Why does it taste so plane?

With in-flight meals, most airlines are just winging it. Our palates change on a flight. But our chefs are only just catching up

- VIR SANGHVI

I have been watching, with interest, the attention being paid to Air India and Vistara's attempts to improve the food on board their flights. I am no expert on the subject of in-flight catering. But I do know a little bit about it, because not only have I spent a large part of my life on planes, but I have also attended food tastings for both Air India and Jet Airways. And I have sometimes been asked by Air India to help select the wine. (All in a completely honorary, advisory capacity.) Seeing flight kitchens up close, you realise many things that are not apparent when you are enjoying (or, more likely, not enjoying) your in-flight meal.

First, there are only a handful of flight kitchens in each city. Each kitchen services several airlines. So, though we may like to compare the food on say, Vistara with the food on Singapore Airlines, the chances are that both the meals were cooked by the same chefs at the same kitchen.

Why does the food taste better on some airlines than on others? Three basic reasons. The menus, which are compiled in consultation with the airline catering team, matter. Some airlines select the menus and then leave it to the kitchens. And three, and most important: The cost. If you pay more, you get better food. That, at least, is the theory.

One reason Kingfisher and Vistara had better food than Air India in the old days was because they paid more for the meals.