MARK PALMER: From lobster salad and beef a la mode in the 1950s to a squished fly in my egg sarnie, how did airline food get to this point?

British Airways has just released a book called Flavor Of Flight, which details the food and drinks served on board its planes from 1919 to the present.

It starts with an exuberant foreword from CEO Sean Doyle. “We know our inflight meals enhance the travel experience and are eagerly awaited,” he says. “In fact, customers tell us this is the part of the trip they look forward to the most.”

I’m not so sure about that. Not when you’re sitting in the back of the bus during a short flight and are handed a micro bag of corn snacks and the world’s smallest bottle of water. And certainly not if you’ve downloaded the first episode of Rivals, the TV adaptation of Dame Jilly Cooper’s racy novel about a Concorde flight to New York in the 1980s, with passengers happily smoking, spooning caviar and guzzling champagne .

The main character, the dashing Rupert Campbell-Black, leads a young journalist astray at the World Cup – but never mind the Mile High Club, because in those heady days it was the food and service that sent a shiver of excitement .

Today? Well, the silver service has been replaced by a sliver service and unfortunately BA, our national airline – which once called itself ‘the world’s favorite airline’ – appears to be cutting back on the porridge front.

British Airways has just released a book called Flavor Of Flight, which details the food and drinks served on board its planes from 1919

Upstairs – the ‘beautiful cocktail lounge on the lower deck of the Boeing Stratocruiser

We all have our stories. I once encountered a squished fly in my egg sandwich on a flight to Thailand (stock photo)

The country has started swapping lunch for brunch on some flights – even though it may take well into the afternoon for your sausage with mushrooms and hash browns to arrive. The Great British Brunch, as it is called, is served in First Class or in Club World (BA’s business class cabins) on long-haul flights departing Britain between 8:30 am and 11:29 am.

It’s a complicated arrangement – ​​and ‘silly’, according to one travel industry insider – but BA has no criticism of it whatsoever.

“We are incredibly proud of our premium dining experience, which includes a wide range of meal options to meet our customers’ preferences depending on when they travel,” the airline said.

Yet it is suspected that cost savings are partly responsible. After all, Mr Doyle’s predecessor, Alex Cruz, abolished all free drinks and snacks in economy class on short-haul flights in 2017. The move led to howls of protest and negative headlines about passengers deciding to fly ABBA (‘Anyone But British Airways’) in defiance of the abolition of the age-old right to enjoy a cheeky G&T at any time of the day.

To his credit, Mr. Doyle brought a free small snack and drink of water. However, an experiment to serve free tea and coffee on short-haul flights was scrapped because Mr Cruz – who previously worked at a low-end airline – reportedly crammed so many seats into BA’s short-haul planes that there was not enough room on the planes. the galley to brew and serve hot drinks.

This may be apocryphal, but it has been reported that a customer was charged double for a cup of tea. When he complained to the cabin crew, he was told: “You asked for strong tea, so we used two bags and charged per bag.”

We all have our stories. On a flight to Thailand I once encountered a squished fly in my egg sandwich. “Sorry about that, but I can’t replace him because we’re out of steam,” the steward said. As we browse through Flavor Of Flight, it’s no wonder our taste buds get excited when we see menus from the 1950s. One of these is beautifully illustrated with a line drawing showing the Greek mythological character Daedalus and his son Icarus.

Passengers started with cream of cauliflower soup, followed by Cornish lobster salad, then braised beef a la mode with spinach leaves in butter and Parisienne potatoes, before moving on to a dessert of chilled Montmorency soufflé with fresh cream, then assorted cheeses with biscuits, plus a fruit basket and coffee.

The Great British Brunch, as it is called, is served in First Class or in Club World (BA’s business class cabins) on long-haul flights departing Britain between 8:30 am and 11:29 am (stock photo)

The silver service has been replaced by a sliver service and unfortunately BA, our national airline – which once called itself ‘the world’s favorite airline’ – appears to be cutting back on the porridge front. (Above – the first-class experience aboard a 1950s Comet)

Passengers served a meal on the C-class flying boat in the 1930s – ‘possibly roast chicken or York ham’

Even in the 1980s, those in the posh seats on BA’s London to New York service enjoyed chilled sevruga caviar and medallions of lamb loin, grilled to perfection and served with a delicate sauce of tomatoes, olive oil and lemon juice, seasoned with basil. , chervil and coriander’.

Standards have certainly deteriorated. This is reflected in the sartorial shortcomings of most modern travelers – but who can blame them for showing up at airports in slippers and tank tops, when they’re unlikely to get much more than a granola bar?

It’s a different matter for those who turn left on the hip new Gulf carriers like Singapore Airlines or Turkish Airlines. They invest billions to entice First and Business Class passengers with luxury food and drinks.

Emirates also has an extensive cocktail list, including three different types of martini – something Queen Elizabeth II would have approved. Apparently, Her Majesty insisted on drinking a gin martini before entertaining guests in the royal suite on Concorde (along with a specific type of mint during takeoff).

Securing the services of a celebrity chef (albeit in name only) has become a popular marketing weapon. Qantas has employed the acclaimed Neil Perry from Australia for more than a decade.

His specialty is making dishes that wake you up or put you to sleep. On an overnight flight, that means roast chicken broth with shiitake mushrooms and sugar snap peas, because “protein, complex carbohydrates and dairy all generate tryptophan, which produces melatonin, the sleep-inducing hormone,” he says.

Standards have certainly deteriorated. This is reflected by the sartorial mistakes of most modern travelers (stock image)

Even in the 1980s, those in the posh seats on BA’s London to New York service enjoyed chilled sevruga caviar (stock photo)

“As premium guests become increasingly demanding, especially as they pay higher prices to sit at the front of the plane, pressure is on for airlines to deliver the best culinary quality in the air,” says Paul Charles, boss of travel PR firm The PC Agency.

This extends to the bells and whistles. BA’s crockery, cutlery and glassware are designed by leading British designers, while Emirates chooses the finest linen tablecloths, Royal Doulton porcelain and Robert Welch cutlery.

So not all is lost. We may well be entering (with or without BA’s Great British Brunch) a golden age of inflight dining – at least on some airlines.

The only problem is that the gap between what you get on one side of the plane and what you get on the other has never been greater. Still, that may be preferable to the days when only the well-to-do could board a BOAC flight and receive the ‘Bolly and trolley’ service at 35,000 feet.