Plane food expert reveals which airlines do the best and worst meals and what to order on your next flight
Over four years Nik Loukas has sampled food on more than 65 airlines and 400 flights
AEROPLANE meals are like Marmite – you either love them or hate them.
But one man enjoys them so much he's made a career out of eating them.
Nik Loukas, an Australian who moved to Dublin several years ago, runs the plane meals review site and is currently filming a documentary on the best - and worst - food in the sky.
In the past four years he's sampled food on over 65 airlines and 400 flights.
He fascination with in-flight meals started in 2012 while working in aviation.
He told : "I was given a task to deal with an issue that we had at an airline that I worked for and it involved having to work closely with our in-flight caterer.
"It just stuck. I love learning all about how the food is selected for passengers to eat, how it's delivered to aircraft and everything in between.”
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From the hundreds of dishes he's sampled, three airlines stand out: Turkish Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Spain’s Air Europa.
He said: “Whilst you can't always rely on [Turkish Airlines'] in-flight service, its meals are always on-point, delicious and there's plenty of it, even on short flights - its caterer Do & Co is known to create some of the best in-flight dishes in the world."
He also highly rates Singapore Airlines' Book the Cook service for anyone flying in the airline’s First Class cabin or suites.
He added: "It's like dining in your own private restaurant at 35,000 feet."
One of the meals he won’t be ordering again though is the chicken dish on Ukraine International Airlines.
He said: “It was some sort of chicken slop, I didn’t even know what it was."
So what are the best ways to guarantee a good plane meal? Here are Nik’s top tips, as told to …
What to eat
“If there’s a curry offering on your flight, take it. It’s one of the best tasting in-flight meals that works really well at altitude.
"Also ice cream is always a winner at high altitude too.”
What to avoid
“Try to avoid too much bread, it can bloat you and may even make you feel sluggish later on.
"I once only ate cold soups and cold dishes for all my main meals on a 12 hour flight from Seoul to Frankfurt and felt really good when I walked off the flight at the other end.”
How to get the best deal
“Pre-order, either at the time of booking your ticket, or a week before your flight.
“Most airlines will offer an incentive for you to pre-order before your flight, sometimes 10 maybe even 20 per cent. That’s not a bad incentive.”
“But of course if you’re not interested in doing that you can always pack your own lunch and enjoy it when you get in the air.
"Most of us complain about the prices in-flight, but have you seen the prices at the airport too?”