour flight - the eggs had clearly been cooked on the plane), the meal service is a performance that lasts well over an hour for the various courses which really really helps to make the flight seem shorter, and the front of the plane is fairly quiet (plus noise cancelling headphones are a godsend). Also, real cutlery and crockery, which generated practically no rubbish.
On the other hand, so far this month I’ve spent about 40 hours in economy (19,000 miles). An all-in-one meal tray slammed down in front of you which takes all of 15 minutes to eat while trying to juggle the various items and voluminous rubbish on a tray the size of a postage stamp is not a satisfying experience.
I have a lot of trouble eating on long flights, partly because the food is not very good but more because sitting motionless in a confined space just completely shuts down my digestive system. So I eat during layovers.
For shorter flights, I gave up being at the whim of whatever crap the airline might provide. Instead, I buy a sandwich or something before the flight and carry it on.
I will say, though, that the tapas snack box on Alaska Airlines is actually pretty good.
I travel a lot (a slow year for me is 60,000 miles, a busy one is 2-3X that) and I’ve been vegetarian for the past 28 years. Vegetarian is hit and miss and never as good as food I would have on the ground - mostly because its institutionally prepared and (as others have said upthread) not spiced or seasoned strongly.
But the worst examples I have had were a “sandwich” that was just iceberg lettuce on a bun (American Airlines) or nothing at all on a 14 hour flight to Sydney (United). They said they 'forgot" to load special meals, so rather than offer alternatives you got nothing. Since then I pack my own food
I usually just carry on a homemade sandwich, some salty crunchy snacks, a little chocolate, and some fruit*. That plus filling up my water bottle (being without water is a nightmare in a plane) and I’m good for most flights under 7 hours.
[* if you’re travelling internationally, always declare any leftover meat or fruit or veggies at customs or throw it out before you go through immigration.]
It was similar the last time I flew AF, about 2 years ago. They also had a hot entree, which I recall was pretty good. When a country takes pride in its cuisine it makes that extra effort.
I definitely had a few experiences like that, being told “we have no meals for you, you can either eat beef or a handful of crackers”.
I recently flew KLM and not only was the food surprisingly good (beef rendang, chicken curry, barramundi pesto) but I was given three choices of entree at every meal and some lovely cheese snacks. And this was in coach!
I for some reason wound up getting a first class flight on Alaska from Denver to Seattle a couple years ago and the Bahn Mi was actually the best I’ve ever had. Only first class got the sandwiches though I think.
The Hindenburg’s dining room was even nicer - and a masterclass in modern design. You can get a good idea of what it was like from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade:
I had a Mediterranean bento-type meal with olives, hummus, salami, pita bread (not chips!), and seasoned nuts. Just as good on a plane as on the ground.
I fly SWA almost exclusively, so I just pack some jerky and maybe a couple of snickers bars in case I get famished – but try to eat a reasonably sensible meal at the airport or beforehand. I mostly don’t need to dip into my reserve.
A long time ago my ex went to a week long seminar. It was on Mackinac Island I think. Island where no cars are allowed. Anyway, when registering she checked the vegetarian box (she is a life long vegetarian). Simple enough.
What she found when she got there was that while the other attendees had something different every day for the 3 provided meals. The vegetarians on the other hand were served Fettuccine Alfredo for breakfast, lunch, and dinner… for a week. I think she did some quick talking with the staff and blew their mind with the concept that if they make the ham and cheese omelet, without ham, that that would be a lot nicer than pasta for breakfast. So she was able to modify the standard meat meals on the fly each meal to get something more reasonable.
The regional flights seem to have the best options in my experience. A flight from Portland to Seattle (I forget which airline) had my favorite microbrew from Eugene, OR, it was free, and they gave me the whole bottle because nobody behind me had wanted the second half.
