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An airline meal is a Meal served to passengers on a commercial Airliner . These meals are prepared specifically for this purpose by special airline catering services. The average airline Dinner typically includes a Meat product (most commonly Chicken or Beef ), a Salad or Vegetable , a small Roll , and a Dessert . Caterers usually produce alternative meals, e.g. Kosher and Vegetarian . These must usually be ordered in advance, sometimes when buying the ticket. Some airlines are missing a specific meal for Ovo-lacto Vegetarians , instead they are given a Vegan meal. During morning flights, a smaller, continental-style or 'hot' breakfast may be served instead. For the continental-style breakfast, this may include a miniature box of Breakfast Cereal , cut Fruits , a Muffin or Pastry , or a Bagel . Some airlines offer the choice of 'hot' Breakfast meals to the passengers (usually on long haul flights, or short/medium haul flights within Asia), which includes an Entrée of pancakes or eggs, and there are Muffins or Pastry , fruits and Breakfast Cereal on the side. Coffee and Tea are offered as well. Though often disparaged for their poor taste, the quality of airline meals actually varies considerably from one airline to another. Prices charged to the passengers for food onboard the flight ranges in price from free (many airlines, especially those in Asia and all airlines on long haul flights offer complementary meals) to as much as ten dollars ( Midwest Airlines ). Quality may also fluctuate due to shifts in the economics of the airline industry. On the longest flights in First Class and Business Class , most Asian and European airlines serve multicourse gourmet meals, while airlines based in the US tend to serve large, hearty, high quality meals including a large salad, steak or chicken, potatoes, and ice cream. Meals have generally declined in quality since the 1980s, with many seasoned travellers commenting that today's first class meals are reminiscent of coach class meals of the 1980s. During that time, first class sometimes involved ice sculptures and seatside carvings and flambeaus. Increased security has since put an end to those practices. The cost and availability of meals on US airlines has changed considerably in recent years, as financial pressures have inspired some airlines to either begin charging for meals or abandon them altogether in favor of small snacks. The perceived blandness of airline food can be attributed largely to a consequence of the limited space available on aircraft, and the pressure on airlines to keep costs low. Meals must generally be Frozen and heated on the ground before takeoff, rather than prepared fresh. It has also been suggested that the Taste Bud s are less sensitive at higher Altitude s, making everything taste bland. Before the September 11th Attacks in 2001, first-class passengers were often provided with full sets of metal cutlery. Afterwards, common household items were evaluated more closely for their potential use as weapons onboard aircraft, and both first-class and coach-class passengers were restricted to plastic flatware. In 2004, metal utensils returned to some first-class cabins after airplane carry-on restrictions were loosened. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS |
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