Anyone who has ever unwrapped an uninspiring economy meal will have undoubtedly dreamed of a more luxurious dining experience in the sky. From caviar and Champagne to Thanksgiving turkey and kangaroo tail soup, we’ve taken a look at some of the most lavish airline menus throughout history.

The first meals on passenger planes were, according to The Guardian, served in 1919 by the Handley Page Transport Company. Stewards, or “cabin boys”, brought hampers of sandwiches and fruit onboard and distributed them among the passengers.

In the 1920s, the focus was on cold food as energy had to be preserved for the engine. Meals were presented in wicker baskets, with options typically including dishes like cold chicken, fruit salads, sandwiches, lobster salads and cheese selections. On airlines such as Imperial Airways, (British Airways’ predecessor), these might also have included ox tongue, foie gras and peaches.

According to The Golden Age of Air Travel by Nina Hadaway, 1927 saw the launch of the world’s first truly luxurious air service, courtesy of Imperial Airways. Their “Silver Wing” service was super-exclusive, seeing a steward dressed in a white jacket, bow tie and cap serving pre-cooked, heated food to passengers. The presentation was second to none, with fine china, small tables with linen tablecloths, silver cutlery and crystal glasses.

By the 1930s, it was a wonderful time to fly. Aboard Pan Am’s Clippers, passengers were served beef that was roasted on the aircraft. There was even a dining room on the plane where customers could go in groups and eat from a buffet on tables with white tablecloths.

If you were lucky enough to travel first-class from Sydney to London with Qantas in the 1930s, that means you paid 85 times the average working wage for your ticket. Passengers enjoyed fresh lobster, oysters, kangaroo tail soup, fried shrimp, caviar and Champagne on board the luxury flights, as well as enjoying cheese boards, plenty of wine and cigarettes.

According to Travel and Leisure, the 1940s saw airline meals taking a step towards the dishes we’d recognise today, as airlines began using frozen meals aboard flights. The article attributes this to the war, saying the US military began to notice that soldiers were arriving to Europe in an unsatisfactory physical condition, and decided that hot food was necessary on flights. The development wasn’t just economical, but also allowed for more varied dishes.

Onboard Air France planes in the 1950s everything was terribly chic, not least the meals. Dinner options included Beluga caviar, endive salads, medallions of lobster and more, with plenty of Champagne and liqueurs. Forget about plastic cups and foil trays too: meals were served on china plates with drinks presented in the finest glassware.

Before 1954, if you were flying with Qantas, there was no economy class: everyone flew in first. Menus were very elegant, with items written in French and main courses usually including beef, lamb, fish or roast breast of turkey. Meals started with a soup, were accompanied by vegetables, and there were pastries, cheese, coffee and biscuits to follow.

According to Food in the Air and Space by Richard Foss, food onboard the now-defunct airline TWA was a sight to behold. One passenger, flying in 1962, had a surprise birthday cake prepared for him, with stewards checking each passenger’s passport in case it was anyone else’s special day. Main courses included decadent dishes such as smoked Nova Scotia salmon, fillet of sole, sirloin steak and fresh lobster.

The development of frozen meals onboard helped luxurious airlines like Pan Am prepare American classics in the air. Food in the Air and Space details how, on Thanksgiving, the airline would serve a full turkey dinner no matter where they were. Staff recalled a day in 1967, in which they enlisted a handsome first-class passenger to don an apron and carve the turkey, which was served with potatoes, gravy, cranberry jelly and more.

Rather than following the convention of providing comfort food onboard, Cathay Pacific went against the status quo in the 1960s and offered a selection of contemporary menus, including flamed baked Alaska prepared in the air.

European carriers were no less extravagant. Meals on Alitalia started with canapés and cocktails before several lavish courses followed: perhaps sevruga caviar, lobster with lemon and truffle of fillet of beef in a Barolo sauce.

It didn't stop there in the 1960s. In a move that was quirky but could have proved risky in the event of turbulence, Lufthansa rolled a beer keg on wheels up and down the aisles, serving glasses straight from the keg to customers.

