I Tried Cheap vs Expensive Airplane Food

Summary

Harrison Webb compares economy food on a London–Los Angeles flight with first-class dining on the return journey. He says he paid for the trip himself, though no ticket prices are given.

Economy flight

The flight began with sour-cream-and-chive pretzels and ginger ale. Meal service took about an hour and 50 minutes to arrive.

Dinner

• The butter chicken with rice and okra was a pleasant surprise, earning 3.2/5.
• The vegetarian tomato-and-cheese pasta was mushy and starchy, earning 2/5.
• The blueberry cheesecake scored 3.3/5. He also enjoyed the cheese and crackers.

Breakfast

The full English included bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, a hash brown, mushrooms, fruit and a blueberry muffin. Webb rated the bacon, sausage, tomato and mushrooms 3/5; the egg and hash brown scored 1.5/5. The muffin earned 3/5, and the fruit 4/5.

Overall, he found the economy meals better than expected, though some items were underwhelming. He also noted that dietary meals appeared to be handed out before the main meal service.

First-class flight

The first-class experience included a dedicated check-in area and access to the Concorde Room lounge, where food and drinks were included. Breakfast was available until 11:30 a.m., after which the lounge switched to lunch.

Lounge meals included a full English breakfast and a lunch menu with options such as trout in champagne sauce. Webb praised the wine and the convenience of eating before boarding.

On board, he received champagne, nuts, olives, a cheese crisp, pajamas, slippers and a wash bag with toiletries. The menu also offered a range of meals that could be ordered at any time.

His multi-course meal included:

• An amuse-bouche with white tomato, cheese, pickled cucumber and pesto.
• A battered courgette flower stuffed with mushroom and kale, which he rated highly.
• Rack of lamb and slow-braised lamb shoulder with Yorkshire pudding, mushy peas and vegetables. He particularly liked how tender the lamb was.
• Chocolate, hazelnut and raspberry cake with raspberry sorbet.

Later, he ordered a full-size beef burger with bacon and cheddar, followed by a cheese board with fruit, crackers and onion relish. He noted that crisps were served instead of fries with the light-bite meals.

Webb described the first-class food and service as excellent and said the flight felt shorter than expected. He also brought biscuits for the crew, who shared some with him.

Notable locations, products and people

• Locations: London, Los Angeles and the Concorde Room lounge.
• Products and food: Ruffles crisps, sour-cream-and-chive pretzels, Italian Chardonnay, champagne, a British beef burger and Fortnum & Mason biscuits.
• People: Harrison Webb; crew members Rob and Andy; and a journalist who said he worked for CNN.