For many, the quality of your onboard meal can make or break your travel experience. Horror stories have emerged over the years of tasteless, inedible food, or even grub that gave passengers food poisoning.
With airline food a hot topic among the travel community, a new survey has revealed which airlines have the best - and worst - food for their passengers. The survey by YouGov: Self-serve rated British tourists' most used airlines for both long and short-haul journeys. Can you guess the bottom three?
Emirates came out on top in the survey, which found that 84% of passengers rate the snacks and drinks on offer positively, while 85% are impressed with the meals. Nearly half (43%) of those surveyed rated the airline’s snacks as “very good”.
According to its website, in Economy Class, you can enjoy multicourse meals, including mozzarella and sundried tomato on rye and turmeric bread, on short-haul, with complimentary drinks throughout the flight. On long haul, you can enjoy omelettes and crepes for breakfast, salads, grilled chicken, and paella for lunch.
Qatar Airways - named the world’s best airline in 2024 - came second on the list, with 83% of passengers giving its snacks a positive rating and 82% satisfied with its inflight meals. Virgin Atlantic scored the final place in the top three, with almost three-quarters (74%) of passengers rating its drinks and snacks well and 73% happy with inflight meals.
Regarding UK airlines, British Airways topped the ranking with 61% of passengers rating its snacks and drinks positively. This increases to 63% when it comes to inflight meals.
At the other end of the scale, it was Ryanair that fared worst among the airlines surveyed. 21% of passengers felt Ryanair’s snacks and drinks were good, while more than four in 10 (41%) considered its offering to be bad.
When it came to in-flight meals, just 17% were satisfied, while half said the budget airline’s meals were “poor”.
Wizz Air did not fare much better, with just 25% of passengers happy with the snacks and drinks served. Its in-flight meals were also unsatisfactory, with 40% ranking them as “bad”.
easyJet also landed in the bottom three, with 35% of travellers rating the snacks and drinks positively. Meanwhile, just 29% of those surveyed enjoyed the airline’s in-flight meals.
Best airlines for snacks, drinks and meals - full list
