> Sennhauser says that bewildered Americans often ask if he constantly flew first-class. “I wish I was flying first-class,” Sennhauser says. “I’m recreating mostly economy class meals.” Some European and Asian airlines see offering their customers something nice to eat as a matter of hospitality, he says. “Whereas in the U.S., I feel like they’ve just thrown up their hands and said, ‘We’re done.’”

This resonates with my own experience. I've always been aware of the cliché that airline food is terrible and the "What's the deal with airline food...?" trope, but when I was young and my mum and I would to fly every summer to visit her side of our family in the UK I really looked forward to the in-flight meals (this was the good old days when short haul flights would serve food). On the very rare occasions when I take a long haul flight which still serves meals I still do look forward to them. The meals are of course different to what you'd normally eat on land, but they almost feel like a style of cuisine in itself.

So really, what is the deal with airline food? It's not actually bad!