Before the days of intense airport security, food aboard the aircraft was served just as it would be in a restaurant. On Scandinavian Airlines in the 1960s, this meant a buffet, with whole legs of ham carved from the aisle, salad served by stewards from big bowls and salmon filleted in front of passengers.

By 1971, airlines were battling to outdo their competitors' lavish first-class offerings. This Singapore Airlines menu gives an example of the food available at the time. Choices in first class included spiced chicken, prawn curry, roast mignonettes of lamb and a Malaysian salad, but even in economy the offering was delicious, with options such as stuffed mushrooms with crab meat and stir-fried shrimps.

While of course smoking is strictly forbidden on flights today, in the 1970s it was a whole different story. Onboard Concorde from Bahrain to London in January 1976, the menu was particularly decadent, with caviar and smoked salmon canapés to start, a cold breast of chicken with foie gras and asparagus spears to follow, and an orange poached in Grand Marnier for dessert. The cherry on top was a Havana cigar at the end of the meal.

The 1970s were generally a great time to be in first class with British Airways. On a first-class flight from Oslo to London in 1977, the starters were smoked salmon with scrambled egg, while for their main course passengers could choose between fillet of beef with red wine and pimento sauce, pan-fried potatoes and buttered leaf spinach or poached halibut with lobster sauce and boiled potatoes. Those with room left could go on to enjoy French apple cake, a cheese board and a fruit tray.

China Airlines branded itself “the world’s first flying Chinese restaurant” in the 1970s, focusing heavily on their food offering in advertising. Passengers could enjoy traditional Chinese dishes on board, with one advert highlighting spring rolls “removed from the oven at the precise moment”, sweet and sour pork “you could write a sonnet about” and Mandarin chicken “seasoned flawlessly, served with shimmering gold noodles”.

The 'golden age' of travel certainly wasn't over by 1983, especially with Singapore Airlines. Everything about their first-class experience was luxurious, with meals served on Royal Doulton bone china and Irish linen tablecloths. Hors-d'oeuvres included extravagances such as Russian caviar accompanied by chilled vodka, while main courses saw lobster cooked in Pernod, roast pigeon served with grapes and beef carved at the table.

Business class was no less luxurious, particularly when it came to drinks. Rules were much more relaxed in the 1980s, with unlimited pours the norm. Alongside a meal of lobster Newburg or grilled rib-eye, there was an indulgent wine list to choose from, as well as brandy, liqueurs, coffee and after-dinner mints.

As the first airline in Asia to offer food on board, Philippine Airlines had always been ahead of the curve. By 1984 they had kicked things up another gear by serving nouvelle cuisine at 30,000ft. First-class canapés included pumpernickel with smoked trout mousse and sea perch salad in vine leaves, while desserts featured intricate creations such as a millefeuille Strasbourgeoise.

When Virgin Atlantic first started operating between London and New York in 1984, they partnered with Maxim’s, an extravagant Parisian restaurant. Meals, served by onboard butlers, featured fine-dining classics: Beluga caviar on ice, Parma Ham with sliced avocado, fillet of Dover sole with lobster mousse and boned quail with wild mushrooms. Wines were no less outrageous – straight from Maxim’s cellar.

Airline food in the 1990s was getting closer to what we know today. With most people sitting in economy class, portions were smaller and the meals less lavish. However, if passengers sought the luxury of the golden age of flying, all they had to do was upgrade to first class. This Air France Concorde menu from 1992 shows the sort of decadent food passengers of the 1960s would have been used to: fresh caviar, lobster salad with truffles and guinea fowl in Champagne sauce.

As the world entered the 2000s, everything changed: the September 11 attacks meant fancy cutlery was ditched in favour of plastic, while many airlines who suffered from the financial fallout stopped serving meals on short-haul flights, meaning passengers had to buy food. Luxuries such as black truffle, caviar, Champagne and foie gras became – and remain – limited to the few who could afford first class.

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