When Do Airlines Serve Hot Meals — And What Do You Actually Get?

Whether you're hopping on a puddle jumper or boarding a long-haul flight, most people are curious about what types of snacks, drinks, or meals they'll get to enjoy while airborne. Whether you receive a hot meal during your flight depends largely on the ticket class you purchase, the airline you choose, and the duration of your flight.

Delta offers hot food options for passengers flying in Delta One and Delta First classes on select domestic flights, as well as for all passengers on long-haul international flights. Delta passengers state that common bites on Delta flights include cheeseburgers, short ribs, Thai chicken soup, gnocchi, and Impossible meatballs (which is one of the only airplane meals we'd eat on the ground).

On United Airlines, long-haul first and business class tickets include hot meal service (economy passengers can purchase hot meals on domestic flights over 1,190 miles). On United Airlines international flights, all passengers are offered free bread, salad, an entree (typically a chicken and rice dish or a vegetarian pasta dish for economy passengers), and dessert.

American Airlines offers hot food to passengers on certain cross-continent and international flights. Travelers say that most American Airlines economy passengers are offered a choice of a chicken dish or a pasta dish, much like the United Airlines options. First class passengers are often offered higher-end dining options, like sea bass, vegetable terrine, beef bolognese, and harvest grain bowls.

Airline food has come a long way throughout the course of history, and that's not only true for U.S.-based flights. Turkish Airlines is especially heralded for solid hot meal options for both business and economy class passengers. Economy class passengers are offered a variety of hot sandwiches on domestic flights, while international economy class passengers get to choose from a variety of hot meals, with options including kofte meatballs, eggplant, and lasagna. On both domestic and international flights, Turkish Airlines business class passengers choose from a variety of upscale options including sea bass with Mediterranean vegetables (but you might want to be careful, as fish is one of the foods we recommend avoiding on an airplane), grilled chicken with eggplant puree, and imam bayildi (oven-baked stuffed eggplant).

Asiana Airlines is also known for providing passengers with top-notch fare in the air. Offering both Japanese and Western cuisine, passengers on Asiana can enjoy meals like beef with veggies and rice, chicken pasta, shrimp salad, and smoked salmon. Like most other airlines, the quality of food can vary depending on the length of your flight and your ticket class.

Lufthansa, a German airline, is also known for offering high-quality food in both business and economy classes. For long-haul flights, the airline offers hot meals in economy class — options commonly include chicken dishes and vegetable curries. Business class options include meals like pan-fried cod, stir-fried chicken, and roasted veggie bowls.